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Stems, leaves, straw and silks of the plants used for production of baby corn can be used for animal feed, because they are rich in nutrients, especially protein. Two experiments were carried out in the period from December 2006 to September 2007, at the Experimental Station CCTA/UENF, in Campos/RJ/Brazil. The experiment was performed in two stages, the first consisting of the pre-cultivation of cover crops and the second was baby corn cultivation using seeds UENF 506-8 under no-tillage system. Cover crops treatments consisted of the following species: sorghum, crotalaria, jack bean (Canavalia) and their combinations, compared to the control. The objectives of this study was to evaluate productivity of biomass, crude protein and protein per hectare. The experiment presented on average 17 t ha-1 dry matter, 6% crude protein and 1.072 kg of protein per hectare. The highest fresh weigth occurred in experiment 2, where the cover treatment jack bean ovecame the combination jack bean + crotalaria and the expontaneuos vegetation.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the productivity and protein content of forage of hydroponic maize cultivated on sugar cane bagasse, and identifying the appropriate amount of seeds, the ideal harvest date and the possibility of using vinasse as nutritive solution. The experiment was carried out under greenhouse conditions, in a factorial 5x2x2 scheme. Corn seeding densities were 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 kg m-2. Two nutritive solutions were used (6 L m-2 day-1), one as described by FAO and another as diluted vinasse. Harvests were done at 10 and 20 days after sowing. Fenologic measurements were carried out, as well as fresh and dry matter weight and crude protein contents were determined. On average, 1.0 to 2.5 kg m-2 of maize resulted in 11.88% crude protein, differently of the 0.5 kg m-2 density, that resulted in a significantly lower content. Using vinasse and harvest at 20 days, 2.0 kg seeds m-2 are sufficient to result in maximum fresh matter production. However, greatest dry matter weight were obtained using 2.5 and 2.0 kg m-2 seed at 10 and 20 days after sowing, respectively.