Even the water bodies, ditches in the vicinity can also be used for production of azolla. Pdf cultivation and use azolla as nutritive feed supplement for the. The cultivation of plants in india all have different methods. Make sure this is executed well as it is the foundation step in the cultivating process. Azolla will rapidly grow and fill the pit within 1015 days and about 500 gms 600 gms of azolla can be harvested daily thereafter. Pest problems azolla is a preferred food of apple snails, a serious pest of taro. You can use azolla culture and spread it across as well. Cultivation and use azolla as nutritive feed supplement for the livestock article pdf available may 2012 with 9,042 reads how we measure reads. Bic farms unveils azolla, hydroponics farming vanguard news. The integrated use of azolla with rice and fish farming has been developed. Widely cultivated in the asian regions, azolla is either incorporated into the soil before rice transplanting or grown as a dual crop along with rice. Azolla is a genus of small fern that is found in the temperate and subtropical regions.
Cultivation and uses of azolla in egypt springerlink. Methane emissions and microbial communities as influenced. To train them in the cultivation of azolla, the existing demo farm in namakkal is used. Though azolla biofertilizer technology is simple, economical and ecofriendly, it has not been fully exploited due to the lack of awareness of the potential benefits from azolla biofertilizer. You can start by using a mixture of fertile soil, cow dung and water. A training programme on azolla cultivation for the benefit of dairy farmers was conducted at veterinary college and research institute here on monday. Cultivation method the cultivation of plants in india all have different methods. Wastewater remediation by using azolla and lemna for.
It can be an attractive ornamental, a natural water cleanser or a largescale green manure. The ferns grow floating on the water surface and in rice fields. Azolla water fern as proteinrich animal feed milkwood. The optimum temperatures for most species are between 18 o c and 28 o c, although this can be as high as 30 o c for species such as a. Azolla is a genus of aquatic ferns, mainly found in tropical and warm temperate regions. For larger snails or crayfish, another pest control method, such as handpicking, will be necessary. Since azolla is considered as the most economic and efficient feed substitute and a sustainable feed for dairy cattle, the vc and ri organised the training programme on azolla cultivation. Extensive studies have been conducted on uptake, bioaccumulation and. Rice paddies in vietnam and southern china have been fertilized for centuries utilizing biological nitrogen fixation of the azolla pinnataanabaena azollae association liu, 1979. Utilization of azolla microphylla as feed supplement for crossbred cattle 209 2. One of its attractions is that the dung produced by livestock is used to help fertilize the azolla plants which, in turn, provide nutrition for the livestock. Azolla is a genus of small fern that is found in the temperate and subtropical. Azolla, lemna, mineral nutrients, remediation, wastewater.
Azolla fixes nitrogen it is an excellent source of nitrogen also it to his high nutrient value. Those who came for the mega hydroponics training organised in. Azolla cultivation is popular in countries like china, vietnam, and the philippines, etc. Popularization of azolla cultivation for economic and. It can be utilized by rice in both wet and dry season. Azolla propagation food and agriculture organization of the.
Azolla fodder plot a profile tamil nadu agricultural. It has been observed, and well appreciated by rice farmers they cultivate azolla in paddy farm there is increase rice production by 20%. How can azolla cultivation enhance the socioeconomic. In short, north america has far more variety when it comes to water ferns than any other continent. Azolla cultivation guide rich proteins feed for cattle. Azolla fixes atmospheric nitrogen and store in leaves, therefore, it is used as green manure. Maintaining low water levels and rough plowing can protect azolla from wind. Azolla is a floating water fern rich in nitrogen, beta carotene and minerals. A mixture of 20 gms of super phosphate and about 1 kg of cow dung should be added once in 5 days. Azolla azolla filiculoides, locally known as duck weed, is a small aquatic plantfern which grows in abundance throughout the lower reaches of the broken creek system. It is well known that azolla grows rapidly and can double its weight in a nitrogenfree medium within 35 days azolla ferns live in association with a bluegreen alga anabaena azolla which is located in cavities of the ferns. Here is an interview about the project at we make money not art, an article from the magazine farm. The fern azolla azolla mosquito fern, duckweed fern, fairy moss, and water fern is a small free floating aquatic fern native to asia, africa, and the america.
About azolla azolla is an aquatic floating fern, found in temperate climate suitable for paddy cultivation. There are seven extinct and twenty five fossil species of azolla 8. It also says the use of azolla as feed for cattle, poultry, goat, pig farming. Azollarice cultivation is now also being used in conjunction with fish farming, and result in increased rice production of 20% and fish production of 30% according to kamalasanana et al. The farmers could produce about one kg of fresh azolla mean yield per day in a season. Annual production of bio mass mtha dry matter mtha protein content % kolakattao grass. Azolla cultivated for fish feed, is grown in situ in the pond. Azolla can be grown in separate plot and can be applied to main field just before transplanting. Azolla is a floating pteridophyte, which contains as endosymbiont the nitrogenfixing cyanobacterium anabaena azollae nostocaceae family. Alternatively, protect azolla temporarily by establishing bunds or wooden floats. It can be observed in quiet waters, ponds, ditches, canals and paddy fields.
The book contains details about azollas cultivation, plus several recipes. Pdf azolla cultivation guide rich proteins feed for cattle, poultry. Azolla plant can form a thick layer on water surfaces, so it uses for weed control in paddy farm. In dual culture azolla is grown in the rice field with the standing crop. Nardeps cultivation method nardep therefore developed a method for cultivating azolla that is easy and economical for livestock farmers. Such areas may be seasonally covered by a mat of azolla associated with other freefloating plants such as species of lemna, pistia, salvinia, trapa, wolffia and mud rooting. One method for keeping viable stocks of azolla during cold winter months. You can view a short video of his method on our website page. Aquatic microphylla azolla ufifas aquatic plant information. Azolla as feed supplement for cattle, poultry, pig, fish etc. Organic beans cultivation practices, farming methods cotton cultivation project report, farming cost, profit frequently asked questions about shrimpprawn farming. Azolla reduces water evaporation rate from the irrigated rice field. This includes tanks filled with azolla, to experience the cultivation process. The growth of azolla is typically reduced above 35 o c and no species can survive if temperatures remain above 45 o c for prolonged periods of time.
Azolla filiculoides red azolla is the only member of this genus and of the family azollaceae in. Biomass and protein content azolla cultivation, when compared with other grassesfodders. Thus growth of azolla reduces aquatic weeds in flooded rice fields. Technically azolla is a type of aquatic fern and is rich in organic nutrients. Azollaanabaena as a biofertilizer for rice paddy fields. Care should be taken to protect ducks from dogs and duck eggs and ducklings from. Next to this, a simulation game will be organized in which the. Azolla is an excellent aquatic green manure plant, and was until recently used extensively in vietnam, china and other parts of asia in rice paddies, where it would cover the surface of the water in the paddy and outcompete weeds while the rice grew, fixing nitrogen and contributing fertility as it went. A method for growing azolla for smallholder dairy farming in india has been described as follows.
A test for relative efficiency of farmers cultivating groundnut in tamil nadu. Azolla, hitherto used mainly as a green manure in paddy has tremendous potential to meet the growing demand for fodder among the small farmers taking up animal husbandry. The anabaena in azolla helps to absorb nitrogen, and later on the nitrogen absorbed is converted to protein and amino acid which is later stored in the leaves. This can be fed as feed to cattle along with concentrate feed after washing of the dung. Cultivation of azolla growing of azolla is done basically by two types. Wind and turbulent water can fragment and kill azolla. Azolla farming step by step and health benefits hubpages. The farmers could produce about one kg of fresh azolla mean yield per day in a season from a pond of 6 x 4 feet size. This technique is designed to grow azolla before planting the rice crop, allowing production of added nitrogen for the crop through cultivation of intercropped azolla lumpkin et al. The social innovator suggests the following steps that are critical such as the 1 setting up of mist chambers for cultivation and conservation of 3 varieties of azolla ferns, and 2 starting azolla seed production and 3 undertaking possible researches on production of. In this context, the book entitled azolla biofertilizer. Azolla has been placed in the monotypic family azollaceae 7.
For azolla cultivation required less amount of investment hence it is a lowcost alternative for good feed and good biofertilizer. Azolla pinnata is the most widely distributed species in india and throughout. A study on azolla cultivation and feeding to milch animals was taken up with about 110 farmers in chitradurga district of karnataka under naip livelihood project. Dal mill project report toor, dal mill cost, subsidy. The ability of azollas symbiont, anabaena, to sequester atmospheric nitrogen has been used for thousands of years in the far east, where azolla is extensively grown in rice paddies to increase rice production by more than to 50% rice is an enormously important staple in many tropical and temperate regions of the world. Only 1015 cm standing water is allowed in the ponds. The book is available as a pdf file for free download from. The sporophytes consist of twolobed leaves and rhizomes. Hence many farmers attract toward the azolla cultivation. Azolla ex situ grown in an area by accumulating sufficient water there is also another method of culturing azolla in polythene. Over 10 million scientific documents at your fingertips. If you are into agricultural farming or animal farming, knowledge on azolla and on its production can do wonders to the farming you are into.
Azolla in symbiosis with the cyanobacterium anabaena azollae, under optimum conditions, can fix substantial amounts of n 2 through bnf, and release as much as 70% of the fixed n to the rice crop upon incorporation 5. Azolla is generally inoculated and grown as a cover crop for incorporating into the soil as a topdressing in rice cultivation. How azolla can reduce animal feed cost farmers joint. Some azollaresearch that has been used in the project is available here. Pdf a study on azolla cultivation and feeding to milch animals was taken up with about 110. The harvest and subsequent removal of azolla from the catchment is the current method employed to clear the waterways of the flourishing plant population. When used as supplemental feed in dairy, it helped to increase the milk yield. Azolla cultivation in the backyard and subsequent feeding to the cattle as well as production of feed pellets.
Azolla in situ grown with standing crop within the field 2. Azollaanabaena association and its significance in. Primary information services 21 murugappan st, swamynagar ext2, ullagaram, chennai 600091, india. Cultivating azolla as a livestock feed the azolla foundation. A book about the azolla cooking and cultivation project can be found here.
Billions of people rely on the crop to live and hundreds of millions. Application of azolla in crop production springerlink. A great introduction to azolla can be found in biodiversity. Azolla covering water surface reduce light penetration of soil surface, resulting in the depreciation in the germination of weeds 70% of the weed. Based on proven methods and results, farmers have been taught how to use azolla as. Within the past 25 years, research has expanded the areas of azolla cultivation in china to 1,340,000 ha and to 400,000 ha in vietnam liu, 1979. Utilization of azolla microphylla as feed supplement for. Of these species, the water fern azolla, which grows in association with the bluegreen alga anabaena azollae, a nitrogen fixing organism, s i perhaps the most promising from the point of view f o ease of cultivation, productivity and nutritive value lumpkin and plucknette, 1982. Azolla plants are polygonal or triangular in shape lumpkin and plucknett 1980. To examine the feasibility of its use in flooded rice fields sited in the temperate european areas, we.