azolla production, azolla application.

1. Seminar
On
AZOLLA
Master of Science in Agriculture
Submitted To Submitted By
Mr. Anup kumar singh (Scientist) Dayashankar Baghel
Deptt. of Agril. Microbiology M.Sc (Previous)
IGKV Raipur Deptt. of Agril. Microbiology

2. Content
• Introduction of Azolla.
• Characteristics of Azolla.
• Classification of Azolla.
• Specise of Azolla.
• Economic value of Azolla.
• Requirements For Azolla Culture.
• Cultivation & Steps of Azolla culture.
• Limitations of Azolla Culture.
• References.

3. Introduction
• Azolla / mosquito fern/ duckweed fern/ fairy moss/ water
fern is a free floating aquatic ferns and is genus which belongs to
family Salviniaceae.
• It grows in fresh water and is naturally available mostly on
moist soils, ditches marshy ponds and is widely distributed in
tropical belts of India.

4. Characteristics of Azolla
• Rich in crude protein (19-30%)
• Rich in Essential amino acid
• High ash content (14-20%)
• Contain several vitamins (Vit. A,B-12 & β-carotene)
• Rich in minerals (Ca, Zn, Cu, Mg, K, P etc.)
• Nitrogen fixation
• Maintain soil health when applied in field
• Bioremediation
• Provide different nutrients
• Rapid multiplication rate

5. Classification (Taxonomy)
Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Pteridophyta
Class : Polypodiopsida/ Pteridopsida
Order : Salinas's
Family : Salvinaceae
Genus : Azolla
Genus : Eu-Azolla

6. Specise of Azolla
• Azolla filiculoides
• Azolla caroliniana
• Azolla mexicana
• Azolla microphylla (U.P.)
• Azolla nilotica
• Azolla pinnata (TN, AP)
• Azolla rubra

7. Structure of Azolla
• Shape of Indian species is typically triangular measuring about 1.5 to 3.0 cm in
length 1 to 2 cm in breadth.
• Roots emanating from growing branches remained suspended in water.
• The dorsal lobe which remains exposed to air is having a specific cavity
containing its symbiotic partner, a Blue Green Algae (BGA), the Anabaena azollae.
• The fern is capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen in the soil in the form of
NH4+ and becomes available as a soluble nitrogen for the cultured species.

8. Economic value of Azolla
Nitrogen 5.0 %
phosphorous 0.5 %
Pottasium 2 - 4.5 %
Iron 0.26 %
Sugar 3 - 3.5 %
Crude fat 3 - 3.5 %
Ash 10 %

9. Requirements for Azolla
• Water: 10-15 cm fresh current water is necessary in multiplication pond. Maintenance of
adequate water level (at least 4 inches in the pond) is essential.
• Temperature: Day/night temperatures ranging between 32ºC and 20ºC have found to be
most favorable. The optimum temperature for luxurious growth of Azolla is 25-30˚C.
• Light: It prefers to grow well under partial shade.
• Humidity: The optimum relative humidity requirement is 85 to 90 per cent.
• Soil pH: Azolla grows well in slightly acidic soil having 5.2 to 5.8 pH.
• Nutrition: Being an N fixing fern Azolla does not require nitrogenous fertilizer for its
growth. Phosphorous @20 kg/ha is desirable for good bio-mass production.

10. Production of Azolla
• For One Hectare of land, prepare 4 pits having size 20 m x 2 m x 0.25 m and
cover it with plastic sheet and press the edge by the soil.
• Lay 80-100 kg soil per pit uniformly on the floor.
• Make a solution of fresh cow dung and put it on the soil surface.
• Fill the plot with 5-10 cm of water.
• Inoculated with Azolla (8-10 Kg).
• Sprinkle with 1-2 litres of water so that the roots get settled.
• Single super phosphate (100 g) in 2-3 split doses is applied at an interval of 4
days to each plot.

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15. Harvesting of Azolla
• After 15-20 days, the layer of Azolla will develop having weight about
100-150 Kg.
• Harvest the two-third of Azolla and use it in the rice field.
• Leave for one-third of Azolla's part for reproduction in the pit.

16. How to apply Azolla in Rice field
METHOD 1: Fresh azolla biomass in inoculated in the rice field 2-3weeks before
transplanting as green manure.
METHOD 2: Azolla can be grown in separate plot and can be applied to main field
just before transplanting.
METHOD 3: Azolla can be inoculated after transplanting rice & grown as dual
culture of rice and incorporated subsequently. In dual culture azolla is grown In the
rice field with the standing crop .

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18. Rice-Duck-Azolla System
It was developed by a Japanese farmer Mr. T. Furuno.He has been practicing rice and hybrid duck
culture.
He tried not to use pesticide in rice cultivation. The most difficult task was weeding. He
introduced hybrid duck primarily for weeding purpose. The duck effectively made a weeding job
by disturbing soil surface. He found the duck contributed a lot to rice cultivation.
Now, rice-duck culture is widely practiced in organic rice farming. Primarily for providing
nitrogen nutrient, azolla was introduced to this system.
Azolla provided nitrogen nutrient for rice and protein for duck, and contributed to the suppression
of weed. Duck, on the other hand, contributed to azolla by eradicating azolla insect pest, and
spreading azolla by its movement. Duck's excreta may supply phosphorus to azolla. This rice-
duck-azolla system is now being adopted by organic farming farmers.

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21. Advantages and Use of Azolla
• Basal application on green Azolla manure @ 10-12 t/ha increases soil nitrogen by
30-50 kg/ha and reduces 30-50 kg of nitrogenous fertilizer requirement of rice
crop.
• Use of Azolla increases rice yield by 20 to 30 %.
• Azolla mat does not allow the weeds to grow in rice filed.
• dairy animals showed an overall increase of milk yield by 15– 20 % when 2–3 Kg
of Azolla feed per day.
• Azolla releases an equivalent quantity of Oxygen making the environment more
oxygenic and life-supportive.
• Azolla is known its quality to control mosquito in water bodies.
• Used as food for cattle and pig.

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25. Limitation of Azolla Cultivation
• Water is pre-requisite for it’s multiplication so it is not suitable for upland crop.
• Temperature more than 35°C is not suitable.
• Extreme low temperature is also not suitable.
• Initial cost of cultivation is high.
• Market for azolla is not so popular.
• Ignorance of people about benefit of Azolla.

26. References
• www.wikipedia.com
• Fish nutrition in aquaculture – Sena S. De silva
• Fresh water aquaculture – Rajendra Kumar Rath
• Aquaculture technology and environment –Ujwala Jadhav
• Hand book of fisheries and aquaculture –S. Ayyappan
• Wikipedia ,FAO-food and agriculture organization