Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T07:19:36.523Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Comparative studies on different methods of Azolla utilization in rice culture

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

A. L. Singh  and
P. K. Singh
A. L. Singh
Affiliation:
Blue-green Algal Laboratory, Central Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, 753006, Orissa, India
P. K. Singh
Affiliation:
Blue-green Algal Laboratory, Central Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, 753006, Orissa, India
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Inoculation of 3·0 t of fresh Azolla pinnata (Bangkok) per hectare 15 days before transplanting, 10 and 30 days after transplanting produced Azolla mats on the water surface 10, 12 and 15 days after inoculation, respectively. The Azolla growth and N2-fixation before transplanting were more than that after transplanting. Growing Azolla once before transplanting and twice after transplanting produced a total of 51·0–52·8 t fresh Azolla/ha, which fixed 92·8–96·0 kg nitrogen, whereas growing it once before transplanting plus once after transplanting and twice after transplanting produced 35·0–40·0 and 29·0–37·5 t fresh Azolla/h, and fixed 660·–72·4 and 52·5–66·1 kg N, respectively.

Application of Azolla increased the plant height, tillering, grain and straw yields of rice and also the fertility of the soil at harvest. Growing and incorporating Azolla once before transplanting and twice after transplanting of rice increased the grain and straw yields significantly more than applying 60 kg N/ha as urea and showed greater effect on soil fertility.

Growing Azolla before or after transplanting the rice in combination with 30 kg N/ha as urea and Azolla once before transplanting and once after transplanting without incorporation gave responses similar to that obtained by a divided application of 60 kg N/ha as urea. Growing and incorporating Azolla twice after transplanting showed slightly less response than growing it once before and once after transplanting and giving 60 kg N/ha as urea but slightly more than giving 45 kg N/ha as urea. The Azolla pinnata collected from Bangkok and Vietnam when used once before transplanting at equal biomass (15·0 t/ha fresh Azolla) together with a top dressing of 30 kg N/ha as urea showed a similar response in the rice crop.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 107 , Issue 2 , October 1986 , pp. 273 - 278
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Jackson, M. L. (1967). Soil Chemical Analysis. New Delhi: Prentice-Hall of India.Google Scholar
Liu, C. C. (1979). Use of Azolla in rice production in China. In Nitrogen and Rice, pp. 375–394. Los Baños, Philippines: International Rice Research Institute.Google Scholar
Lumpkin, T. A. & Plucknett, D. L. (1980). Azolla: botany, physiology and use as a green manure. Economic Botany 34, 111–153.Google Scholar
Moore, A. W. (1969). Azolla: biology and agronomic significance. Botanical Review 35, 17–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patrick, W. H. Jr & Mahapatra, I. C. (1968). Transformation and availability to rice of nitrogen and phosphorus in waterlogged soils. Advances in Agronomy 20, 323–359.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rains, D. W. & Talley, S. N. (1979). Use of Azolla in North America. In Nitrogen and Rice, pp. 419–433. Los Baños, Philippines: International Rice Research Institute.Google Scholar
Singh, P. K., Panigrahi, B. C. & Satapathy, K. B. (1981). Comparative efficiency of Azolla, BGA and other organic manures in relation to N and P availability in flooded rice soil. Plant and Soil 62, 35–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Singh, P. K., Satapathy, K. B., Mishra, S. P., Nayak, S. K. & Patra, R. N. (1982). Application of Azolla in rice cultivation. In Proceedings of the National Symposium on Biological Nitrogen Fixation, pp. 423–450. Bombay, India: Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.Google Scholar
Watanabe, I. (1982). Azolla-Anabanae symbiosis, its physiology and use in tropical agriculture. In Microbiology of Tropical Soils and Plant Productivity (ed. Dommergues, Y. R. and Diem, H. G.), pp. 169–185. The Hague, Martinus Nijhoff/W. Junk.Google Scholar