A new mode of cultivating Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis for saving environmental and economic costs: Keeping a full stand of vegetative frond cuttings in northern China during the winter

Abstract

An inter-regional, vegetative propagation mode, in which Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis is cultivated in the north from summer to autumn and in the south from winter to the next early summer has become widely popularized in China. If this inter-regional mode could be replaced by an alternative over-wintering mode founded in this study, about 570,000 L of diesel fuel and 5 million USD would be saved every year. In addition, the growth rate of the over-wintering seaweed was significantly higher than that of the inter-regional seaweed during June and July due to the over-wintering cuttings having already acclimated to the local environment. Moreover, the agar content, gel strength, hemicellulose content, lignin content and breaking tension of over-wintering G. lemaneiformis fronds were significantly higher than those of the inter-regional fronds in July. This study provided a new mode not only to reduce operational costs in an environmentally friendly manner, but also to get healthier crop.