Abstract
Azolla pinnata contains a high nutritional value with a high protein content of 25%, so it can be used as an alternative to animal feed. The low production of Azolla is caused by the suboptimal use of fertilizers. This study aims were to determine the type of manure (composted manure from poultry, goats, and rabbit) which was the most optimal in producing Azolla. Azolla pinnata was planted at 50×50×10 cm (W×L×H) soil pools coated with plastic sheets. To maintain the acidity of the media, 10% (2 kg) of sludge fields was added to each pond. Water and animal waste compost (5 g/L) were added to each pond as a treatment. The treatments were: paddy mud (K0), paddy mud + poultry composts (K1), paddy mud + compost rabbit manure (K2) and paddy mud + compost goat manure (K3). Each treatment was repeated 5 times. Measurements made were pH of the media, area of cover, yield (g weight of dry matter) and crude protein content of Azolla. Harvesting was done every 14 days. The results showed that the Azolla dry matter production of K1, K2 and K3 treatments were greater (p<0.01) than K0 (20.80, 18.20, and 19.00 vs. 10.40 g/2,500 cm2; respectively). Among the compost treatments, the crude protein content of K1 and K2 were higher than K0 and K3 (25.34 and 26.25 vs. 13.11 and 22.96%, respectively; p<0.01). Fertilizing with rabbit or poultry compost was the best in improving Azolla production and crude protein content.
Highlights
Azolla pinnata is a water fern plant that is potentially an alternative source of protein and minerals for livestock
The objectives of this study were to establish the type of compost used and the time of harvest for optimal growth and production of Azolla pinnata grown under earthen
Twenty ponds were randomly divided into four treatment groups based on type of organic fertilizer used to fertilize the water in the ponds
Summary
Azolla pinnata is a water fern plant that is potentially an alternative source of protein and minerals for livestock. Azolla pinnata has many benefits such as bio fertilizer, human food (Pabby et al, 2003), animal feed, fish feed and as medicinal supplements (Jain et al, 1992). Azolla pinnata has a short production cycle, with harvesting time of 7 – 20 days and fresh biomass production can reach up to 390 tons/ha/year (Ferentinos et al, 2002). Azolla pinnata has many benefits such as bio fertilizer, human food, animal and fish feed, as well as medicinal supplements (Mithraja et al, 2011). There were few studies related to the right fertilizer for optimizing the growth of Azolla pinnata. Most studies on Azolla's chemical composition and/or feeding values have not used Azolla biomass obtained from productive cultures, or not report biomass productivity data of analyzed plants
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