Blue-green algae : a promising biofertilizer for rice cultivation
2017
Bandonill, E.H. | Cacerez, J.C.A. | Malabayabas, M.D. | Martinez-Goss, M.R.
Nitrogen-fixing blue-green algae (BGA) are photosynthetic prokaryotes that easily grow in the rice paddy environment. They contribute to the overall fertility of paddy soils by fixing the nitrogen from the atmosphere to plant-available forms and by adding organic matter to the soil. With the growing concern on the economic and environmental effects of continuous use of synthetic fertilizers in rice cultivation, BGA may be explored as an alternative source of fertilizer for increasing rice productivity. To exploit BgA as cheap and renewable source of biofertilizer for rice cultivation, the algae strain Anabaena variabilis (Ns71Ph) was used in the pot experiment during 2016 wet season. The effect of 100% BGA biofertilizer or in combination with commercial inorganic fertilizer on the growth and yield of PSB Rc82 rice variety was determined. Treatments include the control (no fertilizer), 100% recommended rate of NPK (120-40-40 kg/ha), 50% BGA (50 kg/ha) + 50% recommended rate of NPK (60-20-20 kg/ha), and 100% BGA (100 kg/ha). Rice growth was monitored at 38, 51, 77, and 88 days after sowing (DAS), while the yield and yield components were gathered at maturity. Rice plants fertilized with 100% BGA was comparable with the control in terms of plant height, number of tillers per hill, number of panicles/sq m, and number of spikelets/sq m. Meanwhile, plants fertilized with BGA in combination with NPK had comparable plant height, number of tillers, and number of panicles, sq m with those fertilized with NPK alone. Highest grain yield was obtained from the treatment applied with 100% NPK (688.5 g/sq m), but did not significantly differ from the treatment applied with 50% BGA plus 50% NPK (585.7 g/sqm). Results therefore showed the potential of BGA as possible source of biofertilizer for rice cultivation.
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