International Research Journal of Biological Sciences ___________________________________ ISSN 2278-3202Vol. 2(10), 88-90, October (2013) Int. Res. J. Biological Sci. International Science Congress Association 88 Short Communication Effect of Azolla Extract on Growth Performance of Pisum SativumBindhu K.B. Department of Botany, Carmel College, Mala, Thrissur, Kerala, INDIAAvailable online at: www.isca.in, www.isca.me Received 28th June 2013, revised 8th July 2013, accepted 6th August 2013Abstract A study on the effect of biofertilizer Azolla pinnata extract on growth performance of Pisum sativum was carried out. The seeds were soaked in both azolla extract and water. Former performed better when compared to the control. The (20%) concentration of aqueous extract of Azolla promoted the better seedling growth in terms of shoot length, root length, fresh weight and dry weight. Keywords: Bio fertilizer, azolla extract, organic farming. Introduction The water fern Azolla belongs to the family of Azollaceae. The fern Azollacontains is an the endosymbiont .blue green algae anabaena azollae, which helps for the fixation and nitrogen assimilation. Azolla is rich source of in proteins, essential amino acids, vitamins (vitamin A, vitamin B12, Beta Carotene), growth promoter intermediaries and minerals like calcium, phosphorous, potassium, ferrous, copper, magnesium etc. It contains 25-30% protein, 10-15% mineral content and 7-10%, a combination of amino acids, bio-active substances and biopolymers. But very low carbohydrate and oil content. So the Azolla, forms an economic and efficient feed substitutes for livestock, because of its high protein and low lignin content it become s easily digested by livestock. It is an ideal feed substitute for almost all animalas, and it is a a biofertilizer too. It is cultivated in a large scale in other countries and we the Indians have also yet to be cultivated it, in a large scale. -fixing Azolla and blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) are good utilizers of solar energy and provide organic matter to the soil.Mandal et al. owed the positive effect of N-fixing cyanobacteria on plant growth and yield of crops to the production of growth- promoting substances, i.e., gibberellins, cytokinins, auxins, abscisic acids, vitamins, antibiotics and amino acids. It also forms an important Nitrogen balancing biological source of many crops. According to cyanobacteria and Azolla can serve as good nitrogen supplement to plants. Cyanobacteria inside the azolla can release nutrient into soil in an easily available form to plants. On death and decay Azolla releases nutrients as fresh matter in water Marwaha et al.Material and MethodsCollection of Azolla: Azolla (Azollaceae) used in the present study was collected from the Botanical Garden of Carmel College, Mala. The plants were made free of unwanted impurities by rinsing with water. Then the plants were spread on blotting paper to remove excess water. Preparation of biofertilizer extract: One kg of azolla was boiled with 1 litter of distilled water for 30 minutes and filtered. The filtrate was taken as 100 % concentration of the azolla extract and from this, different concentrations (5 %, 10 %, 20 %, 30 %, 40 %, and 50 %) were prepared using distilled water. Then, it was refrigerated between 0 and 4 ēC. Selection of crop plant: isum sativum of Fabaceae familywas selected as crop plant. The seeds were collected from Seed Bank of Kerala Agricultural University, Kerala, India. The seeds of almost uniform size, colour and weight were selected for the experiment. Experiment: Twenty five seeds were soaked in different concentration viz., 5 %, 10 %, 20 %, 30 %, 40 %, 50 % and 100% aqueous extracts of azolla for 24 hrs and thereafter, they were placed in filter paper placed in Petri plates and were watered with tap water regularly. Control was water soaked seeds. On 15th day samples were taken from each set and the growth parameters including percentage of germination, fresh and dry weight, lengthof shoot and root were calculated. Results and Discussion There was an increase in the germination percentage up to 20% concentration and declination there after. No germination above 50%. Only (19 %) germination was found in water soaked seeds at 50 % concentration. In 20% concentration shoot length (16.32cm), root length (6.7 cm), fresh and dry weight (3.967, 0.807 g) were observed. But at the same time at 50% International Research Journal of Biological Sciences ________________________________________________ ISSN 2278-3202 Vol. 2(10), 88-90, October (2013) Int. Res. J. Biological Sci. International Science Congress Association 89 concentration the shoot length was (8.20 cm), fresh weight (1.98 g) and dry weight (0.701 g). Pisum sativum seeds soaked in lower concentrations of the azolla extract showed high germination rate, while higher concentrations inhibited the germination. This behaviour may be due to the presence of some natural growth promoting hormones like auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, trace elements, vitamins and amino acid in lower concentrations. An increase was observed for shoot length at 20% concentration. In the area of agriculture, cyanobacteria are of importance in view of being used as nitrogen fixing biofertilizer either in free living or as symbiosis with the water fern azolla. In this study, the use of Azolla extract applied in different concentrations improved the germination percentage, root shoot length, fresh and dry weight etc., Simpson et al. (1994) explained that in case of using Azolla for rice cultivation, incorporation of dry or fresh Azolla into soil, generally decreased Soil pH with priority to fresh Azolla, while urea raise the pH values. They attributed this trend to that the fertilization with urea stimulates Azollagrowth and increases their photosynthetic activity. Therefore, the dissolved CO2 in the soil is reduced, leading to reduce the soil pH. The soil pH may be decreased due to the polysaccharides, peptides, lipids, organic acids excreted by the cyanobacteria and Azolla in to the soil. They also added that, the presence of these materials in their extracts adsorb both sodium and magnesium ions upon they get in touch with soil and thus prevent the harm effect of salinity against the cultivated plants. Salt affected soils are highly deficient in organic matter and nitrogen. The efficiency of nitrogen fertilizers is very poor due to extensive losses through volatilization in salt affected soils. Nitrogen available in the soil were also increased due to bio fertilizer treatments over the use of 100% N treatment (control). These findings were observed by Strik and Staden who explained that incorporation of fresh or dry Azolla into soil increased significantly the soil organic matter, which in turn upon its decomposition by the soil microorganisms had released the macro and micronutrients into soil, leading to increase the soil available N, P and K10. Also, under salt stress condition, cyanobacteria added to the soil either as free living and/or as Azolla symbiont lead to add to the soil organic matter, which is consequently increased the soil fertility in terms of increasing the number of soil l bacteria, evolution of CO, enzyme activities etc.11. Using cyanobacteria filtrate plus Azolla extract as foliar spraying (T9) leads to increase significantly barley yield and its components under salt stress condition. As per Abd EL-Baky et al. hlorellaellipsoida and Spirulinamaxima spray led to good growth and yield performance of of wheat compared to those received 100% N without algae extract spraying12. Also the algal extracts significantly increased the contents of the total chlorophyll and antioxidant phenomenon and there is increase of wheat fresh weight, grain weight and yield and yield components. Algal spray application significantly increased the plant nutrients content and had a positive effect on plant growth, oxidation behaviour and activity of antioxidant enzymes in plants affected by salt stress. Cyanobacteria and Azolla extracts contains cytocinins, gibberellins and auxins content to promote the plant growth and help to overcome the adverse effect of salinity in saline soil. This is why these organisms are being used as biofertilizer to increase yield especially in reclaimed and salt stressed soils13. Conclusion In conclusion, the biofertilizer Azolla extract is having good fertilizer activity. The extract acts as a desirable biological fertilizer supplement to chemical fertilizer for organic farming. The extract is non toxic, harmless, nonflammable and effective to all plants for attaining better germination, growth and yield. So we have to take necessary steps to cultivate them in large scale. Acknowledgments The author is grateful to the Head, Department of Botany and all other staff of Carmel College, Mala, Thrissur, Kerala, India for the facilities provided. Table-1 Effect of Azolla extract on germination and growth of Pisum sativum Germination % Shoot length (cm) root length (cm) Fresh weight (g) Dry weight (g) Control 85 10.5 4 1.82 0.679 5% 97 15 5.2 2.06 0.731 10 % 97 16.3 6.77 3.93 0.873 20 % 99 16.96 7.4 3.97 0.882 30 % 93 15.8 5.8 3.73 0.875 40 % 78 11.8 5.6 1.98 0.790 50 % 37 11 3.6 1.98 0.701 International Research Journal of Biological Sciences ________________________________________________ ISSN 2278-3202 Vol. 2(10), 88-90, October (2013) Int. Res. J. Biological Sci. International Science Congress Association 90 References1.Venkataraman G.S., Blue-Green Algae for rice production, FAO Soils Bull., 46, Rome, Italy, (1981) 2.Mandal B.K., Velk P.L.G and Mandal L.N., Beneficial effects of blue-green algae and Azolla, excluding supplying nitrogen, on wetland rice fields: A review, Biol. Fertil. 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