Azola Production - Economy Study

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Question: Economic study about Azola production.

a. Introduction - Azola production (how we can produce)

Answer: Azola is a type of fern that floats on the free water and consists of short floating stems and the roots of which hangs down in the water. Azola is a kind of fodder which is green and is grown on the surface of the water. The leaves of this small aquatic fern are bilobed. The roots helps them to float on water. Majorly these kind of ferns are found on stagnant water. The upper part of the leaf of azola contains a small cavity which helps in fixation of atmospheric nitrogen and makes the same available to itself. In return, this leaves gets food and shelter from the azola fern. On the death of azola, the nitrogen gets decayed in the soil and is then available for the plants. This kind of fern is usually found in temperate climate. This plant appears as a green mat over water.

Production Of Azola: The production of azola can be done even by an ordinary farmer. The multiplication method of azola are mainly two: standing water method and the nursery method. Both the methods are discussed as below:

• Standing Water Method: Under this type of multiplication method, a pond or field which contains of shallow standing water is chosen for multiplication of azola. The depth required for its cultivation should be in a range between 5-10cms. In case rapid growth of azola is required, super phosphate is applied. The azola under this method multiplies in around three weeks to form a carpet on the surface of the water. This can further be collected and used either immediately or can be dried so that it is preserved for future use. This process is repeated again and again to have more azola.

• Azola Nurseries: Under this type of method, the fern is raised is a small plots of nursery ranging from 50-100 square meters along with bulls all around so that water can stand upto 10 cm height. There can be construction of permanent nurseries for azola cultivation. For controlling percolation, polythene sheets are spread at the bottom of the nursery bed. Azola under this method, can be multiplied easily even through any broken part of the plant. This helps in production of 8-10 tons of biomass in a time span of 20 days which is again used in field either immediately or can be dried and stored for later use.

The azola is applied usually in the fields of rice in green manure form and dual crop form. Under the green manure form, the biomass of azola is incorporated before the plantation of rice into the fields. And under the dual crop form the application is made after the plantation of the same into fields.

b. Azola uses

Answer: The uses of Azola are many. Some of them are discussed as below:

• The azola is used as green manure in the seasons of Kharif and Rabi.

• It helps in the fixation of the CO2 and nitrogen present in the atmosphere and helps in the formation of carbohydrates and ammonia respectively.

• After the azola is decomposed i.e. after it dies it adds the nitrogen available with it in the soil

• The azola help in the solubilisation of Zinc, Ferrous and Magnesium and make all this available to the rice fields.

• The weed control and tender weeds are suppressed in rice fields.

• The release of vitamins naturally by azola helps in enhancing the growth of the paddy plant.

• The quality and the yield of the crop is increased using Azola

• The rate of evaporation of water is reduced from the irrigated field of rice through azola.

• In case of diary, if Azola is used as supplementary feed, the milk yield is increased.

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c. Economic analysis of azola in feed field (how many azola can produce in 1 hectare by seeds ,the production in 1 hectare, how much by dirham, the capital and operational expenses for 1 hectare production)

Answer: The cultivation of Azola is very essential since it acts as a biofertilizer and also a protein rich supplement for feeding animals. The economic analysis of Azola in the feed field can be discussed as below:

• Symbiotic Fixation: The azola being an unusual fern contains an endophyte which helps in the fixation of nitrogen in the soil. Even being aquatic, it is not dissolved in soil completely but rather it leaves nitrogen in the soil while dissolving. It is used in growing rice.

• Biological Fixation: The azola fern helps in fixation of atmospheric nitrogen which is absorbed by the plant through its leaves. In return for this, the leaves as discussed above gets food and shelter from this fern.

• Fixation of Nitrogen in Rice: The fern Azola is grown as a cover from the crops such as rice while the cultivation of rice. The major constraints to rice farmers is the maintenance of the inocula in between the seasons of crop. However, there are technology being introduced for the same.

The production of this biomass under the conditions that are available naturally is 50g/sq.m/day whereas the optimum quantity of production is 400g/sqm/day. There are many reasons for which the rate of growth is very low and the same can be increased with the reduction of rate in contamination. The growth of Azola should be in pits which is having line of synthetic sheets of polythene in open space because there should be adequate availability of sunlight. The bed size required for the cultivation is 2.5m*1.5m on which 15kg sieved soil is applied and spread. The cost of preparation of the same is dependent upon many factors viz. the labour cost and other elements. Azola is a plant which is highly productive as because it doubles its biomass within 3-10 days and yield of the same reached up to 8-10 tonnes per hectare in Asian rice fields. The main capability of Azola which is the nitrogen fixing capacity have made this fern so much popular and thus it is being widely used as fertiliser. The flooding of rice paddies are being controlled by the Azola fern. This plant while rotting releases nitrogen up to nice tonnes of protein per hectare per year.

In addition to cultivation of the azola fern, it is increasingly being used for production of livestock feed since it is rich in proteins, amino acids, minerals and vitamins. This feed is being given to cattle, pigs, ducks and chickens. The costs involved in setting up the plots for this fodder are towards trench making, poly sheet, fertile soil, cow dung, fertilizers, azola culture, poly net, pandal making and other miscellaneous expenses.

Therefore, we see that 1 hectare can produce up to nine tons of azola through seeds. The production in this can be increased through effective cultivation. The capital and the other expenses required for the production of the same have been discussed above. The inoculum rate is 250g/sqm and the yield is 10tons per hectare per week in one layer. There are many limitations of the cultivation of azola which needs to be addressed so as to optimise the use of it. Lastly, it is clear that the cultivation of Azola is an option which is the best for those farmers which requires to fix nitrogen in the fields of paddy so that the cost of feed which is supplementary can be saved in livestock. With the continuous harvesting of Azola, high proteins are obtained which is further used by farmers efficiently.

d. Recommendations ( include if its useful to cultivate and why)

Answer: The fact that the cultivation of the Azola fern is very useful can be assessed from the above analysis. The continuous harvesting of the same helps in obtaining high yields of biomass which is used by farmers in the rice fields. The cultivation of Azola should be done and should be increased over period of time since the same is cost effective and is time saving. Moreover, this fern helps in fixation of nitrogen to various aspects i.e. in environment, fixes it in the soil when it is decomposed. The growing condition of this fern is also manageable. The most important element is the fact that azola absorbs the nutrients of water and phosphorus. The high levels of protein present along with the favourable content of amino acid makes the azola biomass more suitable as feed. The azola is also used as poultry and fish feed. The use of azola is mostly in the rice fields and as a feed for certain groups of animals. The azola feeding in poultry birds helps in the improvement of the weight of the broiler chicken and thereby increases the capacity of it to lay eggs.

Therefore, it can be assessed that azola is a highly productive plant which have the capacity of producing more in less period of time depending upon the growing conditions of the same. It is thus advisable to cultivate more of this plant since it has been widely used as manure in rice fields, feed supplements in aquatic as well as terrestrial animals. Moreover, it is used to produce sustainable feed of proteins. The cultivation of this fern is very useful through various point of views mainly for the environment including plants and animals.

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