For centuries, rice farmers in China & Vietnam
have been using azolla as a green manure in their wetland fields. The aquatic fern fixes nitrogen
directly from the atmosphere (with the help of blue-green algae called Anabaena
azollae which lives symbiotically in the leaf cavities of the floating plant)
and nourishes the fields. The protein content of azolla is about 20-30% of dry
weight making it a good feed supplement for cattle, poultry & fish. The tiny
plants are used to purify and recover nutrients from waste water. Azolla
requires zero agricultural land and less water compared to terrestrial crops.
Recent
studies show that azolla can generate biomass upto165 ton/hectare/year dry matter
which is many times higher that can be achieved in the case of popular energy crops
and azolla biomass yields high amounts of methane (480 l/kg) - which is
equivalent to natural gas, besides giving
us speciality chemicals, jet fuel and bioplastic.
2 comments:
I am using mulch filter and Azolla pond for an experimental grey water system at my home. It is working well, and I would like to be in direct contact with people doing this in India.
Anyone who would like to contact me, please feel free.
Thanks for providing such a good information.
Domestic Biogas Plant in Bangalore
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