Advancements in the Utilization of Azolla-Anabaena System in Relation to Sustainable Agricultural Practices

The nitrogen fixing aquatic pteridophyte Azolla has the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen at cheaper and faster rates due to the presence of a symbiotic cyanobacterium Anabaena azollae. Because of this property it has been exploited widely as biofertilizer for rice plants. In addition to this it has several other uses such as food, feed, biogas producer and hyperaccumulator of heavy metals etc. Because of the multifaceted uses the promotion and use of Azolla-Anabaena system would be ideal and environment friendly in sustainable agriculture. This article provides a brief account of the importance as well as developments in the utilization of Azolla-Anabaena system in agriculture and allied sectors.

[1]  R. Benedict.  Morphology of Vascular Plants; Lower Groups , 1937 .

[2]  H. K. Svenson.  The New World Species of Azolla , 1944 .

[3]  B. Gopal,et al.  AZOLLA PRIMAEVA AND ITS PHYLOGENETIC SIGNIFICANCE , 1967 .

[4]  G. A. Peters,et al.  The Azolla, Anabaena azollae Relationship: I. Initial Characterization of the Association. , 1974, Plant physiology.

[5]  I. Watanabe,et al.  The utilization of the Azolla - Anabaena complex as a nitrogen fertilizer for rice , 1977 .

[6]  P. Singh.  Use of azolla in rice production in India. , 1979 .

[7]  P. Singh,et al.  Blue-green algae or Azolla additions on the nitrogen and phosphorus availability and redox potential of a flooded rice soil , 1982 .

[8]  I. Watanabe.  Azolla—Anabaena symbiosis — its physiology and use in tropical agriculture , 1982 .

[9]  T. Lumpkin,et al.  Azolla as a Green Manure: Use and Management in Crop Production , 1982 .

[10]  K. Sahrawat.  Mineralization of soil organic nitrogen under waterlogged conditions in relation to other properties of tropical rice soils , 1983 .

[11]  P. Singh,et al.  Sporocarp germination, cytology and mineral nutrition of Azolla , 1984 .

[12]  P. Singh,et al.  The influence of fertilizers on sporocarp formation inAzolla pinnata , 1987, Proceedings / Indian Academy of Sciences.

[13]  P. Singh.  Use of Azolla in Asian agriculture , 1989 .

[14]  B. S. Mahapatra,et al.  Integrated management of Sesbania, Azolla and urea nitrogen in lowland rice under a rice–wheat cropping system , 1989, The Journal of Agricultural Science.

[15]  G. A. Peters,et al.  The Azolla-Anabaena Symbiosis: Basic Biology , 1989 .

[16]  R. Singh,et al.  Collection and Germination of Sporocarps of Azolla caroliniana , 1990 .

[17]  T. Lumpkin,et al.  The Anabaena-Azolla symbiosis: Diversity and relatedness of neotropical host taxa , 1991 .

[18]  T. Lumpkin,et al.  Aspects of the genetic and botanical status of Neotropical Azolla species , 1991 .

[19]  R. Singh,et al.  Growth, acetylene reduction activity, nitrate uptake and nitrate reductase activity of Azolla caroliniana and Azolla pinnata at varying nitrate levels , 1992 .

[20]  I. Watanabe,et al.  Genetic diversity and phylogeny analysis of Azolla based on DNA amplification by arbitrary primers. , 1993, Genome.

[21]  A. Dewanji.  Amino acid composition of leaf proteins extracted from some aquatic weeds , 1993 .

[22]  S. Kannaiyan.  Nitrogen contribution by Azolla to rice crop , 1993 .

[23]  K. Giller,et al.  Nitrogen Fixation in Tropical Cropping Systems , 1993 .

[24]  S. Adebitan.  Some factors influencing the growth and sporulation of Colletotrichum truncatum in culture media , 1994 .

[25]  P. Singh,et al.  Response of Azolla Caroliniana and Rice to Phosphorus Enrichment of the Azolla Inoculum and Phosphorus Fertilization During Intercropping , 1995, Experimental Agriculture.

[26]  C. Basudha,et al.  Formulated feed based on aquatic weed Azolla and fish meal for rearing medium carp Osteobrama belangeri (Valenciennes). , 1997 .

[27]  B. Mandal,et al.  NUTRITION OF RICE (ORYZA SATIVA) THROUGH AZOLLA, ORGANIC MATERIALS AND UREA , 1997 .

[28]  D. Singh,et al.  Influence of gibberellic acid on the sporulation of Azolla caroliniana, Azolla microphylla and Azolla pinnata , 1999, Biology and Fertility of Soils.

[29]  Y. Singh,et al.  Rate of mineralization of azolla, other organic materials, and urea in waterlogged soils , 2000 .

[30]  D. Singh,et al.  INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT PHOSPHORUS MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES ON THE SPORULATION AND GROWTH OF AZOLLA , 2001, Experimental Agriculture.

[31]  J. Monza,et al.  Cyanobacteria in Uruguayan rice fields: diversity, nitrogen fixing ability and tolerance to herbicides and combined nitrogen. , 2001, Journal of biotechnology.

[32]  D. Singh,et al.  Azolla sporulation in response to application of some selected auxins and their combination with gibberellic acid , 2002, Biology and Fertility of Soils.

[33]  S. Dawar,et al.  COMPARISON OF SOIL- AND NUTRIENT-BASED MEDIUM FOR MAINTENANCE OF AZOLLA CULTURES , 2002 .

[34]  P. Singh,et al.  Comparison of biomass productivity and nitrogen fixing potential of Azolla SPP , 2003 .

[35]  S. K. Misra,et al.  Influence of source of organics and soil organic matter content on cyanobacterial nitrogen fixation and distributional pattern under different water regimes , 2004 .

[36]  W. Ventura,et al.  Green manure production of Azolla microphylla and Sesbania rostrata and their long-term effects on rice yields and soil fertility , 1993, Biology and Fertility of Soils.

[37]  J. Duncan,et al.  Batch studies on the removal of gold(III) from aqueous solution by Azolla filiculoides , 2001, Biotechnology Letters.

[38]  P. Vlek,et al.  Influence of urea on biological N2 fixation and N transfer from Azolla intercropped with rice , 2003, Plant and Soil.

[39]  P. Singh,et al.  Growth and acetylene reduction activity ofAzolla caroliniana Willd. as influenced by split applications of urea fertilizer and their response on rice yield , 1988, Fertilizer research.

[40]  .. S.Krishnakumar,et al.  Microbial Population and Enzymatic Activity as Influenced by Organic Farming , 2005 .

[41]  P. Singh,et al.  Comparative efficiency of Azolla, blue-green algae and other organic manures in relation to N and P availability in a flooded rice soil , 1981, Plant and Soil.

[42]  J. Burgess,et al.  Performance of Dead Azolla filiculoides Biomass in Biosorption of Au from Wastewater , 2005, Biotechnology Letters.

[43]  A. Arora,et al.  Cultivation of Azolla microphylla biomass on secondary-treated Delhi municipal effluents , 2005 .

[44]  B. K. Mandal,et al.  Growth Performance and Production of Organically Cultured Grass Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella (Val.) Under Mid-Hill Conditions of Meghalaya; North Eastern India , 2006 .

[45]  G. A. Peters,et al.  Phylogenetic Relationships in the Heterosporous Fern Genus Azolla (Azollaceae) Based on DNA Sequence Data from Three Noncoding Regions , 2006, International Journal of Plant Sciences.

[46]  D. Sharma,et al.  Tolerance and phytoaccumulation of Chromium by three Azolla species , 2006 .

[47]  P. Singh,et al.  Impact of Organic Farming on Yield and Quality of BASMATI Rice and Soil Properties , 2007 .

[48]  K. Pryer,et al.  Phylogeny and Divergence Time Estimates for the Fern Genus Azolla (Salviniaceae) , 2007, International Journal of Plant Sciences.

[49]  K. Sithara,et al.  Formulation of low -cost feed using azolla as a protein supplement and its influence on feed utilization in fishes , 2008 .

[50]  T. Lumpkin,et al.  Azolla: Botany, physiology, and use as a green manure , 1980, Economic Botany.

[51]  P. Rai.  Technical Note: Phytoremediation of Hg and Cd from Industrial Effluents using an Aquatic Free Floating Macrophyte Azolla Pinnata , 2008, International journal of phytoremediation.

[52]  G. M. Wagner.  Azolla: A review of its biology and utilization , 2008, The Botanical Review.

[53]  A. Moore.  Azolla: Biology and agronomic significance , 2008, The Botanical Review.

[54]  S. Senthilkumar,et al.  Effect of dietary inclusion of azolla (Azolla pinnata) on production performance of broiler chicken , 2009 .

[55]  S. G. Mashkani,et al.  Biotechnological potential of Azolla filiculoides for biosorption of Cs and Sr: Application of micro-PIXE for measurement of biosorption , 2009 .

[56]  B. D. Tripathi,et al.  Comparative assessment of Azolla pinnata and Vallisneria spiralis in Hg removal from G.B. Pant Sagar of Singrauli Industrial region, India , 2009, Environmental monitoring and assessment.

[57]  J. Suresh,et al.  Azolla(Azolla pinnata) as Feed Supplement in Buffalo Calves on Growth Performance , 2009 .

[58]  Saeid Ghorbanzadeh Mashkani,et al.  Biotechnological potential of Azolla filiculoides for biosorption of Cs and Sr: Application of micro-PIXE for measurement of biosorption. , 2009, Bioresource technology.

[59]  B. J. Prabina,et al.  Dried Azolla as a nutritionally rich cost effective and immuno-modulatory feed supplement for broilers. , 2010 .

[60]  P. Rai.  Heavy metal pollution in lentic ecosystem of sub-tropical industrial region and its phytoremediation. , 2010, International journal of phytoremediation.

[61]  P. Rai.  Microcosm Investigation on Phytoremediation of Cr Using Azolla Pinnata , 2009, International journal of phytoremediation.

[62]  A. Mishra,et al.  Potentiality of Azolla as a suitable P-biofertilizer under salinity through acid phosphatase activity , 2010 .

[63]  O. Meurman.  CYTOLOGICAL STUDIES IN THE GENUS RIBES L , 2010 .

[64]  M. Oliveira,et al.  Morphological and genetic diversity of the family Azollaceae inferred from vegetative characters and RAPD markers , 2011, Plant Systematics and Evolution.

[65]  D. W. Dhar,et al.  Influence of organic nutrient management on Basmati rice (Oryza sativa)– wheat (Triticum aestivum)–greengrsam (Vigna radiata) cropping system , 2011 .

[66]  R. Prasanna,et al.  Phytoremediation Potential of Aquatic Macrophyte, Azolla , 2012, AMBIO.

[67]  B. Chefetz,et al.  Removal of Silver and Lead Ions from Water Wastes Using Azolla filiculoides, an Aquatic Plant, Which Adsorbs and Reduces the Ions into the Corresponding Metallic Nanoparticles Under Microwave Radiation in 5 min , 2011 .

[68]  J. Tapia,et al.  Water phytoremediation of cadmium and copper using Azolla filiculoides Lam. in a hydroponic system , 2012 .

[69]  C. Gopinath,et al.  Importance of azolla as a sustainable feed for livestock and poultry - a review. , 2012 .

[70]  K. Bhuvaneshwari.  Beneficial effects of Blue- Green Algae and Azolla in rice culture , 2012, Environment Conservation Journal.

[71]  K. Dhama,et al.  Evaluation of azolla (Azolla pinnata) as a poultry feed and its role in poverty alleviation among landless people in northern plains of India. , 2012 .

[72]  S. Parashuramulu,et al.  PROTEIN FRACTIONATION AND IN VITRO DIGESTIBILITY OF AZOLLA IN RUMINANTS , 2013 .

[73]  B. C. Patra,et al.  EFFECT OF REPLACEMENT OF FISHMEAL BY AZOLLA LEAF MAEL ON GROWTH, FOOD UTILIZATION, PANCREATIC PROTEASE ACTIVITY AND RNA/DNA RATIO IN THE FINGERLINGS OF LABEO , 2022 .