PHOTO: ANP
CROP PROTECTION ▶▶▶
Seaweed-based biostimulants enhance productivity
Indian scientists are researching the use of seaweed-based biostimulants to increase crop productivity.
BY JAGDISH KUMAR D
r Arup Ghosh of the Central Salt and Marine Chemical Research Institute, India (CSIR – CSMCR) is working on seaweed-based biostimulants that
will increase crop productivity in India by up to 37%. He says his team have succeeded in de- veloping three to four species of seaweed, incl- duing Brasileirao, Gracilaria edulis and Sargas- sum. And he has already tested the stimulant on more than 20 crops. Trials have been con- ducted on rice, maize, soybean, seasam, green gram, sugarcane, potato, tomato and other vegetables. All with good results: an 11 to 37% increase in productivity. What’s more, farmers who use seaweeds use 25% less fertiliser.
Ghosh conducted five treatments with maize plants. These were subjected to soil moisture
chemical fertiliser dosages (control) and in sev- eral cases it increased their quality.” Disinfected maize seeds were soaked in varied concentra- tions of two biostimulants. After three days, the application of seaweed extract enhanced shoot length, root length and seedling vigour. Higher shoot length, root length and vigour was noticed when seeds were soaked in 15% sap. But, when the concentration was reduced to 2.5% or increased to 20%, a significant reduction in germination was noticed.
In the open sea, seaweed does not require any water, fertiliser, pesticides or energy.
stress once or three times at critical growth stages to study the effect of Kappaphycus al- varezii seaweed extract (KSWE) on drought al- leviation as well as its effect on soil bacteria. “KSWE proved to be an effective biostimulant that enhanced crop yields by 13 to 37% more than crops treated with the recommended
Currently, India produces only 5% to 8% of the seaweed needed; the rest is imported. Current demand requires 450,000 tons of solid bio- stimulants and a few million litres of liquid bio- stimulants. In future, farmers can earn an addi- tional $ 140 ($ 210) per month by growing seaweed, Ghosh estimates. Growing seaweed in the open sea does not require any water, fertiliser, pesticides, or energy. “It’s a very green technology,” says the scientist. “We have demonstrated that on a 3×3 meter raft, we can produce 200 kg of wet, fresh biomass. This is more than you could ever get out of any crop grown on land.”
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▶ FUTURE FARMING | 22 May 2020
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