Effective Role of Micro Organisms and Sea Weeds as Bio-Fertilizers in Organic Farming for a Sustainable Environment

Transcription

1 Effective Role of Micro Organisms and Sea Weeds as Bio-Fertilizers in Organic Farming for a Sustainable Environment Prof. S.B. Padhi, D.Sc. Algal Research Laboratory Department of Botany Berhampur University, Bhanjabihar Berhampur (ORISSA)

2 OBJECTIVES OF ORGANIC FARMING Prevention of Environmental Pollution Protection of health and life of Human being Microbial inoculants Eco-friendly management of diseases Biotechnological applications

3 IMPACT OF CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS AND PESTICIDES Low organic matter in the soil Problem associated with residual toxicity Increased hazards and outbreak of pest, diseases and weeds Deterioration in quality of produce Adverse effect on flora and fauna Poor water holding capacity of the soil Compaction of soil structure Soil becomes infertile for cultivations and causes serious state of degradation Soil minerals are depleted Soil remains in dying state Agriculture becomes increasingly destabilized Farmer suicides are mounting. Loss of adequate food, nutritional, livelihood and ecological security and at times life itself

4 PRINCIPLES OF ORGANIC FARMING To establish, maintain and increase soil living system To restore to the soil the organic matter to hold its fertility To restore to the soil a balanced system of function Restoration of soils through mineralization Building of soil structure Cultivating the soil-ecosystem There three components of soil restoration are interlinked and have a highly beneficial on each other

5 ORGANIC FARMING SOIL RESTORATION SOIL MINERALS Calcium Magnesium Phosphate Potassium Sulphur Sodium Bismuth Zinc Manganese Iron Copper SOIL STRUCTURE Air Water Soil aggregates Tilage SOIL BIOLOGY Crop rotation Green Manure Compost

6 ORGANIC FARMING - Challenges Organic Farming Prevents: The use of synthetically compounded fertilizers Pesticides Growth regulators Organic Farming Depends: Crop rotation Crop residues Animal manures Farm organic wastes Mechanical cultivation Mineral beating rocks Biological pest control

7 ORGANIC FARMING - Strategies & Issues Blending of traditional eco-friendly technologies with frontier-technologies to meet requirement of nutrition and health security of increasing population Organic farming products need to be encouraged for health security Agronomical practices need to be preferred Can regulate round the year availability of crop products to meet the requirement of domestic and overseas market Biotechnological approaches such as vermiculture, bio-pesticides, bio-fertilizers and micro-propagations have to be blended judiciously with traditional practices for sustaining production of organic crops

8 ORGANIC FARMING - Advantages A better and balanced environment Results in healthy and productive soils Reduce dependence on costly chemicals Better food and higher living standard to the human population Better long term future of agriculture Low cost agricultural development Yields showing significant improvement Less energy requirement Offer excellent opportunities for the employment of skilled labour Put the natural resources available in India to efficient use Less occurrence of pest incidence Governed by the principle of Ecology Biologically active soil is the foundation of organic farming More resistant to pest and diseases An urgent remedial measure to prevent cultivable lands from turning into deserts

9 Benefits from BIO-FERTILIZERS It is a low cost and easy technique It is a renewable bio-fertilizer Can be used by small and marginal farmers It is free from pollution hazards and increase soil fertility Application of algal bio-fertilizers increase in rice yields ranges between per cent After 3-4 consequent years, the algal effects become consistent and therefore no need of using this practices Algalization causes kg N left over the soil and can be used for subsequent crops Cyanobacteria secrete growth promoting substances, like IAA, IBA, NAA, Aminoacids, proteins, vitamins etc. They add sufficient amount of organic matter in soil Cyanobacteria can grow and multiply under wide ph range of They can be used on the possible tool to reclaim saline or alkaline soil Rhizobial bio-fertilizer can fit kg N/ ha/ Annum Azotobacter and Azospiriullum besides supplying N to soil, secrete antibiotics which act as pesticides Azolla supplies N, increases organic matter and fertility in soil and shows tolerance against heavy metals The bio-fertilizers increase physico-chemical properties of soils like soil texture, structure, water holding capacity, cation exchange capacity and ph by providing several nutrients and sufficient organic matter The mycorrhizal biofertilizers make the host plants available with certain elements, increase longevity and surface area of roots, reduce plant response of soil, stresses and increase resistances to plants

10 BLUE-GREEN ALGAE (Cynobacteria( Cynobacteria) Characteristics: Cyanobacteria or blue-green algae (BGA) the only source of nitrogenous biofertilizers produced at practically no energy cost of making Photoautotrophic microbes, utilize solar energy to reduce atmosphere dinitrogen to ammonia Have very simple inorganic requirements for growth Mass production is cheaper and easier than conventional chemical fertilizers Nitrogen Fixing BLUE-GREEN ALGAE: BGA form the most promising biological system in the rice fields soils of India In addition to contributing nitrogen, benefit the crop in many other ways

11 Blue-Green ALGAE (Cynobacteria( Cynobacteria)

12 ALGALIZATION Characteristics: A process of application of algal culture in field as bio-fertilizer Late Prof. Venkatraman (1961) initiated algalization technology in India Objectives of Technology Development & Demonstration Projects on Cynobacterial Bio-Fertilizers: To develop low cost indigenous technology for mass production of cyanobacteria To isolate regional specific fast growing and better N2-fixing strain To develop low cost indigenous technology for mass production of cyanobacteria To isolate regional specific fast growing and better N2-fixing strain To develop starter inoculum To demonstrate the farmers in field To study the benefits on both economy and ecology Blue-green algae represent a self-supporting biological agent They can photosynthetically provide energy for nitrogen fixation Cyanobacteria could excrete ammonia under flooded rice soil conditions Thus this potential group of nitrogen fixation algae may be better exploited for harnessing atmospheric nitrogen.

13 ALGAL BIO-FERTILIZER: Mass Cultivation Techniques: Germ plasm collection laboratories maintain development of starter inoculum Species of Anabaena, Cylindrospermum, Gloeotrichia, Nostoc, Plectonema, Tolypothrix are starter inoculum Laboratory culture are maintained in test tubes and conical flasks Methods of Mass Cultivation: Cemented tank method Shallow metals troughs method Polythene lined pit method Field method

14 ALGAL Culture Laboratory at Berhampur University

15 ALGAL Laboratory Cultures

16 ALGAL Tank Cultures

17 ALGAL Mass Cultivation

18 Characteristics: AZOLLA Azolla is an aquatic heterosporous fern which contains an endophytic cyanobacterium, Anabaena Azolla in its leaf cavity Azolla bio-fertilizer technology has become very popular in China, Indonesia, Philippines, India and Bangladesh Azolla Species are of following seven categories as known so far: a) A. caroliniana b) A. filiculoides c) A. mexicana d) A. microphylla e) A. nilotica f) A. pinnata g) A. rubra A. pinnata is commonly found in India. Azolla mat is harvested and dried to use as green manure. Two methods for its application in field: 1) Incorporation of Azolla in soil prior to rice plantation. 2) Transplantation of rice followed by water draining and incorporation of Azolla

19 AZOLLA as Organic Fertilizers

20 MYCORRHIZA AS BIO-FERTILIZER Characteristics: Its multifarious role in plant growth and yield. Resistance against climatic and edaphic stresses, pathogens and pests. Types of MYCORRHIZAS: Ectomycorrhiza Endomycorrhiza Ectendomycorrhiza

21 Benefits from MYCORRHIZA to PLANTS They increase the longevity of feeder roots, surface area of rots by forming mantle and spreading mycelia into soil Rate of absorption of major and minor nutrients from soil increases Enhanced growth is the consequence Play a key role for selective absorption of immobile and mobile elements to plants VA mycorrhizal fungi enhance water uptake in plants VA mycorrhizal fungi reduce plant responses to soil stress VA mycorrhizal fungi decrease transplant socks to seedlings They produce organic glue which bind soil particles into aggregates Play a significant role augmenting soil fertility and plant nutrition They increase resistance in plant and reduce the effects of pathogens and pests on plant health

22 Characteristics: SEA WEEDS Seaweeds are macroscopic marine algae and belongs mainly to: Rhodophyta Phaeophyta Chlorophyta Indian coastal areas is rich in algal diversity The coastal states like Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Andaman and Nicobar islands have luxuriant growth of seaweeds Gracilaria, Gelidium, Sargassum, Hypnea, Ulva, Turbinaria are economically important seaweeds

23 SEA WEEDS as Organic Fertilizers In agriculture seaweeds acts as useful soil conditioners, fertilizers and green manure They are rich in having a variety of elements They are easily available, easily decomposed and possess trace elements. They are good soil conditioners Seaweed is a complex manure containing all the major and minor plant nutrients, several auxins and gibberllins, a wide range of vitamins and amino acids and carbohydrates Grateloupia lithophila Euchuma

24 SEA WEEDS Halymenia sp. Halymenia sp. Halymenia sp.

25 SEA WEEDS Marketing Products

26 SEA WEEDS Processing & Packaging Halymenia sp. Solaeria

27 SEA-WEEDS of Chilka Lake, Orissa

28 SEA-WEEDS of Chilka Lake, Orissa

29 SEA-WEED USAGE Liquid Sea-Weed Extracts: Maxicrop the first commercial production of LSF in U.K. The other commercially labeled seaweed extracts are Algifert, Goemar, GA 14, Seaspray, Seasol, S.M. 3, Cytex and Seacrop 16 Benefits of Liquid Sea-Weed Extracts: Increased crop yield Resistance of plants to frost Increased uptake of inorganic constituents from the soil Reduction in storage and losses of fruit Increased growth and vigor Seaweed compost added to soil increased the uptake of major nutrients Liquid seaweed fertilizer is a unique combination of N.P.K. trace elements, alginates and simple sugars in dissolved form Commercial use of concentrated seaweed extracts as foliar spray, in seed treatments and rot dips have been increased for more rapidly

30 ORGANIC FARMING - CONCLUSIONS Organic farming can emerge as a market oriented commercially viable and ecologically sustainable means of producing food and raw materials to benefit to small farmers A suitable technology that enhance the livelihood opportunities in rural areas employment, income and food security Extensive regional trials would need to be conducted with the product to determine the environmental limits on biological activity and monitor the survival and dispersal of the inocula. Hence use of modern agriculture in conjunction with traditional farming practices is the suitable solution for the future Food security and nutrition safety could reduce the burden of hunger, malnutrition if implemented effectively With all these positive examples of organic farming it should be translated into an enabling policy for small farmers

31