Book Description
This book entitled Azolla Biofertilizer for Sustainable Rice Production contains the valuable informations from the vast experiences of the authors Professor Dr S Kannaiyan and Dr K Kumar in the field of Azolla-Anabaena symbiosis for the past 25 years. It is written with the objective of providing basic knowledge and practical technologies on the effective utilization of Azolla as an ecofriendly and economically viable biofertilizer for sustainable rice production. It gives an access to the latest informations on the biology of Azolla, growth, sporulation, N2 fixation, ammonia assimilation and mineralization process in rice ecosystem. It offers a good deal of practical technologies for maximum exploitation of the potential status of Azolla biofertilizer viz., mass production techniques of fresh biomass, sporocarp inoculum, carrier based immobilized cyanobacterial inoculant, field application and methods for enhancing N use efficiency of this technology. It also covers the utilty of Azolla as supplemental animal feed and the economics of usage of Azolla as biofertilizer for rice. Illustrative colour photographs have been included in various chapters for easy understanding of the subject by readers. This book will be very useful for the scientists, researchers, postgraduate students, extension workers and voluntary organizations involved in the crop management technology for sustainable rice production. Contents Chapter 1: Azolla Biofertilizer: Potentials and Prospects; Chapter 2: Biological Fertilizers for Sustainable Crop Production in Rice Based System; Chapter 3: Origin of Azolla Cultivation; Chapter 4: Taxonomy and Morphological Characters of Azolla; Chapter 5: Biodiversity of Azolla and its Algal Symbiont Anabaena azollae as Revealed by Molecular and Immunological Studies; Chapter 6: Growth Rate and Doubling Time of Azolla; Chapter 7: Molecular Biology and Ultrastructures of Azolla Anabaena Symbiosis; Chapter 8: Algal Symbionts of Azolla; Chapter 9: Nutrition of Azolla; Chapter 10: Factors Influencing the Growth of Azolla; Chapter 11: Nitrogen Fixation by Azolla; Chapter 12: Assimilation of Carbon and Nitrogen in the Symbiotic Association of Azolla Anabaena System; Chapter 13: Sporulation Process in Azolla and Sporocarp Technology for Rice; Chapter 14: Azolla as Biofertilizer for Rice; Chapter 15: Immobilization of Cyanobacteria in Solid Matrix; Chapter 16: Ammonia Production by the Immobilized Cyanobacteria for Rice Crop; Chapter 17: Production and Application of Azolla Fresh Biomass and Sporocarp Inoculum for Rice; Chapter 18: Nitrification Inhibitors with Azolla on Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Rice Crop; Chapter 19: Pests of Azolla; Chapter 20: Black Rot Disease Interactions and Nitrogen Fixation in Azolla; Chapter 21: Azolla as Animal Feed; Chapter 22: Economic Analysis of Azolla Use.