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Azolla caroliniana Fig 2. Azolla microphylla Fig 3. Azolla pinnata
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Azolla is a free-floating fern that grows in temperate and tropical climates. As fern cavity dorsal leaves are specialised for storing atmospheric nitrogen (N), cyanobacteria fix the N in the atmosphere.
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... Extensive research has unveiled numerous potential applications of Azolla, including its use as livestock feed (Shukla et al. 2018), a source of human nutrition (Liu et al. 2008), a resource for biofuel production (Miranda et al. 2016), a contributor to biogas generation (Sathammaipriya et al. 2018), a promising biolarvicide (Ravi et al. 2010), a tool for water purification (Liu et al. 2017, Arora andKaur 2019), an agent with antimicrobial properties (Ekawati and Pradana 2019), and a means to enhance soil microbial diversity (Lu and Lu 2018). In addition, with this, it plays a significant role in mitigating atmospheric CO 2 levels (Speelman et al. 2009, Verma et al. 2022, Korsa et al. 2024. The beneficial properties of Azolla are outlined in Figure 1. ...
Azolla, also known as “green gold” or “super plant,” is a nitrogen-fixing pteridophyte found in temperate and tropical freshwater ecosystems. This free-floating aquatic fern, native to Asia, Africa, and the Americas, thrives in diverse aquatic habitats, including swamps, ditches, lakes, and shallow rivers. It generates full biomass in a relatively short period of time. It acts as a nitrogen biofertilizer and boosts rice productivity. Beyond its role in agriculture, Azolla serves as a versatile resource, finding applications in livestock feed, human nutrition, hydrogen fuel production, biogas generation, pest control, and water purification. Notably, Azolla exhibits hyperaccumulation capabilities for various heavy metal contaminants and can effectively absorb ammonium and phosphorous from wastewater. Moreover, it possesses antimicrobial properties and a rich array of phytochemical compounds, promising multifaceted benefits in diverse fields. This review highlights the vast potential of Azolla, emphasizing its suitability for extensive research and development in food, feed, and fodder applications, as well as household cultivation and utilization. To fully harness the myriad advantages offered by Azolla and promote sustainability across various sectors, further exploration and investigation into its untapped applications remain imperative. Azolla holds the key to addressing numerous environmental, agricultural, and industrial challenges, paving the way for a more sustainable and resource-efficient future.
... Azolla is used in agriculture for a wide range of purposes, including biofertilizer, human food, cow and poultry feed, weed and mosquito control, and human food. It has been demonstrated that Azolla inoculation enhances rice yield and growth under a variety of agroecological conditions [24]. Tey are easy to grow in a short period, are produced in a small area, have high nutritional composition, play a great role in agriculture, produce bioenergy, are of low cost, are environmentally friendly, and so on. ...
... Azolla mat on the surface of the water can prevent mosquito egg hatching and adult emergence, Azolla can also be used to deter mosquitoes. An investigation of water bodies, including ponds, wells, rice felds, and channels, revealed that the breeding of Anopheles spp. was almost eliminated in water bodies that were completely covered with Azolla [24]. Additionally, cultivating Azolla in and around the poultry farm and feeding it to the poultry birds can minimize the odor, house fy population, and mosquito threat [33]. ...
... Green Azolla has grown twice as a dual crop in rice at 500 kg·ha −1 , enriching soil nitrogen by 50 kg·ha −1 and reducing nitrogen requirement by 20-30 kg·ha −1 . Azolla increases rice production by 20-30% [24]. Azolla is notable for its massive growth capacity, which is primarily due to its ability to fx atmospheric nitrogen via its symbiotic cyanobacteria Nostoc azollae, which lives within specialized leaf cavities of Azolla and performs a variety of signifcant ecological benefts [96]. ...
Globally, the human population is growing at an alarming rate, reducing land coverage over time. In the modern world, lifestyle changes, the nature of work, and food habits increase the incidence of serious diseases in animals, and human activity influences the environment, such as the use of chemical fertilizers for agriculture, large terrestrial ecosystems all over the biosphere, such as deforestation of plants, which could not sink from atmospheric CO2, and the production of fuels for energy, which would increase the need for fossil fuels but would also deliver low energy fuels at a high energy cost. To overcome the above problems, Azolla plants perform well since they can be grown at low labor costs, on small plots of land, and for a variety of purposes including animal feed/livestock, poultry and fish production, environmental remediation, biofertilizer and biocontrol for mosquito repellents, carbon sequestration of CO2, and bioenergy effectiveness all year. As a result of their low impact on the environment and human health, Azolla plants are becoming increasingly important. The purpose of this review is to provide evidence of Azolla plant production and its potential role in various applications for a greener, more sustainable approach. This review was progressive in that it assessed and produced peer-reviewed papers related to Azolla plant production and its potential role in different applications for a sustainable greener approach. Based on the findings of reputable educational journals, articles were divided into three categories: methods used to produce the nutritional composition of Azolla, environmental factors that affect the efficiency of Azolla plants, and strain improvement of Azolla for enhanced multipurposes and techniques that are currently being used to meet Azolla plants production and its prospective applications for different sustainable greener approaches. The present findings indicate that Azolla is a rich source of protein, which has a clear benefit in offsetting a portion of the nutritional needs of animal/livestock, poultry, and fish production with what is effectively a low-cost dietary supplement, biocontrol of mosquito repellent, environmental bioremediation, biofertilizer, carbon sequester of CO2, and bioenergy for the potential need of Azolla plant applications. Azolla plants have long been recognized for their benefits in greener and more sustainable lifestyles, as well as quality enhancement and bio-based economy over traditional approaches. Because it relied on natural resources and utility green production, this review’s recovery was chosen as an appropriate and environmentally sound solution for a long and healthy lifestyle.
... Azolla caroliniana is mostly cultivated in high humidity (80-90%) and low light intensity (50%) conditions. Further, it is reported from environments with high nitrogenase activity [16]. Winds and waves cause vulnerable to disruption in water surfaces for the growth of Azolla spp. ...
... Several studies have reported that Azolla enhances crop yield [24]. Azolla as an effective biofertilizer, reduces the negative impacts of synthetic fertilizers on long-term soil fertility, while enhancing the soil fertility [12] due to increment of total nitrogen, organic carbon and phosphorus availability [17,25]. The average nitrogen fixing rate can range between 1.0 to 2.6 kg N ha -1 day -1 [16]. Nitrogen is a vital element for proteins, nucleic acids and other organic nitrogenous composites [21]. ...
... It can be considered as a possible source of organic manure and nitrogen in paddy cultivation because it comprises of 0.2-0.4% nitrogen on a wet basis and 4-5% on a dry basis [26]. Azolla as the basal application of 10-12 tones ha -1 improves nitrogen in soil by 50-60 kg ha -1 and decreases the nitrogen fertilizer necessity by 30-35 kg [16]. Also, Azolla has proven to produce twice as a dual crop in rice at 500 kg ha -1 , while improving the soil nitrogen by 50 kg ha -1 and cutting the nitrogen requirement by 20-30 kg ha -1 . ...
The present economic crisis in Sri Lanka has limited the usage of inorganic fertilizers in agriculture sector. Furthermore, animal husbandry, the other branch of agriculture has problems due to high prices of animal feed and unavailability. The concept of using Azolla spp. as a multifaceted resource for sustainable agriculture, which facilitates the environment-friendly green concept, is receiving great attention in the present crisis. Azolla is a small floating, fast-growing aquatic fern distributed globally. Because of its growth habitat, high biomass production and nitrogen-fixing ability, it has acquired substantial value in the agriculture sector, especially as a nitrogen supplier to plants. Besides its usage as a fertilizer, Azolla can be used as a nutrient provision for animals, human food, phyto-remediating agent, weed controller, mosquito controller, medicinal plant, and a substrate for biogas production. It is a feed rich in protein, which can be used to feed farm animals, poultry, and fish. As well, it is found to be a more affordable additional feed supplement for the animals. The nitrogen-fixing ability of Azolla with the aid of a symbiotic cyanobacterium Anabaena azollae has led to the exploitation of Azolla as an effective nitrogen fertilizer and a protein supplier. Also, it helps to conserve water, sequestrate carbon, and appropriate for integrated farming systems. Azolla is grown in many countries for the aforementioned uses and its cultivation aligns with the goals of sustainable and environmentally conscious agriculture. Azolla can be easily grown in containers, soil pits or cement tanks that hold water. The required conditions should be supplied, including optimum light intensity, relative humidity, pH, salinity macro and micronutrients, etc. This review addresses the morphology of Azolla, its symbiotic relationship, and the potential usages for sustainable agriculture as a new effort for the green agriculture among Sri Lankan farmers.
Azolla pinnata is a floating aquatic plant with several benefits as a source of feed in aquaculture and animal as well as a phytoremediator. Research with two replications was carried out at RC for Limnology and Water Resources laboratory on May 2022 to explore information on its nutritional content, growth ability and function as a phytoremediator. The growth ability research was carried out in-door using media of catfish cultivation wastewater varied in concentration (100%, 60%, and 30%), and the observation period of 3 days for 15 days. Azolla pinnata contains nutrition (% dry weight): ash: 31.20; fat: 12.37; protein: 27.16; fibre: 11.15; and Nitrogen Free Extract: 18.12, respectively. There were 15 types of amino acids, as much as 1.59 % w/w. On the 15th day, the highest growth was seen in the media with 100% concentration, where the culture density was 310.47 g/m ² , specific growth rate (SGR) was 15.38%, and productivity was 35.93 g/m ² /day. At the same media, Total Phosphate (TP) elimination rates were 46.06%, and Total Nitrogen (TN) was 79.474%. Azolla pinnata can be cultivated in catfish wastewater to provide nutritious feed as well as to reduce the content of TP and TN.
