Azolla fertilizer as an alternative N source forred spinach production on alluvial and peat soils in

West Kalimantan, Indonesia

Dwi P. Widiastuti1, Jessica G. Davis1, Sutarman Gafur2

1 Colorado State University, Dept. of Soil & Crop Sciences, Fort Collins, CO, USA, 80523-1170,http://soilcrop.agsci.colostate.edu/

2 Tanjungpura University, Jl. Prof. Dr. H. Hadari Nawawi, Pontianak, West Kalimantan,Indonesia, 78124

http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/issues/hunger96163-united-nations-acute-malnutrition-indicator-sdg

http://adesojiadegbulu.com/hunger-map-2015/

• Food security in Indonesia• Sustainable Reserve Food Garden Program• Locally-grown fertilizer

The contributions of A. pinnata as a biofertilizer on red spinachproduction on Inceptisols and Histosols in West Kalimantan,Indonesia

Introduction

Azolla pinnata

Azolla

Duckweed

http://www.hear.org/pier/imagepages/singles/azospp11.htm

http://bharatnamaskar.blogspot.com/2012/07/super-plants-solution-to-food-water.html

https://azollablora.wordpress.com/2013/11/16/berbagai-manfaat-azolla/

2.5 cm

http://www.eriksjodin.net

http://www.folkecenter.net

Azolla utilizationWaste water treatment

Food

Animal feed

http://theazollafoundation.org

Anabaena azollae inside the leafcavities of Azolla mexicana

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Francisco_Carrapico

Biological nitrogen fixation

Agricultural Research Station and localfarmer, West Kalimantan, Indonesia

Sulfic Endoaquepts and Terric Sulfihemists

Tropical moist climate (IIIC and IVC)• average T > 18 oC• average RH 80.8%• annual precipitation 2000-4000 mm

Study site

http://www.worldmap1.com

Indonesian Soil Research Institute, 2004

W Kalimantan

Randomized Complete Block Design, 3 replicates

Treatments: control urea at 50 kg ha-1: ~ 23 kg N ha-1

chicken manure at 5 t ha-1 (3.19% N):~ 108 kg N ha-1

Azolla at the urea N rate (2.88% N):~ 23 kg N ha-1

Azolla at the manure N rate (~ 108 kg N ha-1)

Methods

Spinach: Red “Giti” Spinach(Indonesian Vegetable Research Institute)

Fertilizer application:• Plant ash: 3 t ha-1 (peat)• Manure and Azolla: 3 DAT• Urea: 3 and 14 DAT

Harvesting at 45 days

Materials and methods

Methods: Growing Azolla pinnata

T ≤ 30 oC and not too much high light intensity Inoculation rate: 100-200 g m-2

Plant ash: 0.75 t ha-1 (peat) Azolla harvested at 3-4 weeks

Data collection and analysis

Agronomic parameters:• Yield• Plant height• Leaf and branch numbers• Leaf N content• Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE)

Data analysis using SAS 9.4

Results

†Values followed by a different letter indicate significance difference within the same soil based on Tukey’sHSD test (p<0.10)

17.20 bc‡

22.75 ab27.10 a

15.80 c19.43 bc

5.50 b7.47 b

18.33 a

10.50 b

18.20 a

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Control Urea Manure Azolla~Urea Azolla~Manure

Yiel

d (t

ha-1

)

Yield

AlluvialPeat

Results

†Values followed by a different letter indicate significance difference within the same soil based on Tukey’sHSD test (p<0.10)

44.07 47.2750.47

42.67 45.33

29.37 c‡

35.67 bc

48.53 a

39.50 b

48.87 a

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Control Urea Manure Azolla~Urea Azolla~Manure

Plan

t hei

ght (

cm)

Plant height

Alluvial

Peat

Results

†Values followed by a different letter indicate significance difference within the peat soil based on Tukey’s HSDtest (p<0.10)

52.47 b‡59.47 ab 59.40 ab 62.93 ab 66.33 a

9.60 b 9.60 b 10.53 ab 10.53 ab 11.47 a

0

20

40

60

80

Control Urea Manure Azolla~Urea Azolla~Manure

Leaf

/bra

nch

num

ber

(per

pla

nt)

Leaf/branch number

Leafnumber

Branchnumber

Results

†Values followed by a different letter indicate significance difference within the same soil based on Tukey’sHSD test (p<0.10)

123.1 ab‡137.72 ab

179.05 a

117.02 ab 105.95 b

65.63 c 71.98 c

107.37 ab81.71 bc

130.30 a

0

50

100

150

200

250

Control Urea Manure Azolla~Urea Azolla~Manure

Leaf

N co

nten

t (kg

N h

a-1)

Leaf N content

Alluvial

Peat

Nitrogen use efficiency(Dobermann, 2005):

Agronomic efficiency of applied N = (YN - Y0)/FN

Y0 = yield in unfertilized N plot (kg)YN = yield in N plot (kg)FN = kg N applied

Results

†Values followed by a different letter indicate significance difference within the same soil based on Tukey’sHSD test (p<0.10)

241.16 a‡

91.64 b61.16 b

21.67 b

85.51118.83

217.39

117.59

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Urea Manure Azolla~Urea Azolla~Manure

NUE

(kg

spin

ach

kg-1

N)

NUE

AlluvialPeat

The agronomic parameters on the alluvial soil are relatively higher. Yield and leaf N content respond to fertilizer treatment.Urea showed significantly highest NUE on the Alluvial soil andAzolla~Urea on the peat soil. Azolla applied at the manure N rate can be used as an alternative

biofertilizer, especially for peat soil.

Conclusions

Acknowledgements• Sustainable Management of Agricultural Research and Technology

Disseminations (SMARTD)-Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Researchand Development (IAARD)-Ministry of Agriculture, Republic of Indonesia

• Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cyanobacterialbiofertilizer team-Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA

• Agricultural Research Station team in Sei Kakap and Assessment Institutefor Agricultural Technology of West Kalimantan, Indonesia

• Subroto-local farmer in Siantan, West Kalimantan, Indonesia

Thank You