This document provides information on cultivating the aquatic fern Azolla. It notes that Azolla is a sustainable feed source for various livestock that is high in nutrients. The document outlines the benefits of Azolla, including as a feed source, biofertilizer, weed control, and for mosquito control. It then provides detailed instructions for cultivating Azolla, including creating a pond, adding soil and nutrients, and maintaining optimal growing conditions. Tips are included for harvesting and feeding Azolla to animals. In conclusion, the document states that Azolla cultivation can reduce costs associated with feed and fertilizer when grown properly.

1. About the author View All Posts amar sawant Amar Sawant is an entrepreneur, farmer, and writer. He works more than ten
years as agri-entrepreneur. Always busy in farm to find something new.
July 3, 2018
Azolla Cultivation Guide ( Rich proteins feed for cattle,
poultry, fish and pig)
agricultureguruji.com/azolla-cultivation/
Azolla, a wonderful plant and it is a branched free-floating aquatic fern, and it rapidly grows
on the surface of the water.
Many farmers due to Limited resources they often struggle to produce sufficient feed for
that animals. But Azolla is the right option in front of them.
Azolla is ideal sustainable feed for cattle, fish, pig, and poultry apart from this its also used
as biofertilizer in the farm. Hence many farmers attract toward the Azolla cultivation.
Azolla cultivation is popular in countries like China, Vietnam, and the Philippines, etc.
Azolla fixes nitrogen it is an excellent source of nitrogen also it to his high nutrient value.
For Azolla cultivation required less amount of investment hence it is a low-cost alternative
for good feed and good biofertilizer.
let,s see what the benefit of Azolla is
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2. Table of Contents
Benefits of Azolla
Mosquito control
Azolla cultivation procedure
Important tips to grow Azolla
Where can you Buy Azolla plant?
Conclusion
Benefits of Azolla
Feed for livestock
Azolla contains very high proteins, amino acids, vitamins (vitamin A, vitamin B12, Beta
Carotene) and minerals, so it is the excellent nutrient feed for livestock.
Also, Azolla has low lignin content. So animals easily digest.
It is observed that Feeding Azolla to poultry birds improves the weight of broiler chicken
and increases the egg production of layers birds.
also in animals, it showed an overall increase of milk yield by 15–20% when 1.5–2 Kg of
Azolla was combined with regular feed this experiment conducted in Natural Resources
Development Project at Vivekananda Kendra.
you can feed Azolla to sheep, goat, pig, rabbit, and fish.
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3. Biofertilizer
Azolla fixes atmospheric nitrogen and store in leaves, Therefore, it is used as green manure
It has been observed, and well appreciated by rice farmers they cultivate Azolla in paddy
farm there is increase rice production by 20%.
Weed control
Azolla plant can form a thick layer on water surfaces, so it uses for weed control in paddy
farm.
In paddy farm, Azolla forms a thick layer and cover all farm area and work as organic
mulching which doesn’t allow to produce weed. also it slow water evaporation rate and
maintain soil moisture for a long time.
Mosquito control
Azolla has another ability Azolla restrict mosquito breeding process, and thus Azolla also
called as “mosquito fern.”
Azolla cultivation procedure
1. Create an artificial pond for growing Azolla.
2. For creating Azolla cultivation pond, select partially shaded area because Azolla
needs 30% sunlight too much sunlight will destroy the plant. The area under the tree
is preferable.
3. If you decide to grow an Azolla for the large scale you can make small concrete
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4. tanks otherwise you can make the pond any size you want.
4. Dig out the soil for pond and level the soil after that spread the plastic sheet around
the ground to prevent water loss. Make sure the pond is at least 20 CM Deep.
5. Add some soil uniformly on the plastic sheet in the pond. For 2M X 2M size pond add
10-15 kg soil.
6. Azolla needs Phosphorus to grow well you can use Super Phosphate along with cow
dung slurry. Cow dung increases the available nutrients. Use, cow dung 4-5 days old.
7. Next, fill the pond with water to a level of about 10 cm this will allow the short route
of the Azolla Plant to float freely then leave the pond for 2 to 3 days so the
ingredients can settle.
8. After 2-3 days add Azolla culture in the pond by gently rubbing Azolla in hands. It
helps break Azolla into smaller pieces for faster multiplication.
9. After two-week start harvesting. form pond of 2M X 2M size, you can harvest 1kg
Azolla each day.
Important tips to grow Azolla
1. Azolla rapidly grows so maintain Azolla biomass 300 gms – 350 gms /sq.meter
hence harvest daily to avoid overcrowding.
2. Add once in 5 days mixture of Super Phosphate, and cow dung also add
mixture containing magnesium, iron, copper,
Sulfur etc. at weekly intervals to enhance the mineral content of Azolla.
3. Replace 25 to 30% old water with fresh water, once in 10 days; it helps to prevent
nitrogen build up in the pond.
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5. 4. Replace complete water and soil, at least once in six months and then
add Fresh Azolla seeds.
5. Maintain the water level of at least 10 cm, so Azolla root doesn’t grow in the soil by
keeping the roots floating it becomes easy to harvest.
6. Harvested Azolla wash thoroughly, so it removes dirt and smell of cow dung and then
feeds them to animals.
Where can you Buy Azolla plant?
you can get an Azolla plant from neighboring farmers, local agriculture officer or some
Agricultural Research organizations like KVK also you can buy from the online website.
Conclusion
Azolla is ideal feed for livestock. If you take good care of your Azolla pond, you can harvest
good quality weed every day, and it definitely reduces your cost on feed and fertilizer.
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