Abstract

STUDY OF CYANOBACTERIA AS BIOFERTILIZER FROM THE RICE FIELD

Shweta Sao* and Kritika Samuel

Abstract

Cyanobacteria (Blue-Green Algae, BGA) were isolated, identified, multiplied and used as an inoculums in Fogg’s medium from rice field soil sample experiment. The N requirement of rice crops is well known. To overcome acute N deficiency in rice soils, this element is usually supplied to the rice crop as the commercially available fertilizer urea. But unfortunately a substantial amount of the urea-N is lost through different mechanisms causing environmental pollution problems. Cyanobacteria offer an economically attractive and ecologically sound alternative to chemical fertilizers for realizing the ultimate goal of increased productivity, especially in rice cultivation. In a wetland rice ecosystem, nitrogen fixation by free living cyanobacteria also significantly supplements soil nitrogen. In this experiment we are used fogg’s media for the growth of pure culture by the serial dilution method .then after finding pure culture a starter culture is made through this pure culture. The isolates were observed under microscope by the key given by T.V Desikachary (1959). From 15 soils sample cultures 6 predominant isolates were identified.

Keywords: N2 Fixing, Cyanobacteria, Foggs media, Rice Field Sample, culture studies.