Journal of Agricultural Science and Food Research
Open Access

Abstract

Synergistic Effect of Seaweed Manure and Bacillus sp. on Growth and Biochemical Constituents of Vigna radiata L

Lakshmanan Kasi Elumalai and Ramasamy Rengasamy

Seaweeds are one of the major marine renewable resources of the world. Seaweed fertilizers have often been more beneficial to the crop plants than the conventional chemical fertilizers. Seaweed meals provide nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and salts besides some readily available micro elements to the plants. The seaweeds are also known to contain plant growth regulators such as cytokinin and auxin in appreciable quantities. In the present study, different physico-chemical characteristics of Sargassum manure obtained from the Seaweed Natural and Alginate Products Ltd, Ranipet, India have been assessed. Studies on the effect of different concentrations of Sargassum manure on the photosynthetic pigment composition, biochemical make-up and plant growth regulators of Vigna radiata L. were made for the Sargassum manure itself besides the same in combination with a Bacillus sp. added to the soil as five different combinations (0.1 %). Those plants applied with the Sargassum manure and the bacterium demonstrated superior growth in relation to the plants supplied with the Sargassum manure alone. Therefore, the use of the bacterium along with the Sargassum manure appeared to make this combination an efficient eco- friendly alternative to the conventional chemical fertilizers.