Evaluation of growth of Azolla (Azolla pinnata) using different media and as a dietary supplementation for poultry and livestock

The present study on evaluation of different media for Azolla production and use of Azolla as a dietrary supplementation for poultry and livestock was conducted at Kumaraguru Institute of Agriculture, Tamil Nadu in 2019. It was concluded on 7^th and 21^st day after inoculation of Azolla, treatment comprising red soil + cow dung + super phosphate resulted in maximum root length (1.77 cm and 2.30 cm respectivley) as compared to all other treatments. The number of roots per Azolla was statistically maximum in this treatment on 7^th (17.67), 14^th (17.67) and 21^st (18.17) respectively. On 7th, 14^th and 21^st day after inoculation, it resulted in maximum leaf length of 1.70, 1.70 and 2.20 cm. On 14^th day, the same treatment resulted in maximum leaf breadth (2.20 cm). Highest chlorophyll a (153.65 μg/g f wt), chlorophyll b (79.50 μg/g f wt) and total chlorophyll (17.92 μg/g f wt) was also recorded in the same treatment. There was no significant difference in weight of birds due to addition of Azolla to the concentrated feed. There was an increase of 500 ml in milk yield per animal when fed on concentrated feed (2 kg/cow/day) + Azolla (2 kg/cow/day) after a week as compared to 300 ml in animals fed only on concentrated feed (2 kg/cow/day). The maximum net return and B-C ratio were also recorded in the treatment red soil + cow dung + super phosphate.