APPLICATION OF AZOLLA IN TOMATO CULTIVATION AS AN ALTERNATIVE FOR TRADITIONAL ORGANIC MANURES AND MINERAL N-FERTILIZERS

Abstract

In a trial to evaluate the effect of incorporating Azolla in sandy soil as an alternative for mineral N-fertilizers or traditional organic manures on improving soil properties and growth, nutrient uptake and yield, of tomato plants, a comparative study between Azolla pinnata and A. filiculoids was carried out to select the most effective one in• such concoern. Growth of azollae, NPK-content and N-ase activity determined during 30 days after inoculation showed that Azolla pinnata is more active than A. .filiculoides as a green manure, ¢ so, it was selected for further studies. A greenhouse experiment was designed to determine the response of tomato plants to amendment with A. pinnata as a green manure and/or ammonium nitrate in different ratios. Improvement of soil properties as affected by such manuring treatments were also investigated. It was clear from the obtained results that application of Azolla gave the highest growth, nutrient uptake and yield of tomato plants in comparison to other manuring treatments containing inoganic N-fertilizer. In another experiment, the effect of Azolla application was compared with other organic manures (FYM and compost) on the growth and yield of tomato plants cultivated in sandy soil. It was observed that Azolla proved to be the most effective manure amongst all tested organic manures.