To our fellow Natural Farmers who wants to cross cut Feed-cost up to 90% AZOLLA SEMINAR OUTLINE - THE ARCTIC AZOLLA EVENT: How the 2004 Arctic Coring Expedition to the North Pole discovered that Azolla covered the Arctic Ocean 50 million years ago and changed the climate by drawing down enormous amount of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. - WHAT IS AZOLLA: Azolla is a unique free-floating freshwater fern that has been formally designated as a unique Superorganism. It is one of the fastest growing plants on the planet and it only needs freshwater, sunlight and air to grow. - AZOLLAS USE IN THE EAST: Azolla has been used for thousands of years in the East as a green biofertilizer for rice - more than doubling the yield of rice paddies. This knowledge was spread by travelling Buddhist monks and parts of Vietnam and India have temples and annual festivals commemorating the miracle plant Azolla. - AZOLLAS DISCOVERY BY THE WEST: Azollas potential is now being recognized in the West and Duke University in the USA has just begun a project to determine Azollas genome, in conjunction with the Beijing Genomics Institute of China and the Philippines International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), which has the worlds largest collection of Azolla species and hybrids. - AZOLLAS MULTIPLE USES: Azollas ease of growth in just a few centimeters of water means that it can be grown by anyone to produce a range of renewable products that can help to feed the worlds growing population and reduce the use of harmful synthetic chemical fertilizers. - CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS: Nitrogen is essential for by all plants to grow and more than half of the worlds food is relies on chemical fertilizers for the nitrogen needed to grow the food crops. Less than 20% of the nitrogen in chemical fertilizers is used by the target crops - the remainder goes into freshwater and marine ecosystems where it has numerous harmful effects. Natural biofertilizers can reduce our reliance on chemical fertilizers. - AZOLLA AS A BIOFERTILIZER: Azolla provides three times more nitrogen (fertilizer than any other biofertilizer, as well as other essential nutrients, resulting in larger and healthier plants. This is provided by both the Azolla plants and the water in which they are grown, and both can be easily added directly to the soil because of the small size of the Azollas leaves. - AZOLLA AS A LIVESTOCK FEED: Azolla is widely used in India and the Far East as a feed for many types of livestock, including cows, goats, pigs, chickens, ducks, geese and freshwater fish. Integrated systems developed in Japan combine the cultivation of rice, ducks and fish with Azolla, which provides nitrogen for the rice, and food for the ducks and fish. - AZOLLA AS A FOOD: Azolla is also a nutritious food for people and it has been taken on Space missions to confirm its use as a source of food, purified drinking water and oxygen. An Azolla cookbook published by Erik Sjdin has recipes for Azolla bread, Azolla pancakes and Azolla burgers. - AZOLLA AS A BIOFUEL: Azolla is a source of renewable biofuel, and new research indicates that several types of biofuel can be generated by individuals and communities. - OTHER APPLICATIONS: Azolla reduces harmful chemicals from water, including industrial discharge, human waste, and the runoff of unused chemical fertilizers. It also reduces the growth of mosquito larvae and the spread of malaria - hence its name mosquito fern in parts of Africa and the Far East. - HOW TO GROW AZOLLA: Azolla can be grown by anyone at almost no cost. All that is needed is a shallow container or excavated pit less than a meter deep, and the addition of small amount of nutrients (mostly phosphates) that can be provided by livestock droppings. All areas of the Philippines are ideal for Azollas growth, providing a constant supply of renewable food for its people and an improvement in their living standards and quality of life.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 12:44:10 +0000
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