Abstract
The commercial exploitation of seaweeds largely depends on success of consistent biomass production. The present study demonstrates technical feasibility for rapid production of viable seedlings clonally through selective propagation of apical fragments of Gracilaria dura. The highest regeneration was recorded at 25 psu salinity, 5 μmol photons m−2 s−1 irradiance and 25 °C where it ranged between 80.83 ± 3.95 and 28.77 ± 2.03 %. The percentage growth in vertical polythene-tube-column culture was ranged between 40.298 ± 27.25 and 55.687 ± 19.39 % and found to be effective in producing large numbers of seedlings. These seedlings showed fast acclimation to outdoor culture and recorded growth rates of 1.37 to 2.25 % day−1 after 1 month. The seedlings grew rapidly when outplanted in open sea with growth rates of 3.06–3.29 % day−1, comparable to commercial farming of Kappaphycus alvarezii along the southeast coast of India. The average length of harvested plants was found to be 7.71 ± 0.89 cm, while fresh weight was 34.60 ± 9.81 g. Further study to understand seasonal variation in regeneration and growth is imperative to scale-up the methodology for year-round production.
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Acknowledgments
The financial assistance from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi is greatly acknowledged. The initial funding for clonal propagation was received from the Department of Biotechnology, New Delhi (BT/PR/6266/AAQ/03/251/2005). This work has been undertaken as a part of an in-house project entitled “Scaled-up farming for technology demonstration of promising seaweeds.” We would like to thank anonymous referees and Prof. Borowitzka for constructive comments. Thanks are due to Dr. K. Eswaran and Dr. C. R. K. Reddy for discussion on cultivation and clonal propagation, respectively. This contribution has CSIR-CSMCRI PRIS Registration No.: 062/2014.
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Saminathan, K.R., Ashok, K.S., Veeragurunathan, V. et al. Seedling production in the industrially important agarophyte Gracilaria dura (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta). J Appl Phycol 27, 1541–1548 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-014-0450-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-014-0450-z