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Sustainable enhancement in yield and quality of rain-fed maize through Gracilaria edulis and Kappaphycus alvarezii seaweed sap

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An Erratum to this article was published on 15 January 2016

Abstract

The present study aimed to assess not only the efficacy of sap from two seaweeds Kappaphycus alvarezii (K-sap) and Gracilaria edulis (G-sap) on productivity and quality of Zea mays under rain-fed condition, but also to quantify whether sap application is beneficial in terms of lowering the carbon and phosphate footprint of mineral fertilizers per unit of produce. Field experiment was carried out to test 18 treatments, viz., 5 concentrations (2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10 and 15 %) each of K-sap and G-sap applied along with recommended rate of fertilizers (RRF); 3 concentrations (7.5, 10 and 15 %) of each of the two types of sap applied along with 50 % RRF; alongside 2 control treatments T1 (water spray along with 100 % RRF) and T18 (water spray along with 50 % RRF). The optimal treatments that enhanced the grain productivity of maize were 5 % G-sap or 7.5 % K-sap applied in conjunction with 100 % RRF and the grain yield enhancements ranged from 21.4 to 29.8 % as compared to T1. Significant increase in P (35.5 %) and K (14.4 %) content in grains was observed through G-sap application, suggesting bio-stimulation in absorption of these elements. Notably, stover yield production at reduced RRF in certain combinations with sap was at par with T1 suggesting a possible saving on fertilizer requirement for fodder production under rain-fed conditions. Compared to T1, there was marked reduction of 17.5 and 23.1 % in global warming potential per unit of produce when 7.5 % K-sap and 5 % G-sap were used respectively in conjunction with 100 % RRF.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, for this project (MLP 0016). We also thank Dr. PK Ghosh for helping conceive this Pan-India multi-institutional multi-crop project and for all his personal encouragement. We also thank sincerely the following: M/s Aquagri Processing Pvt. Ltd. (the licensee of CSIR-Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute’s sap technology) and CSIR-CSMCRI for providing Kappaphycus sap; the Marine Biotechnology and Ecology discipline, especially Dr. CRK Reddy, Dr. K. Eswaran and Dr. V Mantri for their help in providing Gracilaria sap from Mandapam field station, Tamilnadu, India. Dr. K Prasad is acknowledged for analyzing the sap constituents and Dr. PK Agarwal for all his support. This manuscript bears CSIR-CSMCRI communication No. 052/2015.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Birsa Agricultural University, Jharkhand, 834006, India

    S Singh, M. K. Singh, S. K. Pal & C. S. Singh

  2. Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR-Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute Premises, G. B. Marg, Bhavnagar, 364002, Gujarat, India

    K. Trivedi, D. Kubavat & Arup Ghosh

  3. CSIR - Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute Bhavnagar, Bhavnagar, Gujarat, 364002, India

    K. Trivedi, D. Yesuraj, K. G. Vijay Anand, M. Chandramohan, R. Patidar, D. Kubavat, S. T. Zodape & Arup Ghosh

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  1. S Singh
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Singh, S., Singh, M.K., Pal, S.K. et al. Sustainable enhancement in yield and quality of rain-fed maize through Gracilaria edulis and Kappaphycus alvarezii seaweed sap. J Appl Phycol 28, 2099–2112 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-015-0680-8

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