See weeds are valuable sources of nutrients. We need to encourage people for tasting it, producing and marketing it properly.

Agreed Dr Biswas, but the value added fortified components needs to be developed in this regard, we did some work at Tata Chemicals Limited and this field is very promising

regards

naveen kalra

I appreciate your contribution towards quality life and food security. Hope that enterprise will grow up in this field like other countries. Is Tata Chemicals Ltd continuing the project?

Dr.Kalra,nutrients (even micronutrients) added through sea weeds either  through soil or foliar application may be small.To get or to test  the benefit of plant growth promoting hormones ,one can go for foliar application of sea weed extracts/preparations.Plant growth promoting hormones in sea weeds may be of some benefit which needs to be tested.One can try these on vegetable crops like tomato as they may better relect the effect of hormones.If sea weed extract is tested for foliar application using appropiate standard treatments, the benefit as micronutrient supplier or hormone can be arrived at.To arrive at the amount of micronutrients or hormones present, sufficient number of samples needd to be analysed in a good laboratory.

Thanks Dr Subba Rao and Dr Biswas, Agreed that micro-nutrients conc in the sea weeds application is very small, but the PGPs and harmones as provided from the application of sea weeds benefit the growth and yield of crops, as evidenced from experiments conducted in the recent past by several organisations. Some of the companies are manufacturing sea weeds in India, it is important to test the response with important  crops and to be evaluated from cost-benefit angle too We will have to check with Tata Chemicals with the products formulated with sea weeds in recent past 

regards

I agree with Dr. Rao that ideally the use of sea weed can have a maximized effect as a foliar application taking advantage of its growth regulator content which is expressed maximally at parts per million concentrations.

Considering the widespread needs and deficiencies of micronutrients such as Zinc and Boron but also even Iodine and Selenium. The Brown Algae are rich is a broad spectrum of these and would be very useful. Again these are needed at very low dosage.  

When plants are under periodic stress the program which uses foliar algae can also stimulate plant defensive reaction.

As a Plant Pathologist I am very grateful for the use of agar from alga which gives a useful media for examination and growth of microbes and plants under controlled laboratory conditions.

Brown Algae Ascophyllum modosum is particularly useful and schemes of sustainable harvest have given the proliferation of various products of economic importance. The ability to grow algae in solution can be a future industry for producting renewal sources of oil which does not have the issues of fossil fuel nor the issues with its environmental consequence. Algal products are rich in complex carbohydrates polyphenolic antioxidants and a long list of vitamins. 

Senn, T. L. 1987. Seaweed and plant growth is a classical resource

Craigie, T. S., 2011. Seaweed exttract stimuli in plant science and agriculture. J. Appl. Phycol. 23:371-393.

Besides the use as a strategic foliar application the use of it in the planting hole is very efficient and effective. For planting hole use kelp meal is excellent.

For recovery from phytoxicities, pests and diseases the application of seaweed and humate combination is particularly useful. While the efficacy of these materials are well documented the definition of detailed mechanisms and determining of relative economics is needed to get greater utility. 

Another good possibility is the use of these amendments in drip irrigation and as a starter amendment for compost. 

This is a very rich field which only the tip of iceberg of potential has been seen. 

I totally agree with Dr Paul, its potential needs to be investigated and operationalized. Although the micro-nutrient concentration is very low in sea weeds, it is highly effective as well we can think of fortified product with sea weed, with enrichment of micro-nutrients

regards

Dear Naveen Kalra,

Thank you for the upvote.

I respectfully express my disagreement however related to the potential of seaweed for confronting some micronutrient issues.

The ppm of brown algae for micronutrients is quite impressive! For instance, Iodine, Copper, Zinc, Boron Barium and Selenium have 1,200, 635, 351, 194, 127, and 43 ppm, respectively.

These are significant considering the implication of Iodine deficiency which is prevalent in many areas and can result in reduction of goiter disease and issues.

Zinc deficiency is seen as affecting almost 50% of Indian soils I believe. Zinc deficiences are devastating on fertility, immunological function and growth and mental development.

 In terms of Boron I rarely find soils at 1 to 2 ppm which would optimize plant nutrition. Low Boron has been implicated in bone issues such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.

The ability of utilizing micronutrients is higher when multiple micronutrients are available. We probably need more targeted studies to demonstrate the exact potential of organic seaweed approach compared to selected single nutrient approaches.

With organic materials and humates the chelation of often difficult absorbed materials is increased. The slight acid pH of the kelp materials are very favorable for their mobilization as well as the presence of complex soluble carbohydrates that work to make them soluble and mobilize them into the plant tissues. 

Seaweeds are also nutritious and delicious. In terms of amendment the ability to get major, minor nutrients, plant cytokinins and auxins, vitamins, complex carbohydrates and polyphenolic antioxidants is not all that common. The major issues I would see is cost., availability and knowledge base. Even the sodium value of seaweed is helpful for some plants which use it preferentially to potassium in substitution. 

Hope this will stimulate continuing discussion and dialogue on this important area. 

Best Regards, Sincerely, Paul Reed Hepperly

I am including a global map of levels of iodine from the analysis of urine levels. This would suggest at least 2 billion people are somewhat to highly deficient in this element. The brown algae is notably high in Iodine which is essential for thyroid gland function. Hypothyroidism can be a result of low dietary Iodine that compromises glandular function and metabolism. Seaweed is an excellent resource in relation to this issue and could be used much more in our food, diet and agricultural systems. 

Thanks Dr Paul for excellent info, regards

naveen kalra

I  fully appreciate the very good replies of Dr.Hepperly.Foliar application and  planting hole application of the kelp meal can be tried for getting the benefit of sea weeds.The last sentence of Dr.Hepperly's third reply  regarding iodine deficiency is interesting.

I too agree with Dr Subba Rao for the excellent points raised by Dr Paul as well by himself. dear colleagues, pl throw some insight on sea weeds used in formulation of  fortified organics/inorganics along with humic/fulvic acids and specific nutrients

regards

When combining sea weed extracts with humic and or fulvic acids use a rate of 50 to 200 ppm. Studies indicate fulvic acids work mostly to stimulate top growth and humic fractions for root growth. 

 Thanks Dr Paul, we can also use micro-nutrients enriched humic (or fulvic) acid, where humic or fulvic acid can act as carrier eg potassium humate, zinc humate etcHumic acid will act as soil conditioner as well supplier of the carried nutrients in the root zone, thereby enhancing the applied nutrients use efficiency. Normally nutrients enriched humic acid used for soil application whereas fulvic acid as carrier for foliar spray. But the scope of sea weeds in the fortification, although reported by some groups, needs to be established. I hope there should be some patents or copyrights on this aspect, which we have to explore as well implement operationally

regards

Dr.Kalra,one can use micronutrients loaded or enriched (complexed/chelated)  humic substances for improving the nutrition of crops.But  it is difficult to use them as soil conditioners as the amount of application needed is large and  is also quite costly.Addition of organic resouces for improving soil conditions  is much cheaper.As pointed out by Dr. Hepperly, the sea weeds themselves contain soluble complex carbohydrates,do we need additional fulvic acid suplementation in foliar application? Micronutrients are already present in seaweeds ,do we need further fortification through chelated fulvic acid?For micronutrient nutrition ,will it be a better route to go for soil application?Soil application requires addition of more amount of  the material.What are the usual amounts of micronutients added through  soil and foliar application at recommended levels of sea weed /extracts application?

Thanks Dr Subba Rao for raising imp points, micro-nutrients conc in sea weeds products is very very small and will not meet the requirement of crops.  Additional application of micro-nutrients may be needed. Humic acid as soil conditioner may be an option of fruit trees/shrubs, which application in the root zone could be ensured, which can act for soil structure improvement as well for carrier of the nutrients. Uptake efficiency of nutrients is significantly enhanced. 

The point which comes at this point is fortification of sea weeds, which can make the product more acceptable.

Humic acid cost is high, can we prepare it within country from lignitic coal, patent already exist and thereafter saturating with nutrients for value add is easy step. Some one has to take the initiative

Dr Paul's points are well taken

regards

Good discussion Dr Kalra and other colleagues...

 Seaweeds are one of the major marine renewable resources of the world. Seaweed fertilizers have often been more beneficial to the crop plants than the conventional chemical fertilizers. Seaweed meals provide nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and salts besides some readily available micro elements to the plants. The seaweeds are also known to contain plant growth regulators such as cytokinin and auxin in appreciable quantitiesThe study revealed that SLF  ( Seaweed liquid formulation) of Padina pavonia was found to be highly effective in enhancing only the growth and leaf area. Application SLF of Padina tetrastromatica also enhancing number of leaves and above ground biomass. Even though, SLF of Stoechospermum marginatum did not promote any of these growth parameters, but stimulated the production of photosynthetic pigments, phytochemical and biochemical constituents. The results of the present study showed that SLF of three seaweeds maintained well the plant growth to increase yield of consumable product. ( Source ; Kumareswari and Rani, 2015) -PDF enclosed 

In another study, different physico-chemical characteristics of Sargassum manure obtained from the Seaweed Natural and Alginate Products Ltd, Ranipet, India have been assessed. Studies on the effect of different concentrations of Sargassum manure on the photosynthetic pigment composition, biochemical make-up and plant growth regulators of Vigna radiata L. were made for the Sargassum manure itself besides the same in combination with a Bacillus sp. added to the soil as five different combinations (0.1 %). Those plants applied with the Sargassum manure and the bacterium demonstrated superior growth in relation to the plants supplied with the Sargassum manure alone. Therefore, the use of the bacterium along with the Sargassum manure appeared to make this combination an efficient eco- friendly alternative to the conventional chemical fertilizers. (Source: Elumulal and Rengasamy, 2012)-PDF enclosed

I can say YES  

If we tried cheep methods of preparing, even if the micro-nutrient contents of the sea weeds is very low it can be used to enhance soil aeration,  a micro gram of an ingredient  cad make difference

we have an interesting study with very promising results when we extract nitrogen 

derivatives as plant growth promoters Kindly refer to  the attached file      

Article PREPARATION AND APPLICATION OF SOME NITROGENOUS DERIVATIVES ...

One of the article provided by Dr Anoop showed benefit of seaweed manure with Bacillus combination. It seems that seaweeds in combination with N2 fixing, P solubilizers and other growth promoters might be able to reduce reactive nitrogen requirement for crop production.

Dr Biswas, ample opportunities do exist with seaweed-based products , there are already large number of products in products creating market niche internationally , but the supply raw material is always a question mark if such usage are expanded massively...?

Thanks for your nice comment Dr Anoop. I agree with you that we might not be able to get adequate supply of seaweeds. There are cheap materials by which we can minimize nutrient requirements of crops. Recycling of organic wastes will serve many purposes. Our preliminary study is very much encouraging. Bio-organic fertilizer formulations can reduce N requirement.

Good point Dr Biswas, i am in total agreement with your comments ...

I also agree, the availability of seaweeds on mass scale is an issue to make seaweed based products popular commercially. 

Availability of ample quantity and cost beneffitt ratio in comparison to existing sources of fertilizers is an important determining factor.

Please find some information on the use of kelp.

There are ample opportunities through integration of seaweeds and microbial inoculations.A stronger need is to undertake such studies to be tested under controlled conditiins duly revalidated through well planned field studies...

In a strictly fertilizer approach one would not have Iodine on the agenda the use of seaweed are excellent Iodine sources. There are still big belts of Iodine deficiency these are called the goiter belts. In addition the use of fluoridation and chlorination compete and may be related to epidemic issues related to thyroid activity. Finally when exposed to issues related to radiation the traditional approach is to supplement to strengthen the thyroid. There is no fertilizer I know which is supplemented with Iodine and the use of iodized salt has issues since hypertension is a major global health issue.

Sir, its potential needs to be investigated first, then only it can be used. I am sure it can decrease the use of chemical fertilizer.

please read the following

Article Seaweed Extract Improves Growth, Yield and Quality of Differ...

There is a wide interest growing now on this subject. I think this will be the field for research for coming few years.