STUDIES ON THE EFFECT OF SEAWEED LIQUID FERTILIZER (SLF) ON DIFFERENT GROWTH PARAMETERS, BIOCHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS AND PIGMENT PRODUCTION IN A C4 PLANT, ORYZA SATIVA

Seaweeds constituting important renewable marine resources grown in intertidal regions of the sea and serve as excellent sources of food, fodder, fertilizer and industrial  raw material for the production of phycocolloids like agar, carageenan and antimicrobial agents.  The purpose behind the use of sea weeds is to increase the yield of plants. The extract from sea weeds are commonly called as sea weed liquid fertilizer are now commercially available in several trade names such as Algin, Algifert, Maxicorp etc.  The use of biofertilizer will be helpful to sustain soil fertility and pollution free soil environment.  Seaweed extract from  Ulva fasciata and  Sargassum swartzii have been found to increase the yield of C 4 plant oryza sativa.  The different growth promotors auxins, gibberellins and cytokinines has been reported and enhance the growth of C4 plants.  The biochemical constituents such as soluble sugar, protein and Lipid, pigments Chlorophyll a, Chlorophyll b and  Xanthophyll were experimentally proved.