The plant absorbs nitrogen as its fertilizer directly from the atmosphere and is able to grow at an exceptional speed. The plant is useful for various purposes like – production of bio-fertilizer, biofuel, feed for livestock and food too; during its process of growth it reduces the amount of CO2, it helps in reversing the process of greenhouse effect.

Let us now understand some more details about Azolla:

How the plant grow:

The known azolla fossils to the scientists are more than 70 million years old and were available in lakes, ponds, sluggish rivers and other similar habitat.

It grows in the freshwater bodies where they get a quiescent environment and can multiple exponentially.

The plant absorbs nitrogen directly from the atmosphere and grows at faster pace without soil.

Benefits of Azolla

- Used animal feed and food
Azolla is a rich source of protein, required amino acids, vitamins and minerals and are good source of feeding to cattle, pigs, chickens, ducks, fish and other animals.

Azolla used as cattle feed can help in increasing the milk production capacity from 10-20%, as the case may be. However, it is also a useful feed for gaining weight of broiler chickens and egg production, as compared to the conventional feed.

The Azolla integrates into the biomass agricultural system as well that helps in reducing the use of artificial fertilizers. It absorbs nitrogen and helps better growth of agric-produce.

A few studies have been conducted for Azolla to be included into the food cycle of human being, however it has not yet been truly accepted and a need for further study is required before introducing it into the edible food category.