Abstract
Azolla is a floating aquatic fern widely distributed throughout temperate and tropical fresh waters. There are two indigenous species in the Sacramento Valley of central California: A. filiculoides and A. mexicana (Mason, 1957). Their natural habitats include agricultural drainage waters, ponds, and calm waters of rivers. Azolla like many species of legumes, harbors a symbiotic microorganism capable of reducing atmospheric nitrogen and supplying this fixed nitrogen to the higher plant. The prokaryote associated with Azolla is a blue-green alga (Anabaena azollae) which is able to photosynthesize independently. Unlike legumes, however, the Azolla-Anabaena pair apparently continues to fix atmospheric nitrogen in the presence of significant quantities of combined nitrogen (Becking, 1976; Peters et al., 1976). This property and high rates of acetylene reduction demonstrated for Azolla (Becking, 1976) suggest a potential agronomic role for temperate Azolla species in photosynthetic production of fertilizer nitrogen.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anonymous (1976) Practice of Azolla fertilization in Vietnam. Unpublished IRRI memo based on listening to Bui Huy Dap and Tan Nhu Nguyen from Vietnam who visited IRRI between April 15–24, 1976. 3 p.
Ashton, P. J. (1974) The effect of some environmental factors on the growth of Azolla filiculoides Lam. pp. 123–138. In The Orange River, Progress Report, E.M.v., Zinderen Bakker Sr. Ed. Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of the Orange Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Becking, J. H. (1976) Contribution of plant-algal associations. pp. 556–580. In Proceedings of the First International Symposium on N2-fixation V. 2. W. E. Newton and C. J. Nyman (eds.). Washington State University Press.
Fosberg, F. R. (1942) Am. Fern Journal 32:15–23.
Hardy, R. W. F., R. C. Burns, and R. D. Holsten (1973) Soil Bio. & Biochem. 5: 47–81.
Mason, H. L. (1969) Flora of the marshes of California. University of California Press, Berkeley. 878 p.
Moore, A. W. (1969) Bot. Rev. 35: 17–34.
Olsen, C. (1970) Compt. Rend. Tray. Lab. Carlsberg 37: 269–283.
Peters, G. A., W. R. Evans, and R. E. Toia Jr. (1976) Plant Physiol. 58; 119–126.
Sauert, G. G. P. (1949) Annals of the Royal Botanical Garden, Buitenzorg, Sumatra 51: 177–197.
Soakl, R. R. and F. J. Rohlf (1969) Biometry. W. H. Freeman and Company, San Francisco, Calif.
Stewart, W. D. P., G. P. Fitzgerald and R. H. Burris (1967) Proc. Nat’l. Acad. Sci. 58:2071–2078.
Tran Quang Thuyet and Dao The Tuan (1973) pp. 117–127 Agron. Data. Hanoi, Vietnam.
U.S. Department of Commerce (1976) U. S. Industrial Outlook 1976–Fertilizers. U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. pp. 97–101.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1977 Plenum Press, New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Talley, S.N., Talley, B.J., Rains, D.W. (1977). Nitrogen Fixation by Azolla in Rice Fields. In: Hollaender, A., et al. Genetic Engineering for Nitrogen Fixation. Basic Life Sciences, vol 9. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-0880-5_17
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-0880-5_17
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-0882-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-0880-5
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive