**Table 1.**

*Effect of different formulations of mixed blue green algae on the growth of Paddy plants under greenhouse condition.*

#### *Formulations of BGA for Paddy Crop DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92821*

**Figure 5**). The other formulated BGA treated plants showed minimal chlorophyll contents. The protein content of treated paddy plant with alluvial soil (28%; 2.52 ± 0.02 mg) + Mixed BGA and charcoal + mixed BGA (29%; 2.52 ± 0.00 mg) was significantly maximum when compare the control (10%) paddy plant (0.873 ± 0.06 mg) (**Figure 6**).

Katoh et al. [20] reported that *Nostoc* species are very useful in agricultural applications because of their nitrogen fixation activity, extracellular polysaccharide, photosynthetic system, and particularly desiccation tolerance ability and these properties help to improve the quality of nutrient poor soils. Wetland rice fields could provide an ideal condition for the growth of cyanobacteria, fixing 25–30 kg N ha<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup> crop<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup> , and reducing the use of urea fertilizer in rice culture by 30% [21, 22]. Algalization of BGA in rice cultivation promotes organic forming without usage of chemical fertilizers and production of organic basmati rice has been reported to develop a potential export market in the country [23].

Cyanobacteria also improve soil characteristics by modifying texture size and subsequent aeration and enhancing carbon content and water holding capacity [24]. Such organisms are one of the major components of the nitrogen fixing biomass in paddy fields. The importance of cyanobacteria in agriculture for paddy cultivation

**Figure 5.**

*Effect of different formulations of mixed blue green algae on the total chlorophyll (μg) content of Paddy plants under greenhouse condition. C, control (without organism); T1, alluvial soil + mixed BGA; T2, sand + mixed BGA; T3, charcoal + mixed BGA; T4, powdered paddy straw + mixed BGA.*

#### **Figure 6.**

*Effect of different formulations of mixed blue green algae on the protein content (mg) of Paddy plants under greenhouse condition. C, control (without organism); T1, alluvial soil + mixed BGA; T2, sand + mixed BGA; T3, charcoal + mixed BGA; T4, powdered paddy straw + mixed BGA.*

#### *Formulations of BGA for Paddy Crop DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92821*

is directly proportional to their ability to fix nitrogen and other positive effects for plants and soil. The nitrogen is the second limiting factor next to the water for plant growth in many fields and efficiency of this element is met by fertilizer [25].

Current study suggested that the efficiency of paddy plant growth was enhanced due to the application of formulated BGA with various adsorbents. Such blue green algae were generally applied as biofertilizers in agriculture for improving the soil fertility by the process of biological nitrogen fixation.

## **5. Conclusion**

The blue green algae distributed in different environments. They are actively involved in the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen by the action of nitrogenase enzyme which is present in such organisms but not in plant cells. *Microcoleus*, *Microcystis*, *Phormidium* and *Gloecapsa.* were isolated from the paddy fields of Thiruvadanai, Selugai, Amaravathipudur, Sakkimangalam areas of Ramnad, Sivagangai and Madurai district. The isolated organisms were mass cultured under laboratory condition and mixed well. The BGA mixture formulated with alluvial soil, sand, charcoal and powdered paddy straw were treated on paddy plant showed significant growth compared to control plant. The present study concluded that the alluvial soil and powdered paddy straw formulated BGA promoted the plant growth by means of enhance the morphological growth but chlorophyll and protein content of the alluvial soil and charcoal formulated BGA treated plant showed was maximum. This indicated that the formulated BGA enhanced morphological and photosynthetic efficiency of the paddy plant under greenhouse condition. The application of such bio-mixture in agriculture for crop production not only increase crop yield which may maintain our environment eco-friendly.

## **Acknowledgements**

The authors have expressed their sincere thanks to the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Principal, Head of the Department, Thiagarajar College, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India for their encouragement, support and provided the necessary facilities for the successful completion of the research work. And also they expressed their sincere thanks to their family and friends for the successful supportive work.

#### **Author details**

Bagampriyal Selvaraj1 and Sadhana Balasubramanian<sup>2</sup> \*

1 Thiagarajar College, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India

2 Post Graduate and Research Department of Botany, Thiagarajar College, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India

\*Address all correspondence to: sadhanakarthik2004@yahoo.co.in

© 2020 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

*Formulations of BGA for Paddy Crop DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92821*

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*Edited by Marcelo L. Larramendy and Sonia Soloneski*

This book, "*Agroecosystems – Very Complex Environmental Systems*", aims to present an update on different aspects associated with the importance of sustainable agriculture. It was our intention to gather information from diverse sources in this volume and to give some real-life examples, extending the appreciation of the complexity of this subject in a way that may stimulate new approaches in relevant fields.

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Agroecosystems – Very Complex Environmental Systems

Agroecosystems

Very Complex Environmental Systems

*Edited by Marcelo L. Larramendy and Sonia Soloneski*