Growth performance of a Seaweed, Kappaphycus alvarezii under lined earthen pond condition in Tharuvaikulam of Thoothukudi coast, South East of India

Abstract

The potential for using seaweed by rearing in floating bamboo cage moored at farm unit of Department of Coastal Aquaculture, Tharuvaikulam village of Tamil Nadu coast, South East of India was assessed under lined pond conditions. Seaweed, Kappaphycus alvarezii was grown for 35 days of cultivation in order to evaluate their growth performance in lined pond. Young seaweeds with average weight of 150g was tied in each seeding twine and grown to an average weight of 1350 g in 35 days with average wet weight gain of 1200g. A total wet weight of 259.200 kg / bamboo cage (10 x 10 feet size) was obtained at the end of the 35 days. This result clearly indicates that floating bamboo cage has considerable potential for the cultivation of seaweed in lined ponds, but, requires the careful management of nutrient inputs supply in to the cultivation ponds.