Nutrient Profiling and Identification of Genetic Marker for \u3cem\u3eAzolla\u3c/em\u3e sp.

Azolla (mosquito fern, duckweed fern, fairy moss and water fern) is a genus of seven species of aquatic ferns. They float on the surface of water by means of scale-like leaves, with their roots hanging in the water. Azolla is able to fix unlinked nitrogen (N2) directly from the atmosphere because of its endosymbiotic blue alga Anabaena azollae (Van Hove, 1989), and is thus a very promising supply of nitrogen to aquatic ecosystems. In recent years, apart of traditional cultivation of Azolla as a bio-fertilizer for wetland paddy, also find increasing use for sustainable production of livestock feed. Since the demand for milk and meat in India is creating new potential in the profitability of animal husbandry as an occupation. Yet, at the same time, there is a substantial decline in fodder availability. The area under forest and grasslands is decreasing as is the amount of various crop residues available for feed, largely due to the introduction of high yielding dwarf varieties. The shortage of fodder is therefore compensated with commercial feed, resulting in increased costs in meat and milk production. Moreover, as commercial feed is mixed with urea and other artificial milk boosters, it has a negative effect on the quality of milk and the health of the livestock. The search for alternatives to concentrates led us to a wonderful plant azolla, which holds the promise of providing a sustainable feed for livestock