India considering using azolla as poultry feed alternative

The fast-growing azolla, which has a pest status in India, could be a rich source of cheap poultry feed alternative that can be beneficial to the country's poultry sector.

After preliminary processing by scientists, they believe that azolla can be incorporated in the animal and poultry feeds. That can help deal with the shortage of local animal feed resources.

Some water bodies have been infested with aquatic weeds that contaminate them and lead to environmental pollution, and azolla is one of them, said Farooq Ahmed Matoo, Association Director Research, Animal Science.

Azolla is a free floating fresh water fern that grows naturally in stagnant water bodies like lakes, ponds, marshy lands and etc.

According to certain scientific researches, azolla has a protein content of up to 20-30% and it is also rich in minerals, carotenoids, amino acids, vitamins and etc., said Matoo.

Therefore, it is concluded that if azolla is used as poultry feed, it can be a cheap alternative source of protein for poultry replacing costly animal feed protein sources while reducing environmental pollution.