J Appl Phycol
DOI 10.1007/s10811-017-1138-y
9TH ASIA PACIFIC CONFERENCE ON ALGAL BIOTECHNOLOGY - BANGKOK
Effects of using cyanobacteria and fertilizer on growth and yield
of rice, Pathum Thani I: a pot experiment
Supenya Chittapun 1 & Sutheera Limbipichai 1 & Nuankamol Amnuaysin 1 &
Ratipun Boonkerd 1 & Maneewan Charoensook 1
Received: 30 November 2016 / Revised and accepted: 25 March 2017
# Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2017
Abstract The effects of cyanobacteria and chemical fertilizer
on growths and yields of rice (Oryza sativa L.) cv. Pathum
Thani 1 were studied in pot trials. Nine treatments were set up
without cyanobacteria and fertilizer (control), inoculated with
cyanobacteria Nostoc carneum TUBT04 (T1), inoculated with
Nostoc commune TUBT05 (T2), and inoculated with combi-
nation of N. carneum TUBT04 and N. commune TUBT05
(T3), full dose of recommended use of fertilizer (T4), half dose
of recommended use of the fertilizer (T5), half dose of fertil-
izer combined with N. carneum TUBT04 (T6), half dose of
fertilizer combined with N. commune TUBT05 (T7), and half
dose of fertilizer combined with N. carneum TUBT04 plus
N. commune TUBT05 (T8). Each treatment divides into five
replications. Growth parameters including length and fresh and
dry weights of shoot and root were measured in the seedlings.
The number of spikes per plant and the amount and weight of
rice grains per spike were measured after harvesting. The sup-
plement with cyanobacteria promoted rice seedling growth and
yield compared to the control treatment. Inoculation with
cyanobacteria showed significant increase in root length
(p = 0.41). In addition, the combined biofertilizer with a half
of the recommended dose of chemical fertilizer significantly
enhanced rice production including total number and weight of
grain per spike and a total weight of 100 grains (p < 0.001).
Therefore, using a half dose of chemical fertilizer with
cyanobacteria is suggested to decrease rice production cost of
farmers without any effects on rice quantity and quality.
* Supenya Chittapun
supenyac@tu.ac.th
1
Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology,
Thammasat University, Rangsit Center, Pathum Thani 12121,
Thailand
Keywords Biofertilizer . Cyanobacteria . Growth . Rice .
Yield
Introduction
Fertilizer is a substance added to agricultural land as nutrient
supplement of plant growth and environmental quality.
Chemical fertilizer contains high soluble nutrient content,
which can be immediately adsorbed by plant. However, chem-
ical fertilizer may disturb soil biological activities, e.g., en-
hancing the decomposition of soil organic matter, resulting
in degradation of soil structure (Chen 2006). Therefore, inten-
sive and long-term use of chemical fertilizer causes soil dete-
rioration which is the major concern for agricultural systems.
Biofertilizer, an inoculation of beneficial soil microorganisms,
plays an essential role in providing nutrient for plants, regu-
lating the dynamics of organic matter and enhancing soil bio-
logical activities (Chen 2006; Singh et al. 2016).
Consequently, using biofertilizer can improve land fertility
and environment contributing to sustainable agriculture.
N2-fixing cyanobacteria are one of the main promising
microorganisms used as biofertilizer (Kaushik 2014). They
can fix atmospheric N2, improve physical and chemical soil
properties, and produce some active compounds which enhance
plant growth (Kaushik 2014; Singh et al. 2014, 2016). Applying
cyanobacteria as biofertilizer had been researched intensively in
rice, wheat, and peas. Supplementing heterocystous
cyanobacteria in soil significantly increased rice growth and
improved soil properties (Saadatnia and Riahi 2009). The use
of full dose of synthetic fertilizer, adding cyanobacteria,
Calothrix ghosei, Hapalosiphon intricatus, and Nostoc sp. along
with one third N + P + K synthetic fertilizer, enhanced wheat
production in pot experiments (Karthikeyan et al. 2007).
Moreover, the inoculation of Nostoc entophytum and

Oscillatoria angustissima with different doses of chemical fer-
tilizer promoting seed germination, growth, and metabolic pro-
cess of peas has been reported by Osman et al. (2010).
Therefore, the combination of biofertilizer and chemical fertiliz-
er encourages plant growth and production and further reduces
production cost by using a half of the synthetic fertilizer.
Chemical fertilizer properly integrated with biofertilizer not
only provides food for the plant but also contributes to a suit-
able and sustainable environment for plant growth enhancing
crop production. The required combination of biofertilizers
and minimal doses of chemical fertilizers is vital data for ag-
riculture land management. These data vary depending on
geography, atmospheric conditions, agronomic practices, and
biofertilizer strains. As a result, this work aimed to study the
effects of Thai indigenous cyanobacteria and chemical fertil-
izer on growth and yields of rice (Oryza sativa L.) cv. Pathum
Thani 1 and to provide the suitable biofertilizer supplement to
the chemical fertilizers on crop growth.
Materials and methods
Cyanobacteria and their characteristics
Cyanobacterial strains
Nitrogen fixing cyanobacteria, Nostoc sp. TUBT04 and
Nostoc sp. TUBT05, were isolated from organic paddy fields
at Chachoengsao province, Thailand by using BG-110 agar
(Stanier et al. 1971) as a selective medium (Chittapun and
Charoenrat 2015). Among 45 strains isolated from organic
rice fields, these two cyanobacteria were dominant strains
with the highest specific growth rate (Nostoc sp.
TUBT05 = 0.295 and Nostoc sp. TUBT04 = 0.242); therefore,
they were chosen as biofertilizer strains in this study.
According to Desikachary (1959), Nostoc sp. TUBT04, a
brown colony, is Nostoc carneum TUBT04 and Nostoc sp.
TUBT05, a blue-green colony, is Nostoc commune TUBT05.
Cyanobacteria production and proximate analysis
Each cyanobacterial strain was cultured in 15 L of BG-110
medium by using an algal culture system which was com-
posed of 18.9-L clear PET plastic cooler bottles of 26 cm
diameter placed on an inclined steel stand. Algal culture sys-
tems were agitated via air pump and placed outdoor for
21 days. Cyanobacterial cells were collected by centrifugation
at 2795×g for 10 min and washed twice with distilled water.
Supplemented cyanobacteria in the pot experiment were ap-
plied in terms of gram wet weight. Organic contents of
N. carneum TUBT04 and N. commune TUBT05 were ana-
lyzed by Central Laboratory (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (Jatujak,
Bangkok, Thailand) (Table 1).
J Appl Phycol
Exopolysaccharide and IAA production
Nostoc carneum TUBT04 and N. commune TUBT05 were
cultured in BG-110 medium on an orbital shaker at 120 rpm
at 25 ± 2 °C under cool white fluorescent tubes (45 μmol
photons m−2 s−1) of 12 h light per day for 20 days. For released
exopolysaccharide analysis, supernatants were collected by
centrifugation at 25,155×g for 15 min. To extract capsular
polysaccharide, cyanobacterial cells were heated in boiling
water for 1 h and centrifuged at 25,155×g for 15 min to re-
move cell remains. The released and capsular polysaccharides
were determined by the total carbohydrate content using a
phenol sulfuric acid assay (Dubois et al. 1956). To determine
IAA production, the culture supernatant was harvested by
centrifugation at 1,006×g for 10 min and IAA assessment
was done by testing with Salkawski reagent (modified from
Glickmann and Dessaux 1995).
Soil, chemical fertilizer, and water management
Soil was randomly sampled from a neglected paddy field at
Pathum Thani province. The plant remains were removed, and
then the soil was twice sterilized by autoclaving at 121 °C for
10 min. Soil quality was analyzed by the Soil Fertilizer
Environment Scientific Development Project at the
Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture in
Kasetsart University, Thailand (Table 2). Commercial chemi-
cal fertilizer formulas (N–P–K), 16–20–0 and 46–0–0, were
applied in this study. According to Department of Agriculture,
Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Thailand, the full
doses of fertilizer recommended to use in rice field are 16–20–
0 of 156.25 kg ha−1 and 46–0–0 of 62.5 kg ha−1. Fertilizer
quantity applied in this experiment was adjusted to the surface
area of the pots. This experiment was studied under flooding
environment. After transplanting for 15 days, seedling was
continuously flooded with 10 cm water until the late tillering
stage (100 days after sowing), and water was drained during
the ripening stage.
Table 1 Proximate analysis of N. carneum TUBT04 and N. commune
TUBT05
Parameters N. carneum N. commune
TUBT04 TUBT05
C/N ratio 0.5:1 4:1
Organic matter (%) 0.1 0.7
Total nitrogen (%) <0.5 <0.5
Total organic carbon (TOC) (%) 0.05 0.4
Total phosphorus (TP2O5) (%) <0.29 1.5
Potassium (mg kg−1) 500 13,000
J Appl Phycol

Table 2 Soil qualities experiment was conducted in a completely randomized

Parameters Soil design with five replicates. Rice was grown in pots con-
taining 12 kg soil which were divided into nine treatments;
Total nitrogen (%) 0.21–0.29 without cyanobacteria and fertilizer (control), with only
C/N ratio 10.27–16.54 biofertilizer (T1: inoculated with cyanobacterium
pH 5.3–5.6 N. carneum TUBT04 12 g wet, T2: inoculated with cya-
Organic matter (%) 5.20–5.89 nobacterium N. commune TUBT05 12 g wet and T3: inoc-
Phosphorus (mg kg−1) 27–45 ulated with N. carneum TUBT04 6 g wet plus N. commune
Potassium (mg kg−1) 502–1087 TUBT05 6 g wet), with the full dose of chemical fertilizer
Calcium (mg kg−1) 2620–4287 (T4), with a half dose of the chemical fertilizer (T5), and
Magnesium (mg kg−1) 73–1307 with a half dose of chemical fertilizer combined with
% Soil texture (sand/silt/clay) 18–20:24–36:44–58 biofertilizer (T6–T8) (Table 3). Thirteen germinated seeds
Soil texture clay were randomly sown in each pot and watered daily.
Chemical and biofertilizers were added for 7 days before
sowing rice and for 45 days after sowing. The experiment
Rice was carried out outdoors in a nursery house during
August–November, 2013. Four 15-day-old rice seedlings
Oryza sativa L. cv. Pathum Thani 1 rice cultivar was obtained were randomly collected for seedling growth determina-
from the Pathum Thani Rice Research Center (Rice Research tion. Growth parameters including shoot and root length
Institute, Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and fresh and dry weights of shoot and root were mea-
and Cooperative, Thailand). The germination rate was deter- sured. When the first sampling was done, to reduce effects
mined by soaking rice grains in distilled water for 24 h, plac- of genetic variance of the rice seeds, three comparable
ing on wet paper within a transparent plastic box and incubat- seedlings were left to grow for harvesting. After the exper-
ing at 25 °C for 5 days. A germination rate of 94.67% was iment at 111 days, yields were examined. Yield parame-
recorded. For the experiments, rice seeds were soaked in dis- ters, composed of the quantity including the amount of
tilled water for a day and placed on wet paper under sterile spike per plant and the amount of grain per spikes, and
condition for a night. Then, seeds were sown in the pot trials. quality including total weight of rice grains per spike and
total weight of 100 seeds were measured. IAA production
in soil and soil organic matter in the pots were sampled and
Effects of cyanobacteria and chemical fertilizer on rice examined 45 days after transplanting and harvesting.
growth and yields Unfortunately, due to a high density of rhizome of three
plants in the pots, soil samples could not be used as a
The effects of cyanobacteria and chemical fertilizer on sample. As a result of that, the analysis of IAA production
growths and yields of rice were studied in pots. The and soil organic matter could not be done.

Table 3 Experimental treatments for the effects of cyanobacteria and chemical fertilizer on rice growth and yields (cyanobacteria inoculation:
soil = 1 g wet weight:1 kg)

Treatments Soil (kg) 1st fertilizer addition (7 days before planting) 2nd fertilizer addition (45 day rice)

Biofertilizer Chemical fertilizer Biofertilizer Chemical fertilizer

(16–20–0) (g) (46–0–0) (g)
N. carneum N. commune N. carneum N. commune
TUBT04 (g) TUBT05 (g) TUBT04 (g) TUBT05 (g)

Control 12
1 12
2 12
3 12
4 12
5 12
6 12
7 12
8 12
– – – – – –
12 – – 12 – –
– 12 – – 12 –
6 6 – 6 6 –
– – 2 – – 0.8
– – 1 – – 0.4
12 – 1 12 – 0.4
– 12 1 – 12 0.4
6 6 1 6 6 0.4

Data analysis
The results are described in terms of the average of five
pots ± standard error. Data were analyzed by one way analysis
of variance to determine the significant difference of treat-
ments, at p level of 0.05, and the means were compared by
Tukey’s HSD test. Results sharing the same lowercase letters
are not significantly different from each other (Tukey’s HSD,
p < 0.05).
Results
Cyanobacterial characteristics
Nostoc commune TUBT05 produced higher
exopolysaccharide (607.82 ± 5.08 mg L −1 ) and IAA
(27.17 ± 0.12 μg mL−1) which is higher than N. carneum
TUBT04 (320.90 ± 4.70 mg L−1 and 20.05 ± 1.33 μg mL−1,
respectively) (Table 4). These two cyanobacteria showed
promising characteristics in terms of biofertilizer that contrib-
utes to the production of plant growth hormone and the im-
provement of soil humidity and soil conditioner.
Effects of cyanobacteria and chemical fertilizer on rice
growth and yields
Biofertilizer supplement promoted rice seedling growth.
Compared to the control treatment, inoculation with
cyanobacteria showed an increase in root length, shoot length,
wet weight, and dry weight of rice seedlings. Applying
N. carneum TUBT04 together with N. commune TUBT05
(T3) resulted in maximum root length (5.66 ± 0.34 cm) which
was significantly longer than the control treatment
(4.03 ± 0.41 cm) (p = 0.041) (Table 5). The comparison of
the two strains demonstrated that the supplement with
N. commune TUBT05 (T2) showed greater potential in stim-
ulating root length and wet and dry weights than N. carneum
TUBT04 (T1). In addition, the treatment applied with the
combination of cyanobacteria resulted in better rice produc-
tion in terms of quantity and quality (Table 6).
Concerning full and a half dose of chemical fertilizer, the
supplement with single or combined cyanobacteria to a half
dose of fertilizer did not enhance seedling growth (Table 4).
However, rice grown in the treatment that combined
Table 4 Amount of exopolysaccharide (EPS) and IAA production
from N. carneum TUBT04 and N. commune TUBT05
Cyanobacteria EPS (mg L−1) IAA (μg mL−1)
N. carneum TUBT04 320.90 ± 4.70 20.05 ± 1.33
N. commune TUBT05 607.82 ± 5.08 27.17 ± 0.12
J Appl Phycol
biofertilizer with a half recommended chemical fertilizer dose
showed higher yields than the full dose of fertilizer treatment
in both quantity and quality (Table 5). In terms of quantity, the
supplement of cyanobacteria to a half dose of synthetic fertil-
izer resulted in higher amount of spikes per plant and grains
per spike. The combination of N. carneum TUBT04 and
N. commune TUBT05 with a half dose of chemical fertilizer
(T8) significantly improved the amount of grains per spike
(136.02 ± 2.55 grains) (p < 0.001) and total grain weight per
spike (3.013 ± 0.090 g) (p < 0.001), which were compared to
the full dose of fertilizer (T4) (117.76 ± 4.38 grains and
2.518 ± 0.104 g, respectively). Moreover, the maximum value
of total weight of 100 grains was recorded from T7
(2.277 ± 0.027 g) in N. commune TUBT05 combined with a
half dose of chemical fertilizer.
Discussion
Unlike Anabaena sp. CW1, most cyanobacteria have been
reported to produced IAA under the condition of adding tryp-
tophan as a precursor substrate in the culture medium
(Sergeeva et al. 2002; Mehboob et al. 2010; Prasanna et al.
2010). Study of the two strains, N. carneum TUBT04 and
N. commune TUBT05, indicated that tryptophan was not re-
quired for IAA synthesis and they were able to excrete IAA.
Calothrix sp. (403), Calothrix sp. (405), and Phormidium
animale (302) also produced auxin without tryptophan in the
culture medium, but the mung bean bioassay showed very
little auxin-like activity (Stirk et al. 2002). Additionally, the
capabilities to produce and secrete exopolysaccharide provide
their promising characteristics of biofertilizer. The direct ap-
plication of crude polysaccharide extracted from Nostoc
muscorum to soil increased soil aggregate stability more than
inoculation of the soil with cyanobacterial biomass (de Caire
et al. 1997). Cyanobacterial exopolysaccharide has been sug-
gested to reduce the toxicity of heavy metals via biosorption
processes. Surface area of living N. muscorum contains sev-
eral functional groups such as carboxylic, hydroxyl, amino,
and amide groups, which are capable of binding with heavy
metals resulting in high removal efficiency of Pb (89%) and
Cd (79%) from an artificial solution (Dixit and Singh 2014).
The Pb, Cd, and Ni contents in root and seed of broadbean
(Vicia faba) in a treatment supplemented with a mixture of
Nostoc minutum and Anabaena spiroides with organic fertil-
izer were lower than those of the treatment supplemented by
100% chemical or organic compounds (Al-Sherif et al. 2015).
Moreover, cyanobacteria, the dominating organisms in bio-
logical soil crusts, have been shown to promote soil stability
and reduce water loss (Bu et al. 2014). Extracellular polysac-
charide from cyanobacteria generated a biofilm layer on
which consequently other organisms are colonized and re-
cruited (Rossi et al. 2015). Regarding these attributes,
J Appl Phycol

Table 5 Average root and shoot length and wet weight and dry weight of 15-day rice seedling from different nine treatments

Treatments Length (cm) Wet weight (g) Dry weight (g)

Root Shoot Root Shoot Root Shoot

Control 4.03 ± 0.41b 26.59 ± 1.71 0.097 ± 0.010 0.275 ± 0.061 0.009 ± 0.002 0.035 ± 0.010
1 5.13 ± 0.44ab 31.23 ± 0.94 0.109 ± 0.005 0.326 ± 0.034 0.010 ± 0.003 0.042 ± 0.007
2 5.60 ± 0.29a 29.88 ± 1.09 0.135 ± 0.007 0.330 ± 0.039 0.013 ± 0.001 0.038 ± 0.006
3 5.66 ± 0.34a 28.44 ± 1.08 0.111 ± 0.004 0.281 ± 0.033 0.012 ± 0.002 0.038 ± 0.006
4 5.19 ± 0.30ab 30.93 ± 0.66 0.113 ± 0.011 0.364 ± 0.043 0.010 ± 0.002 0.045 ± 0.005
5 5.13 ± 0.34ab 28.44 ± 1.14 0.101 ± 0.004 0.280 ± 0.029 0.014 ± 0.002 0.037 ± 0.005
6 4.91 ± 0.36ab 28.29 ± 1.34 0.105 ± 0.011 0.330 ± 0.070 0.011 ± 0.003 0.046 ± 0.010
7 4.73 ± 0.30ab 28.62 ± 1.22 0.112 ± 0.004 0.311 ± 0.027 0.017 ± 0.002 0.042 ± 0.005
8 4.68 ± 0.29ab 27.92 ± 1.57 0.109 ± 0.008 0.304 ± 0.055 0.015 ± 0.003 0.041 ± 0.009

The results are described in terms of the average of five replicates ± standard error and those sharing the same lowercase letters are not significantly
different from each other (Turkey’s HSD, p < 0.05)

cyanobacteria are now suggested as good eco- and agro-
friendly applicant organisms to restore, maintain, and enhance
soil and land stability, fertility, quality, and productivity in
degraded ecosystems (Rossi et al. 2015). However, Ohki
et al. (2014) suggested that the yield of EPS produced from
the cyanobacterium, Cyanothece sp., under different light in-
tensities and temperatures in the laboratory was lower than an
EPS yields secreted in the natural habitat—rice fields.
We showed that using the cyanobacteria, N. carneum
TUBT04 and N. commune TUBT05, as biofertilizers im-
proved seedling growth and yield of rice cv. Pathum Thani 1
similar to previous reports for rice, wheat, and pea
(Karthikeyan et al. 2007; Osman et al. 2010; Dash et al.
2016a). Pereira et al. (2009) also reported that using local
strains of filamentous cyanobacteria as biofertilizer can reduce
the use of synthetic fertilizer by 50%, resulting in the same
grain yield as the use of full dose of chemical fertilizer.
Additionally, inoculation of native cyanobacteria strains found
in waterlogged of rice fields, without or plus urea to rice crop
in pot experiment, showed that application of heterocystous
Gloeotrichia sp. significantly increased grain yield over unin-
oculated control treatment both in the wet and dry season
(p < 0.001) (Dash et al. 2016a). Since the indigenous species
can certainly adapt and grow in the local environment, this
enables them to tolerate the changes in climate and function
well. Cyanobacteria have been reported to synthesize and se-
crete various growth promoting substances, e.g., auxins, gib-
berellins, and cytokinins (Sood et al. 2011; Hashtroudi et al.
2013; Kaushik 2014). These bioactive chemicals have many
essential functions in plant growth regulation, plant metabo-
lism, and plant development (Hashtroudi et al. 2013). IAA
and cytokinin are considered as a growth-promoting sub-
stances enhancing seed germination, shoot length, tillering,
the amount of lateral roots, spike length, and grain weight of
wheat (Karthikeyan et al. 2007; Hussain and Hasnain 2011;
Mazhar et al. 2013). Saadatnia and Riahi (2009) reported that
the germination of rice seed soaked with water and 0.1 g wet
cyanobacteria was faster than the control treatment soaked in
water without cyanobacteria. Although, this study could not
demonstrate IAA production in the pot trials, the experiment

Table 6 Yield parameters of rice

after harvesting Treatments Amount of spike per Amount of grains per Total grain weight Total weight of 100
plant (spike) spike (grains) per spike (g) grains (g)

Control 25.53 ± 2.62 99.24 ± 5.12d 2.030 ± 0.120d 2.062 ± 0.042bc

1 29.13 ± 1.25 119.55 ± 2.91bc 2.397 ± 0.078cd 2.047 ± 0.041c
2 29.40 ± 1.09 114.13 ± 3.09cd 2.300 ± 0.084cd 2.056 ± 0.041b
3 31.53 ± 1.26 115.04 ± 3.81bcd 2.400 ± 0.080cd 2.156 ± 0.031abc
4 28.40 ± 2.09 117.76 ± 4.38bc 2.518 ± 0.104bc 2.171 ± 0.040abc
5 27.20 ± 2.68 128.56 ± 4.07abc 2.801 ± 0.071ab 2.277 ± 0.041a
6 28.80 ± 1.67 130.76 ± 3.33ab 2.964 ± 0.078a 2.245 ± 0.042a
7 28.20 ± 1.21 128.38 ± 2.07abc 2.888 ± 0.052ab 2.277 ± 0.027a
8 33.07 ± 1.10 136.02 ± 2.55a 3.013 ± 0.090a 2.226 ± 0.038ab

The results are described in terms of the average of five replicates ± standard error and those sharing the same
lowercase letters are not significantly different from each other (Turkey’s HSD, p < 0.05)

conducted in laboratory revealed that N. carneum TUBT04
and N. commune TUBT05 produced and released IAA. The
maximum root length of seedling in treatment supplemented
with cyanobacteria (T2 and T3) may be caused by IAA.
However, the combination of cyanobacteria and chemical fer-
tilizer (T6, T7, and T8) showed less root length than the treat-
ments where only cyanobacteria were applied (T1, T2, and
T3) or synthetic fertilizer (T5 and T6). Dash et al. (2016b)
recently reported that increasing quantity of chemical fertilizer
(urea or ammonium sulfate) significantly decreased
cyanobacterial biomass. In contrast, Padhy et al. (2014) found
the presence of chemical fertilizers (urea, superphosphate and
potash) did not inhibit growth of rice field N2-fixing hetero-
cystous Cylindrospermum sp. On the other hand, Prasanna
et al. (2013) documented that rice yields in treatments using
single or combined microbial inoculants (Anabaena doliolum,
Anabaena torulosa, N. carneum, and Nostoc piscinale) were
similar to treatments using the full dose of chemical fertilizers.
Furthermore, cyanobacteria have been reported to de-
grade phosphate from insoluble FePO4 to a soluble form
(Vaishampayan et al. 2001). Hence, cyanobacteria also play
the role in phosphate decomposition in agriculture by trans-
formation of insoluble phosphate compounds into soluble
form, which can be easily adsorbed by the crop (Kaushik
2014; Singh et al. 2014). Cyanobacteria belonging to genera
Nostoc, Phormidium, and Oscillatoria have also been shown
to degrade an organo-phosphorus insecticide and remove
some herbicides making soil healthier for agriculture
(Singh et al. 2014). The decomposition of cyanobacteria also
provides organic matter, nitrogen, and phosphorus to soil.
Furthermore, Anabaena spp. has been reported that they
showed a biocontrol potential effectively against phytopath-
ogenic fungi (Chaudhary et al. 2013). Cyanobacteria also
enhance the soil biological activity by increasing the soil
bacterial population, CO2 evolution, and enzyme dehydro-
genase and nitrogenase activities, which improve soil quality
for plant production (Hegazi et al. 2010). Therefore, using
cyanobacteria as biofertilizer provides not only a supplement
to enhance crop growth and production but also the improve-
ment of soil microorganism activity, soil fertility, and soil
environment leading to sustainable agriculture. Moreover,
the utilization of biological nitrogen fixing organisms plus
synthetic fertilizer reduces the use of chemical fertilizer with-
out any effects on crop yield.
In conclusion, N. carneum TUBT04 and N. commune
TUBT05 showed promising characteristics of biofertilizer in
terms of IAA and exopolysaccharide production and secre-
tion. The pot experimental results demonstrated that using a
half of the recommended dose of chemical fertilizer plus
cyanobacteria as biofertilizer improved the growth and the
production of rice cv. Pathum Thani 1. Using of a half dose
of chemical fertilizer combined with cyanobacteria is sug-
gested to decrease rice production cost for farmers without
J Appl Phycol
any effects on rice growth and yield. However, further study
is required to determine how cyanobacteria enhance rice
growth and yields.
Acknowledgements The financial support by Thammasat University is
highly acknowledged. Special thanks to the Department of
Biotechnology and Central Scientific Instrument Center (CSIC),
Faculty of Science and Technology, Thammasat University for the kind
support of all facilities. We would like to thank Miss Pornprapa
Siritheptawee and Miss Kanthida Jangyubol for being assistants in IAA
and EPS assays and Miss Watcharee Kunyalung for being assistants in
cyanobacteria identification.
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