Assessing the potential of Azolla to boost homestead production and quality of Daucus Carota l. in Uganda
Abstract
Azolla has pronounced effect growth, yield and nutritive value of Daucus carota. An experiment
was carried out at the Makerere Botanic garden. Azolla was applied under four different
treatments i.e. 50g, 100g, 150g & 200g and a control experiment was included. The experiment
was laid out in a randomized block design and it consisted of 15pots. Each treatment was
replicated thrice. Seeds of the nantes Daucus carota variety were sown on 4th January 2019 and
harvesting was done on 4th April 2019. Each pot had three Daucus carota plants and data was
collected randomly from each plant at harvest. Azolla showed significant effects on growth and
yield of Daucus carota. Maximum shoot height was obtained by 250g treatment and maximum
fresh weight was obtained by 50g treatment. Fresh weight of the control and 100g were not
significantly different, the 100g treatment had abnormally low fresh weight due to infestation by
spider mites that started at this point. The results of nutrient composition of 100g were also lower
than expected. The 250g treatment showed the best response in all parameters except for fresh
weight. 50g treatment showed the best response in fresh weight. The poorest performance for all
parameters was recorded in the control. The results of the study revealed that all parameters
except crude fiber content were significantly influenced by Azolla application. Generally, those
Azolla fertilization rates that maximized carrot root yield also maximized carrot quality as
determined by protein, beta carotene and carbohydrate concentrations.