Abstract:
Seaweeds are macroscopic marine algae which mostly visible with naked eye, photosynthetic and eukaryotic organisms. Sri Lanka has many varieties of marine algae and about 340 seaweed species (Durairatnam, 1961) that has a high potential to add value. Unfortunately exploitation and utilization of seaweeds is at a minimum level in Sri Lanka. The developments of Seaweed Liquid Fertilizer (SLF) from brown seaweed (Sargassum sp.) contribute scientifically and technologically to add value to seaweeds in Sri Lanka. SLF contain macro nutrients, trace elements, organic substances, and plant growth regulators such as auxin, cytokinkin and gibberellins (Thirumaran et at., 2009) and are important for plants to increase the yield of crop plants, increase nutrient uptake from the soil, enhance water retention capacity of soil and act as a soil conditioner. The present study is the first attempt in Sri Lanka to develop a Liquid fertilizer using seaweeds.
