Impact of algal bio-fertilization on plants grown in sandy soils compared with hydroponic agriculture in Egypt and Tunisia / Mohamed Ahmed Tawfeek Ahmed ; Supervised Adel Saad Elhassanin , Magdy Rizk Samak , Soha Sayed M. Mostafa

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of African Postgrdudate Studies - Department of Natural Resources

High demand for food production is increasing as the world population is growing. Meanwhile, the conventional farming using soil system will not cover the world's growing demand for food. Thus, developing a new farming and planting system techniques is required to avoid food crisis issue in the future. The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of biofertilizers i.e., cyanobacteria (blue green micro-algae) and marine macro-flora (seaweeds and seagrasses), as low-cost ecofriendly bio and organic fertilizers alternative to the environmental polluted high cost chemically manufactured fertilizers, on celery and lettuce plants growth in hydroponic system and sandy soil in Egypt and Tunisia. The experimental approach was to compare between conventional soil system and hydroponic system by planting celery and lettuce plants. This study concluded that it is possible to save 50 - 75% of the recommended mineral fertilization for celery and lettuce crops by using these bio-organic alternatives. Also, results obtained from plant growth performance, some soil properties and economic analyses clarified that using organic and biofertilizers, whether in terrestrial cultivation or hydroponic system, in addition to its economic feasibility it also reduce the harmful effects of mineral fertilization on the environment and human health

Issued also as CD