抄録
Cultivation of Gracilaria fisheri was conducted in three
abandoned shrimp ponds to obtain data of its growth and yield around Pattani
Bay, southern Thailand. The experimental ponds were 0.64 (pond 1), 0.32
(pond 2), and 0.36 (pond 3) ha in area. The daily seawater supply naturally
depended on the tidal level through an inlet/outlet gate. The seeding were
conducted using thalli obtained from another farm by tearing into small
fragments and then scattering into the study ponds with an initial density
of 92 ± 28 g m-2. The seaweed fragments were torn and
scattered every week until growth was observed. As the results, growth rates
of G. fisheri were 9.2 ± 2.8 % day-1 at maximum
and 4.6 ± 3.1 % day-1 in average before the first harvest at
eighth weeks. Algal yields exhibited highest values after a cultivation
period of 6 weeks in pond 1 (1,332.9 g m-2), 8 weeks in pond 2
(3,021.3 g m-2) and 8 weeks in pond 3 (2,107.3 g m-2).
After half of the thalli in each pond were harvested, the remaining thalli
were torn and culture was continued. From 20 weeks of cultivation, the
cultivars yielded a total of 7,200 kg fw (pond 1), 14,000 kg fw (pond 2) and
18,700 kg fw (pond 3). Ice-ice phenomena and epiphytic Hypnea
cervicornis were observed in pond 1. The cultivators have limited
possibilities for expansion of G. fisheri cultivation
because of holding on small areas in ponds. The results indicated that it is
possible to employ vegetative propagation for the cultivation of G.
fisheri in abandoned shrimp ponds, however expansion of the
cultivation to open areas in Pattani Bay should be considered.
