Aquatic animals + growing rice can increase yields, reduce chemical use

The findings suggest a way to help reduce environmental hazards associated with rice production, with potential economic benefits for rice farmers

Modern farms typically grow only one crop and require a lot of fertilizers and pesticides

"One example includes farmers experimenting with growing aquatic animals in paddy fields," said lead author Liang Guo, a postdoctoral fellow at Zhejiang University's School of Life Sciences

Guo and his colleagues conducted three trials, each lasting four years, to compare the growth of rice with carp, mitten crab or soft-shell turtles, and rice grown alone

"We also found that in rice fields with aquatic animals, nitrogen levels in the soil remained stable, reducing the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers," said co-first author Zhao Lufeng, a doctoral student at Zhejiang University's School of Life Sciences

The team next looked at what the animals ate in the rice fields

The yield of rice grown with aquatic animals was about 8.

"These results enhance our understanding of the role of animals in agro-ecosystems and support the idea that growing crops next to animals has many benefits

Journal Reference :

1. Lufeng Zhao, Liang Guo, Junlong Ye, Zijun Ji, Jian-Jun Tang, Keyu Bai, Sijun Zheng, Liangliang Hu, Xin Chen.