The efficiency of tubular netting method of cultivation for Kappaphycus alvarezii (Rhodophyta, Gigartinales) on the southeastern Brazilian coast

• DOI: 10.1007/s10811-014-0330-6
• Publication Date: 2014-05-09T05:49:03Z
• Authors: Renata Perpetuo Reis; Roberta Rodrigues...; Henrique Geromel ...
• Keywords: 0401 agriculture, forestry, and fisheries; 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences; 15. Life on land

Kappaphycus alvarezii must be adapted to different environmental conditions when introduced to other countries. In Brazilian commercial cultivations with muddy bottoms and increased seawater movement, the floating rafts system using tubular net technique was superior to the tie-tie technique. However, since this result was from only one cultivation cycle, the efficiency of the tubular net technique in other environments and in different periods of the year was analyzed to verify which K. alvarezii farming technique (tubular net or tie-tie) was more efficient with respect to cost, daily growth rate, and carrageenan yield. The results indicated that the efficiency of the tubular net technique in the farming of K. alvarezii yielded higher daily growth rates and lower farming costs as well as retaining more seedlings on the floating raft that is better for the environment preventing invasiveness.