• 한국환경농학회지
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• 제39권1호
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• pp.20-25
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• 2020

BACKGROUND: Marine algae is a productive organism that is consumed as a nutritious food. However, large amounts of unused portions of the algae are incinerated as trash or dumped in the sea, causing pollution. Recycling algae is important for saving resources and conserving the environment. In this study, the fucoidan which is a major carbohydrate of marine algae was tested as a source of fertilizer for farming. METHODS AND RESULTS: The growth rate of the melon was examined after treating fucoidan and the melon growth factors, weight and length of stem were measured. To discover the mechanism of melon growth promotion of fucoidan, bacteria that decomposed fucoidan were isolated from soil and abalone. Bacillus wiedmannii and Stenotrophomonas pavanii were isolated from terrestrial soil and Pseudomonas sp. was isolated from abalone. Among these three bacteria, Pseudomonas sp. had the highest and most specific fucoidan-decomposing activity. When Pseudomonas sp. was treated with fucoidan on melon-growing soil, the growth of melon was relatively improved compared to the treatment with fucoidan alone. CONCLUSION: We found that fucoidan, the main carbohydrate of marine algae, promoted melon growth. Fucoidan-decomposing microorganisms were isolated from terrestrial soil and marine organism, and we found that these bacteria stimulated the effect of melon growth promotion of marine algae. This is the first report that confirms the fertilizer effect of marine algae and shows the use of bacteria with marine algae.