Seaweed should not have been termed as such because it is not actually a weed. By definition a weed is a plant considered undesirable, unattractive, or troublesome, especially one growing where it is not wanted, as in a garden. Considering this definition of weed, maybe it should aptly be referred to as “seaplant” or as marine biologist call it, “sea lettuce”.
According to Wikipedia, seaweed is a loose colloquial term encompassing macroscopic, multicellular algae. The term includes some members of the red, brown and green algae. The appearance of seaweed somewhat resembles non-arboreal terrestrial plants. Seaweeds have a variety of uses in medicine & pharmaceuticals, food industry, cosmetics and agriculture.
In the Philippines, seaweed industry is focused on the production of carrageenan and alginates which are mainly from the red and brown species. Seaweed’s use for agriculture is yet to be developed here in the country. The benefits of seaweed extracts for farming and extraction technology have not yet been given enough attention.
Seaweeds have long been used in farming. Accordingly, there are already many reports on the beneficial effects of using liquid seaweed extracts (Blunden, 1977) which includes among others an increased crop yield, resistance of plants to environmental stress, increased uptake of nutrients in the soil, increased resistance to pests & diseases, and enhanced quality of yield. Blunden & Gordon (1986) suggested the presence of plant hormones as being responsible for, at least some of the observed effects. Studies showed that seaweed also provides a balanced combination of nutrients in readily available forms. Blunden (1991) summed up, “there is a sufficient body of information available to show that the use of seaweed extracts is beneficial in certain cases, even though the reasons for the benefits are not fully understood”.
Amebocyte Cell Co., Inc. is one company that saw the prospects of seaweed in farming. It is based in Cebu. The owner, Mr. Ed Castro is keen on developing this aspect of the seaweed industry in the country. He developed a product, Vegegrow Seaweed Extract, seeing the need to have products that greatly benefits the farmers without posing harm to the environment. The company continues to research and develop other products that will provide better farming and better future for food production in the country. Vegegrow is a product that promises to complement your existing farm practices. For more information, contact Marketing & Technical Services @ 09196141540.
