Application of the Off-Bottom Methods in Supporting the Growth of Seaweed Turbinaria ornata

Abstract

One type of potential seaweed that is quite abundant is Turbinaria ornata, nevertheless, it has not been widely developed through cultivation in Indonesia. Turbinaria ornata has a very important role in the industrial world as an alginate raw material. This study aimed to determine the application of the off-bottom method cultivation through spacing in supporting the growth (absolute weight growth and relative growth) of seaweed T. ornata. The construction of seaweed T.ornata cultivation is a rectangle measuring 25m x 10m, made of polyethylene ropes fixed with concrete anchors. In the cultivation construction, there are five stretch ropes. Each stretch rope is installed at a distance of 25cm. Placement of seaweed T.ornata cultivation containers, using the off-bottom method, was carried out at a water depth of 1 meter. The data analyzed are absolute weight growth data and relative growth rate. The results showed that plant spacing had a significantly different effect on the growth of absolute weight and relative growth of seaweed Turbinaria ornata. A spacing of 35cm gave the best results for absolute weight growth and relative growth of seaweed Turbinaria ornata.