by Louis Landesman (landesman49@yahoo.com)
are divided into 5 genera: Lemna, Spirodela, Wolffia, Landoltia and Wolffiella. Of these 5 genera Spirodela is the largest and Wolffiella is the smallest. Duckweed normally reproduces by budding (a form of asexual reproduction) although it is capable of sexual reproduction as well. Duckweed may be the most promising plant for the twenty-first century for the following reasons:
Duckweed produces more protein per square meter than soybeans.
Duckweed can be used to feed fish, shrimp, poultry and cattle.
Duckweed can purify and concentrate nutrients from wastewater (sewage effluent).
Duckweed provides food for wildlife, especially waterfowl.
My research with duckweed focused
on 2 questions:
1. Competition between 3 duckweed genera (Lemna, Wolffia and Landoltia).
2. The effect of grazing on the
outcome of this competition.
This research was done at the:
University of Louisiana,
Lafayette, Louisiana
North Carolina State University,
Raleigh, North Carolina
To access my dissertation on the use of duckweed in wastewater
treatment click here (part 1) and
here (part 2).
Sunset, Louisiana
