Multifacets of Water Hyacinth: A Cinderella of the plant world

N. Lata* and Veenapani Dubey**

Botany Department, C.M.D.P.G.College
Gurughasi Das University, Bilaspur (C.G)India

Water is one of the most important natural resources. It is often

adversely affected by aquatic weeds resulting in critical problems in agriculture,
navigation, irrigation, pisciculture and public health. The menace of water weeds
is reaching alarming proportions in many parts of the world. The problem is global
but more pronounced in tropical and subtropical zone. Water hyacinth (Eichhornia
crassipes) is so called “menace and nuisance” but a highly productive aquatic weed
causing a serious hindrance to nations developmental activities.

Eichhornia crassipes Mart Solm. (Vern- Kachuripana / Bilatipana)

(Family-Pontederaceae) is a free floating nuisance aquatic angiospermic weed with
beautiful purple flowers, commonly known as water hyacinth (a Cinderella of plant
world). It is a highly propagative noxious plant species described as world’s
worst weed. The mechanical, chemical and biological methods of eradicating this
weed are not proved much. Therefore a gradual change in the destructive attitude
towards this apparently troublesome plant should be turned in to a positive
attitude and its productive use.

Aquatic weeds constitute a crop, requiring no tillage,

fertilizer, seed or cultivation, utility and development which makes them a
promising source of multipurpose raw material. Eichhornia crassipes has been found
to have potential for various uses. Some of them have been reviewed here:-

Phytoremediation:
Water hyacinth can be used to aid the process of water
purification either for drinking water or for liquid effluent from sewage systems.
In a drinking water treatment plant, water hyacinth has been used as part of the
pretreatment purification step. In sewage systems, the root structures of water
hyacinth provide a suitable environment for aerobic bacteria to function. Aerobic
bacteria feed on nutrients and produce inorganic compounds which in turn provide
food for the plants. The plant is effectively capable of accumulating heavy and
trace elements such as Cobalt, Cromium, Copper, Manganese, Nickel, Zinc, Cadmium,
Lead and also removes Phenols and carcinogenic materials from the water bodies.

Biogas Production:
The fibrous component of water hyacinth is useful as a base for a
biogas-producing system. Work at NASA has demonstrated that each kilogram of the
plant (dry weight) yields about 370 litres of biogas, with an average methane
content of 69%. Primarily in India with quantities of up to 4000 litres of gas per
tones of semi dried water hyacinth being produced with a methane content of up to
64 %.

Animal fodder:
In China pig farmers boil chopped water hyacinth with vegetable
waste, rice bran, copra cake and salt to make a suitable feed. In Malaysia fresh
water hyacinth is cooked with rice bran and fishmeal and mixed with copra meal as
feed for pigs, ducks and pond fish. Similar practices are much used in Indonesia,
Philippines, Thailand and china. Silage composed of water hyacinth can be used for
ruminant diets with excellent results for acceptability, dry matter and protein
digestibility. This type of feed has been evaluated with cattle and sheep.

Fertilizers:
The plant can be used on the land either as a green manure or as
compost. As a green manure it can be either ploughed in to the ground or used as
mulch. The plant is ideal for composting. The compost increases soil fertility and
crop yield and generally improves the quality of soil. In Sri Lanka water hyacinth
is mixed with organic municipal waste, ash and soil, composted and sold to local
farmers and market gardeners.

Fish feed:
Water hyacinth has also been used indirectly to feed fish.
Dehydrated plant has been added to the diet of channel catfish fingerlings to
increase their growth. It has also been noted that decay of water hyacinth after
chemical control releases nutrients which promote the growth of phytoplankton with
subsequent increases in fish yield

Paper:
Another possibility for the use of water hyacinth is as a source
of pulp and paper. When the plant fibre is particularly blended with waste water
paper or jute it results in the production of good quality paper.

Fibre board:
Another application of water hyacinth is the production of fibre
boards for variety of end uses. The physical properties of the board are
sufficiently good for use on indoor partition walls and ceilings.

Yarn and rope:

The fibre from the stems of the plant can be used to make rope.
In Bangladesh, the rope is used by a local furniture manufacturer who winds the
rope around a cane frame to produce an elegant finished product.

Basket work:
In the Philippines water hyacinth is dried and used to make
baskets and matting for domestic use. In India, the plant is also used to produce
similar goods for the tourist industry.

Pigments:
In Guatemala, the leaf or aerial part with flowers of water hyacinth used as a
source of pigments in the diets of laying hens and broilers because the plant
exhibits high levels and a good distribution of pigments.

Single-cell protein (SCP):

Another possibility is the use of the fibrous parts of Eichhornia
crassipes (stolons and petioles) as a source of cellulose for the production of
single-cell protein (SCP).

Alternative uses:
The novel use of the plant is the production of pressed, dried
material with some resin or agglutinant for making a light type of “woody” table.
“Distilled” water can be obtained from the water hyacinth. It is seen that the
transpired water (vapour) could be collected, condensed, and re-used. In Egypt
people distributed the plant as an ornamental plant for public gardens in the
vicinities of larger towns, such as Cairo and in the Nile Delta. Water hyacinth
could be used as a source of mineral nutrient rich compost as a substrate for the
cultivation of high export quality edible mushrooms.

Conclusion:
From the above presentation it is very clear that the water
hyacinth needs to be addressed with a multi pronged approach combining the
resources of various organizations. Efforts should be taken to turn the weeds into
economically and commercially important bio-resources.