Cultivation of Gracilaria verrucosa (Hudson) papenfuss at greenhouse conditions using different culture mediums and determination of agar yields

Using of seaweed go on to ancient times but their scientific utilizationoccured in the last centuries. Because of seaweeds have high proximate consum ption,researcher, to solve the nutrition problem which depends on incereases of population,proposed them a good raw material for food industry and started the process. Withdeveloping technology, seaweeds used for to extracted products (agar -agar, alginate,carragean). This products have different using areas like food, phramacy andcosmetic. Agar which extracted from red seaweed found area especially inbacteriology and have gained commercial value around the world. Use of Gracilariaverrucosa (Hudson) Papenfuss for raw material of agar -agar in many countries,makes this seaweeds more valuable. In this study, growing of G. verrucosa?s indifferent culture mediums (Conway and Modified Johnson medium) were examinedat algae production unit located in Dardanos Campus of COMU and specialities ofagar-agar were determined. Maximum and minimum specific growth rates werecalculated 3,31±0,78 % day-1 (October) and 1,35±0,87 % day-1 (March) at Conwaymedium and as 4,03±1,63 % day -1 (October) and 1,21±0,34 % day-1 (March) atModified Johnson Medium, repectively. Also, agar contents changed between11,22±1,54 % to 21,92±2,24 % for Conway Medium and the highest and the lowestvalues were observed as 18,64±2,38 % and 9,65±1,22 % for Modified JohnsonMedium.Key words: Gracilaria verrucosa, Macro algae, tank cultivation, growth parameters,agar - agar.