Seasonal variation in the biomass and agar yield from Gracilaria cervicornis and Hydropuntia cornea from Brazil

Seasonality of biomass and agar yield from two agarophytes (G. cervicornis and H. cornea ) was determined. The biomass from G. cervicornis was higher (390 g mÿ2 ) during the dry season and lower during the rainy season (129 g mÿ2 ). The data analysis for G. cervicornis revealed a signi®cant seasonal variation …P < 0:05†. H. cornea did not show a clear seasonal variation and was present only from March to August. The peak in biomass for this species was recorded in April (383 g mÿ2 ) and was signi®cantly di€erent from the other months …P < 0:05†. The agar yield for G. cervicornis varied from 11% to 20%, with generally higher values recorded during the dry season. The agar yield showed a highly signi®cant variation …P < 0:001†. Agar yield from H. cornea ranged from 29% to 41%, with a peak recorded in June. The results above indicate that H. cornea can be considered a good candidate for commercial use.