Author: Ravi Ramakrishna

Publisher: FAO Fisheries Technical Papers

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789251074350

"This study reviews the aquaculture of Indian major carps, rohu (Labeo rohita), catla (Catla catla) and mrigal (Cirrhinus cirrhosus) with special reference to current feeding and feed management practices in Andhra Pradesh, India. The study is based on a survey of 106 farmers from four regions in Andhra Pradesh (Kolleru, Krishna, West Godavari, and Nellore). The study was undertaken between December 2009 to July 2010. Kolleru and the surrounding districts of Krishna and West Godavari are the primary culture areas. In Nellore district, Indian major carp culture is practiced at a lower intensity to that practiced in Kolleru. In East Godavari district, Indian major carps are primarily cultured in polyculture systems with either tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) or freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii). While the study primarily focused on the feed management practices associated with Indian major carp production, management practices that are used under polyculture conditions with other species groups were also assessed. The study revealed that mash feed was the most popular and widely used feed type. De-oiled rice bran was used as the principal feed ingredient followed by groundnut cake and cotton seed cake. All the farmers reported using de-oiled rice bran, followed by groundnut cake (56 percent farmers), cotton seed cake (40 percent), raw rice bran (30 percent) and other mash feed ingredients. The poor quality of the mash feed ingredients, especially the de-oiled rice bran, groundnut cake, and cotton seed cake was an important issue of concern to the farmers. Commercially manufactured pellet feeds were used by 33 percent of the farmers to compliment their mash feeds, with the majority electing to use sinking pellets. Since 2007, there has been a marked increase in the use of commercially manufactured aquafeeds, most notably for the large scale production of the striped catfish Pangasianodon hypophthalmus. Grow-out farmers feeding mash feeds used variants of a bag feeding method known as rope and pole feeding. In Nellore district some farmers practiced hapa feeding, while in East Godavari district, farmers fed fish in both the culture ponds (bag feeding) and hapas. Tiger shrimp or freshwater prawns were fed in these ponds using broadcast feeding methods. In the nursery and rearing ponds, the commonly used feed ingredients included groundnut cake, de-oiled rice bran and raw rice bran. The most common feeding practice was broadcast feeding. Rohu broodstock that were collected during the breeding season were fed in a similar manner to the fish in the grow-out production systems. Catla broodstock was segregated from the other culture species, and fed a diet comprising soybean cake, dried fish, and a mineral mixture. Constraints to Indian major carp production were identified, and research and development needs characterized."--Abstract.