Bioenrichment of Papaya Leaf Meal (Carica papaya) with Different Feed Formulation to Increase Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Growth

Abstract

The level of absorption of fish nutrients is highly dependent on the source and components of the feed. Feeds with high protein have not been able to be absorbed optimally by fish. The use of synthetic enzymes as proteolytic agents to convert proteins into amino acids that are easily absorbed by fish has been widely used. However, synthetic enzymes has side effects and is quite expensive. The application of papain enzymes derived from papaya leaf as a substitute for synthetic enzymes is very necessary. This purpose of this study to examine the effect of commercial feed with the addition of papaya leaf meal (C. papaya) on the growth out of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). The study used a completely randomized design with 4 treatments and 3 replications. The feed treatment was given with a mixture of papaya leaf with 0%, 1%, 2%, and 3% concentrations. The result of this study showed tha absolute growth ranged from 1.04 – 1.36 grams, specific weight growth ranged from 3.47 – 4.53%, absolute length growth ranged from 2.52 – 2.87 cm, survival rate ranged from 63 – 80%, and FCR ranged from 0.93 – 0.99. However, after the analysis of variance showed that the results were not significantly different (P>0.05) on all observed parameters. Based on the results of the study, the use of papaya leaf meal (C. papaya) as a commercial feed mixture with the best composition was 2%.