Mesquite bean and cassava leaf in diets for Nile tilapia in growth

Monaliza Freitas Sena,Luis Gustavo Tavares Braga,Leandro Batista Costa,João Sérgio Oliveira Carvalho,Rafael Vieira De Azevedo,Ana Paula De Souza Ramos

doi:10.4025/actascianimsci.v34i3.13175

Abstract

This work evaluated the inclusion of mesquite bean bran (Prosopis juliflora) and cassava leaf bran (Manihot esculenta) in diets for Nile tilapia (85.22 ± 3.13 g). Three hundred and thirty-six fish were distributed in 28 fiberglass tanks (120 L) in a 2 × 4 factorial scheme for two sources of oil and four levels of bran (0, 5, 10 and 20%) (n = 4). After 60 days, growth performance (feed intake, weight gain, apparent feed conversion and survival rate) and fish body composition were evaluated. Heights and density of villi were measured for morphometric analysis of the intestinal mucosa. Animal performance, body composition and villi density were not affected (p > 0.05) by the source and level of inclusion of bran. There was a significant effect of the level of inclusion of bran on villi height, with a linear trend, indicating that the higher the inclusion levels of bran, the lower the height of the villi. The bran studied can be used in diets for Nile tilapia up to 20% without compromising growth performance and body composition change, but the presence of these by-products can result in a deleterious effect on fish villi.

Highlights

The Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) is an important species in intensive aquaculture for presenting fast growth and excellent performance in intensive production systems (SCORVO FILHO et al, 2010), for being omnivorous and accepting feeds, from the post-larva to the finishing phases (BOSCOLO et al, 2001).In intensive aquaculture, production costs related to feeding can reach 70% of total production cost (GUIMARÃES et al, 2008), a fact that has beenActa Scientiarum
For the variables feed intake, weight gain, apparent feed conversion and survival rate there were no differences between the tilapia that received feeds with mesquite bean bran or cassava leaves bran, regardless of the level of inclusion, i.e., the growth of fish fed diets with up to 20% of any of the brans is equivalent (Table 2)
At the end of the experimental period, the mean values of feed intake, weight gain, apparent feed conversion and survival rate of tilapia fed mesquite bean and cassava leaves did not differ (p > 0.05) from those obtained with control feed (0% bran inclusion)

Summary

Introduction

The Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) is an important species in intensive aquaculture for presenting fast growth and excellent performance in intensive production systems (SCORVO FILHO et al, 2010), for being omnivorous and accepting feeds, from the post-larva to the finishing phases (BOSCOLO et al, 2001).In intensive aquaculture, production costs related to feeding can reach 70% of total production cost (GUIMARÃES et al, 2008), a fact that has beenActa Scientiarum. Production costs related to feeding can reach 70% of total production cost (GUIMARÃES et al, 2008), a fact that has been. Studies that involve the exploitation of alternative foods such as components of feeds, in part or totally replacing the traditional foods, are becoming increasingly frequent (CHENG; HARDY, 2002; GUIMARÃES et al, 2008; KÖPRÜCÜ; ÖZDEMIR, 2005; LOPES et al, 2010; RICHTER et al, 2003; SANTOS et al, 2009). The Brazilian production is concentrated in the Northeast region and studies have been conducted for inclusion of the mesquite bean in feed of cattle, sheep, pigs and birds to minimize the costs of animal production (STEIN et al, 2005)

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