Use of solvent extracted sunflower seed meal in complete diets for fingerling rainbow trout ( Salmo gairdneri Richardson)

Abstract

A preliminary 150-day feeding trial was conducted with fingerling rainbow trout to ascertain the nutritive value of solvent extracted sunflower seed meal as a dietary replacement for solvent extracted soybean meal and wheat meal (1.75–2.14 : 1) within a practical trout ration. The dietary level of soybean meal and wheat meal was reduced from 15% and 16.5% to 0% and 9.5% respectively and the level of sunflower seed meal increased from 0% to 22% with no adverse effect on overall growth performance or feed utilisation efficiency. Although growth at the highest level of sunflower seed meal tested (36.5%) was equivalent to that of fish fed the control soybean ration, supplementation of an equivalent sunflower seed meal diet with 0.2% exogenous L-methionine resulted in no beneficial effect on fish growth and feed utilisation efficiency.