Culture Cycle Research Articles

Janusz Anusiewicz (1946–2000)

The paper deals with the silhouette of Janusz Anusiewicz as a researcher, student educator, the organizer of seminars in Karpacz (as part of the Language and culture cycle), and as an editor of the series Language and Culture. An essential feature of the text are memories told by Janusz Anusiewicz’s pupils who nowadays are working in the Institute of Polish Philology at University of Wrocław.

Biological site suitability for exposed self-regulating cultivation of blue mussel (Mytilus edulis): A Belgian case study

Several reasons, from stakeholder conflicts to water quality issues, are pushing bivalve cultivation to less accessible, exposed, and offshore waters. Because sheltered areas are absent along the Belgian coastline, the possibility to culture mussels with self-regulated systems in exposed conditions has been explored by various research projects. Farmers consider offshore environments unsuitable on the assumption that spat densities are low, and growth is insufficient for commercialization.This study evaluates the potential for self-regulated mussel cultivation in an exposed North Sea environment based on data collected from several research projects that evaluated the biological and technical feasibility of commercial longline cultivation in Belgium. The cultivation methods were variable, but always relied on wild spat that was grown to market size. No husbandry practices such as seed harvesting, thinning, grading, or socking were performed. This cultivation technique, also called self-regulating cultivation, reduces operational costs when extreme weather and exposed conditions limit handling.A 3D hydro-dynamic larvae dispersal model (LDM) was used to simulate the spatial variability in arrivals and the timing of the arrival peak. In addition, a locally validated metabolic model (DEB) for the blue mussel (M. edulis) was forced with 10 year optimized remote sensing observations (Copernicus, Sentinel-3/OLCI) to predict industry-relevant information such as site suitability, inter-annual growth variability, and cultivation time.This study concludes that exposed mussel cultivation near the Belgian east coast is characterised by fast growth. Mussels grown in this area will reach a marketable size (6 cm) after 12–15 months of cultivation, which is just in time for the peak consumption season (July-August). Moving offshore prolongs the cultivation cycles to 17–25 months, but provides more stable growth conditions with less inter-annual variability. When considering a cultivation period of 12 months, the mussels originating from offshore cultivation are comparable in size to the smaller Dutch “Smitse” and French "Bouchots".

Neutralization and receptor use of infectious culture-derived rat hepacivirus as a model for HCV.

Lack of tractable immunocompetent animal models amenable to robust experimental challenge impedes vaccine efforts for HCV. Infection with rodent hepacivirus from Rattus norvegicus (RHV-rn1) in rats shares HCV-defining characteristics, including liver tropism, chronicity, and pathology. RHV in vitro cultivation would facilitate genetic studies on particle production, host factor interactions, and evaluation of antibody neutralization guiding HCV vaccine approaches. We report an infectious reverse genetic cell culture system for RHV-rn1 using highly permissive rat hepatoma cells and adaptive mutations in the E2, NS4B, and NS5A viral proteins. Cell culture-derived RHV-rn1 particles (RHVcc) share hallmark biophysical characteristics of HCV and are infectious in mice and rats. Culture adaptive mutations attenuated RHVcc in immunocompetent rats, and the mutations reverted following prolonged infection, but not in severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice, suggesting that adaptive immune pressure is a primary driver of reversion. Accordingly, sera from RHVcc-infected SCID mice or the early acute phase of immunocompetent mice and rats were infectious in culture. We further established an in vitro RHVcc neutralization assay, and observed neutralizing activity of rat sera specifically from the chronic phase of infection. Finally, we found that scavenger receptor class B type I promoted RHV-rn1 entry in vitro and in vivo. The RHV-rn1 infectious cell culture system enables studies of humoral immune responses against hepacivirus infection. Moreover, recapitulation of the entire RHV-rn1 infectious cycle in cell culture will facilitate reverse genetic studies and the exploration of tropism and virus-host interactions.

Effects of temperature and irradiance on the regeneration of juveniles from the holdfasts of Sargassum fusiforme, a commercial seaweed

During the artificial cultivation of Sargassum fusiforme, a variety strains were inadvertently crossed during the cultivation cycle, making it difficult to preserve the superior strains that were previously bred, leading to reduced economic benefits. The use of holdfasts of S. fusiforme was found to have considerable potential for sub-culturing selected superior strains. In this study, we conducted experiments to investigate the effects of different temperatures (i.e., 16, 20, and 24 °C) and irradiances (i.e., 140, 105, and 70 μmol photons·m−2·s−1) on juveniles (i.e., new individuals) regeneration from S. fusiforme holdfasts and their growth. The results showed that photosynthetic activity and the absorption and utilization of nitrate by juveniles could be promoted through regulating temperature and irradiance, resulting in improved relative growth and regeneration rates. In the first six days, the regeneration rate was highest when cultured at 24 °C. After six days, the regeneration rate gradually increased at 20 °C and 140 μmol photons·m−2·s−1. Furthermore, the growth rate of regenerated juveniles, photosynthetic activity and nitrogen absorption rates were also significantly higher than those observed for all other treatments. However, at 24 °C, the efficiency of photosynthesis and nitrate absorption of the juveniles decreased, inhibiting their growth, resulting in rotting after twenty-four days. Therefore, for the large-scale breeding S. fusiforme, the method of adjusting the temperature in the different stages of the culturing process can be used to optimize the indoor vegetative propagation process of regeneration from the holdfasts. This method could solve the underlying problem of maintaining superior strains which resulted from the breeding programme of S. fusiforme.

Cultivation of Microalgae in Unsterile Malting Effluent for Biomass Production and Lipid Productivity Improvement

Microalgae have the potential to grow in nutrient-rich environments and have the ability to accumulate nutrients from wastewater. The nutrients in malting wastewater are ideal for microalgae cultivation. However, there is limited published work on the growth characteristics of freshwater microalgae grown in malting effluent. This study examined the potential of diluted malting effluent for the growth of freshwater green algae Chlorella sp. and Chlamydomonas sp. isolated from northern Ontario and subsequent biomass and lipid production. Under the 18:6 h light/dark cultivation cycle, the highest cell number counted (540 × 104 cell·mL−1 on day 20) and total chlorophyll content were found in 50% diluted malting effluents for Chlorella sp., whereas the 70% dilution concentration was the most productive for Chlamydomonas (386 × 104 cell·mL−1 on day 16). The total lipid content was higher in the 50% dilution concentration of malting effluent in both Chlorella sp. (maximum 20.5%–minimum 11.5% of dry weight) and Chlamydomonas sp. (max 39.3%–min 25.9% of dry weight). These results emphasize the suitability of using unsterile diluted malting effluent for microalgae cultivation.

Edaphoclimatic variables in determining flaxseed yield

Flaxseed is an oil plant, belonging to the Linaceae family, of an autogamous species. The objective of this work is to evaluate grain yield through edaphoclimatic variables, which are descriptive of field, soil and climate in relation to the production of the line in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The trial was carried out at the Regional Institute of Rural Development (IRDeR), belonging to the Regional University of the Northwest of the state of Rio Grande do Sul (Unijuí); the experimental design used was that of randomized blocks, organized in a factorial scheme of 5 application moments x 5 doses of nitrogen in 3 replications, totaling 75 experimental units. The traits evaluated were grain yield in relation to the soil, climate and field attributes. Grain yield is directly and indirectly influenced by base saturation at pH 7.0 and soil compaction, and also by the maximum temperature and minimum temperature. The condition of the climate during the culture cycle influences the components of the grain yield of flaxseed. The maximum and minimum temperature were negatively related to flaxseed grain yield under the conditions of the study. The Track Analyses allowed us to visualize the contribution of both chemical and physical attributes to the final production. Higher values ​​of base saturation enhance flaxseed grain yield. Variables number of capsules, number of capsules that formed grains, number of grains per plant, population, and mass of grains per plant were the variables that determined grain yield.

Wuschel2 enables highly efficient CRISPR/Cas-targeted genome editing during rapid de novo shoot regeneration in sorghum

For many important crops including sorghum, use of CRISPR/Cas technology is limited not only by the delivery of the gene-modification components into a plant cell, but also by the ability to regenerate a fertile plant from the engineered cell through tissue culture. Here, we report that Wuschel2 (Wus2)-enabled transformation increases not only the transformation efficiency, but also the CRISPR/Cas-targeted genome editing frequency in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.). Using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, we have demonstrated Wus2-induced direct somatic embryo formation and regeneration, bypassing genotype-dependent callus formation and significantly shortening the tissue culture cycle time. This method also increased the regeneration capacity that resulted in higher transformation efficiency across different sorghum varieties. Subsequently, advanced excision systems and “altruistic” transformation technology have been developed to generate high-quality morphogenic gene-free and/or selectable marker-free sorghum events. Finally, we demonstrate up to 6.8-fold increase in CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene dropout frequency using Wus2-enabled transformation, compared to without Wus2, across various targeted loci in different sorghum genotypes.

Phycoremediation of milk processing wastewater and lipid-rich biomass production using Chlorella vulgaris under continuous batch system

This study compiles the results of phycoremediation of milk processing wastewater (MPWW) and production of lipid-rich Chlorella vulgaris biomass using a continuous batch system operated for 12-wks. After a 4-wks interval, a new MPWW was loaded photobioreactor to provide appropriate nutrient supply to algae. Results indicated that MPWW supported the algal growth efficiently and the maximum algal growth was recorded in the ranges of 400.36 to 421.58 mg L−1 during 4-wk's of the cultivation cycle. Average reduction in total nitrogen, TN (45.82–69.18%); nitrate, NO3 (93.32–94.54%); total ammonium nitrogen, TAN (92.94–94.54%); sulphate, SO4−2 (85.13–87.34%); total phosphorus (75.09–78.78%); and biochemical oxygen demands, BOD (89.53–92.40%) was recorded during 12-wks phycoremediation of MPWW. Harvested algal biomass (dry weight basis, DW) exhibited a significant content of total sugar (45.5%) and total lipid (39.7%). The lipid profiling results indicated the presence of palmitic acid (39.9%), oleic acid (21.08%), linoleic acid (13.13%), and other C18 compounds in algal biomass, suggesting the suitability of MPWW for Chlorella vulgaris cultivations. Algal biomass exhibited a high heating value (MJ/Kg of DW) in the range of 17.3 to 25.1, comparable to other lignocellulose biomass to be used for bioenergy purposes. Results of this study indicate that MPWW could be utilized as a valuable medium for Chlorella vulgaris cultivation under a circular economy approach: wastewater treatment and bioenergy feedstock production. The effect of controlled environmental conditions on algal growth behavior and lipid composition in biomass, while using MPWW as a medium, could be investigated in future studies.

Heavy metal residues, releases and food health risks between the two main crayfish culturing models: Rice-crayfish coculture system versus crayfish intensive culture system

High-density culturing with excessive feeding of commercial feed has caused heavy metals pollution to agricultural production system. In this study, the dynamic changes and transfer of heavy metals in rice-crayfish coculture system (RCCS) and crayfish intensive culture system (CICS) within a completed culture cycle were systematically quantified. Our results showed that Cd in feed represented more than 50% of the total Cd input, and the inputs of As and Cr were mainly from irrigation. The residues of As and Pb in RCCS were slightly higher than those in CICS, while the residues of Cd and Cr in RCCS were far fewer than those in CICS. Moreover, the metal pollution index in CICS was 0.781, while it was 0.543 in the RCCS. Furthermore, a large proportion of the Cd and Pb in CICS was released into the external environment through drainage. Notably, the absorption and solidification of heavy metals by straw did not increase the residues of As and Pb in the major components of RCCS in the second year. Compared to CICS, RCCS did not produce many heavy metal residues or cause heavy metal discharge pressure on the external environment, and its food product had a low risk of heavy metal contamination.

The Effect of Harvest Date on the Chemical Composition and Fodder Yield of Guizotia abyssinica (Guizotia abyssinica (L.f.) Cass.) under the Climatic Conditions of South-West Poland

Guizotia abyssinica (Guizotia abyssinica (L.f.) Cass.) is regarded as a minor oilseed crop, which is important in terms of its nutritional value and potential uses. An important benefit of this crop is its cultivation for green matter and seed yield even under the difficult conditions of marginal cultivation. Guizotia abyssinica has not yet gained popularity in Europe. However, in a changing climate and taking into account its feeding value, it could gain in importance for ruminant nutrition in the near future. A field experiment was conducted in 2018 and 2019 in the west part of Poland on a farm in Opolskie voivodship (commune Prudnik). The objective of the field study was to assess the effect of three harvest dates on the yield and the chemical composition of fodder in a 90-day cultivation cycle in each year of the study. Stage of growth seems to be the most important factor affecting yield and the chemical composition of Guizotia abyssinica. In both years of the research, the green fodder yield reached the highest value after 90 days from sowing—32.5 and 36.9 t ha−1—while dry matter was 6.85 and 7.99 t ha−1, respectively. Chemical composition was also significantly dependent on harvesting date. Crude protein (in 2018 from 154.5 to 100.7 g kg−1 and in 2019 from 148.3 to 78.2 g kg−1) and crude ash (in 2018 from 165.8 to 98.7 and in 2019 from 155.2 to 89.9 g kg−1) content decreased with progressive harvest date while nitrogen-free extracts (in 2018 from 500.5 to 562.0 g kg−1 and in 2019 from 582.2 to 605.2 g kg−1) and gross energy increased (in 2018 from 19.4 to 21.17 MJ kg−1 and in 2019 from 18.63 to 19.73 MJ kg−1.). The most favorable date for harvesting green forage is 90 days after sowing, due to the significantly highest yield of fresh and dry matter of green forage and with potential as a forage for animals.

TECHNOLOGY-BASED MARINE WORKERS BUSINESS SYSTEM: THE POTENTIAL OF THE SLEREK SYSTEM SPRINGS AS A MODEL

The problem of poverty in fishing communities has become a cultural cycle. The issue has become a long causal chain of various aspects that is difficult to unravel over the years. The number of fishers is decreasing while the potential of marine resources has not been fully explored. It happens because poverty alleviation for fishing communities is only around 1% per year. The poverty alleviation program is closely related to the empowerment of fishing communities in running their businesses. So far, the fishing community's business problems have focused on weather/climate, infrastructure, technology (very little touched/used), and capital. However, not all fishing communities are not prosperous. There are different levels of exploration of marine potential in other areas. The Muncar fishing community is included in the successful category with Indonesia's second-largest business scale. The Muncar fisherman's business system, although applying the general Juragan-Worker method, has a traditional fishing method called Slerek, a boat system in pairs, one for fishing, the other providing accommodation. The Slerek system promises optimal catch. The catch-sharing system is 50:50 for the skipper and his group of workers. The Muncar fishing community business system can be adopted into an empowering marine worker business system after several modifications and adjustments have been made regarding the remaining problems.

The Identities of Second-Generation Indonesian Diaspora Communities


 
 
 Indonesian emigrants and their descendants are important actors in developing Indonesia and their new home countries. These diaspora members have advantages such as intercultural and language skills as well as networks for economic activities. Digitalization increases and accelerates the bilateral influence of this group on personal networks, economic contributions, knowledge transfer, and political engagement. This article draws from social identity theory and the culture cycle to explore the sense of belonging of second-generation Indonesian diaspora members in Germany. The aim is to understand how the relationship of the Indonesian diaspora changes due to birth and socialization in Germany and cross-cultural parenting. The findings of this thesis suggest that members of the second-generation Indonesian diaspora have a strong sense of cultural belonging to Indonesia and tend to separate themselves culturally from Germany.
 Keywords: social identity, diaspora, sense of belonging, model minority myth, culture and the self, Germany, Indonesia
 
 

Cultivation of Schizophyllum commune Fries (CP-433) on corn stubble (Zea mays L.) and peanut shell (Arachis hypogaea L.) in Mexico

Schizophyllum commune Fr. is a mushroom with a worldwide distribution; it is a food source in several countries and produces medicinal substances. It has been cultivated on sawdust and agricultural byproducts. In the present study, corn stubble (Zea mays L., stem with dry leaves) and peanut shell (Arachis hypogaea L., dry pericarp) were used as substrates for the cultivation of a strain (CP-433) of S. commune. The parameters evaluated were days in the formation of fruiting primordia, the number of harvests, days of the total cycle, biological efficiency (BE), production rate (PR) and yield (Y). Primordia formed between 12 and 13 days and later at 16 days. Two harvests with a total cycle of 22 days were made. The BE was 16.8±7.0% and 17.9±3.2%, the PR was 0.39±0% and 0.29±0.05%, and the Y was 1.68±0.7% and 1.79±0.3% for corn stubble and peanut shell, respectively, without significant differences between the two. The cultivation cycle in this study was shorter than the cultivation of S. commune on cocoa shell and coconut fiber (47 days), on sunflower seed shell (30-31 days), on oil palm fruit waste (29 days), and on palo mulato, cocoa shell and banana leaf (26-27 days). The values reached in BE are similar to other studies in which S. commune was cultivated on corn stalks and cobs (5.5%) and on palo mulato (6.4%). Corn stubble and peanut shells are promising substrates for the cultivation of S. commune on a small or large scale, mainly in the regions where they are discarded.

Novel infectious myonecrosis virus (IMNV) variant is associated with recent disease outbreaks in Penaeus vannamei shrimp in Brazil

Infectious myonecrosis virus (IMNV) has impacted the sustainable growth of shrimp aquaculture in Brazil and other shrimp farming nations around the globe. This virus contains a non-segmented dsRNA of ~8.2 kbp and has been tentatively assigned to the family Totiviridae. In recent years in Brazil (2016 to 2021), unusual mortalities that do not follow the normal course of infection described for IMNV have been observed in several states (Pará, Maranhão, Piaui, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Alagoas, Sergipe and Bahia). Moribund animals are tested PCR positive and histological examination reveals the characteristic lesions caused by IMNV. In this study, we used Next Generation Sequencing to determine the complete genome of a novel IMNV strain (Br-1) from the state of Ceara from the 2018 culture cycle associated with unusually high mortalities. The full-length genome of Br-1 is 8185 bp and shows 97.94% identity to the reference strain. Sequence comparison using the RdRp region and phylogenetic analysis using the full-length genome of Br-1 revealed that this strain is more closely related with IMNV strains from Indonesia rather than strains from Brazil. These findings suggest a potential movement of animals between shrimp farming regions and underscores the importance to enforce stricter testing measures to reduce the risk of spreading lethal pathogens that could compromise the sustainability of shrimp aquaculture worldwide.

Differences of photosynthesis and nutrient utilization in Sargassum fusiforme and its main epiphyte, Ulva lactuca

Sargassum fusiforme is often adversely affected by epiphytic algae during its cultivation. However, the biological differences between S. fusiforme and the epiphytic algae have not yet been elucidated detrimental to the management of S. fusiforme culture. In this study, we sampled S. fusiforme and main epiphytic algae Ulva lactuca in a marine culture cycle and compared their biological characteristics. It indicated that, except during low-temperature months (January and March), the photosynthetic electron activity of U. lactuca were generally higher than S. fusiforme. The nitrogen uptake rates of S. fusiforme and U. lactuca were all significantly higher in the earlier growth stage than other stages. In most cases, the nitrogen uptake and utilization of U. lactuca was higher than those of S. fusiforme. Although S. fusiforme absorbed more trace elements, U. lactuca had relatively strong photosynthesis and nutrient absorption performance; thus, the latter accumulated more soluble carbohydrate and protein and may have stress effect on S. fusiforme. This study will be helpful for understanding the differences in the biological characteristics of economic seaweed and its epiphytic macroalgae and provides a reference for the friendly management and healthy development of seaweed cultivation.

The impact of using recycled culture medium to grow Chlorella vulgaris in a sequential flow system: Evaluation on growth, carbon removal, and biochemical compositions

Excessive of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission and water pollution have been identified as the two primary challenges to humans and environment. Hence, biological carbon sequestration by microalgae is recommended as an environmentally friendly approach to capture and convert this CO2 into value-added products. However, research related to the development of efficient system to concurrently overcome low CO2 solubility in water and reduction of water footprint in microalgae cultivation is still limited in the literature. In this study, the CO2 capture by Chlorella vulgaris in a recycled cultivation medium was exploited using a sequential flow photobioreactor system. The study revealed that nutrient replenished recycled medium did not significantly affect the growth performance and lipid content of C. vulgaris. It was also observed that the CO2 capture efficiency and protein content were gradually increased from the first (SFB-RWN1) to the third (SFB-RWN3) cycle of cultivation due to the increment of carbon and nitrogen content in the microalgae cell. Besides, the lipid profile of C. vulgaris cultivated in the recycled medium comprised of high concentration of saturated (up to 32.41%) and polyunsaturated (up to 43.21%) fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). The present study suggested that growing C. vulgaris in a recycled medium is a feasible solution to fix CO2 from the atmosphere and help to reduce water footprint in the microalgae cultivation system.

Contribution of Gracilaria verrucosa on water quality improvement at fishpond in Muara Gembong coastal waters, Bekasi Indonesia

The waste present in the pond comes from inside (can be NH4, NO3, and PO4) and outside the pond (Pb). One of the ponds that experience this is a pond in the Muara Gembong coastal waters. To remediate these wastes can use algae Gracilaria verrucosain one cultivation cycle. The result obtained is a NH4of 0.89-22.5 ppm, NO3 of 3.05-93 ppm, and PO4of 0.01-0.52 ppm. The t-test result, in general, is x > 0.05, which means the water quality of the control pond and the treatment pond are no different. Algae Gracilaria verrucosa in pond treatment absorbs lead heavy metals (Pb). The test result of the ratio is the ratio of Pb A > the ratio of Pb B, which means the Pb in Algae comes from pond water.The presence of Gracilaria verrucosa algae in ponds does not contribute to improving the quality of pond water.

Lutein production by microalgae using corn starch wastewater pretreated with rapid enzymatic hydrolysis

The main purpose of this study was to explore the pretreatment process of corn starch wastewater (CSW) and engineered microalgae cultivation strategy to improve the nutrient recovery from wastewater and the yield of microalgae lutein. One-stage enzymatic hydrolysis utilizing α-amylase and glucoamylase simultaneously was established to efficiently harvest a maximum concentration of reducing sugar content of 7.26 g/L from CSW in 50 min. Lutein yield of 10.96 mg/L was obtained under 24 h continuous illumination with 2200 Lux light intensity. Furthermore, a cyclic feeding cultivation strategy was developed to improve lutein accumulation and COD removal up to 25.9 mg/L and 50.7%, respectively, after three cultivation cycles. Lutein yield of 14.86 mg/L and COD removal efficiency of 73.2% was achieved with further implementation in actual wastewater. This work provided a new perspective in developing the potential of cultivating microalgae with corn starch wastewater to produce high-value lutein.

Effect of melatonin on the clinical outcome of patients with repeated cycles after failed cycles of in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

To explore whether embryo culture with melatonin (MT) can improve the embryonic development and clinical outcome of patients with repeated cycles after in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) failure, immature oocytes from controlled ovarian superovulation cycles were collected for in vitro maturation (IVM) and ICSI. The obtained embryos were cultured in 0, 10-11, 10-9, 10-7 and 10-5 M MT medium respectively, and 10-9 M was screened out as the optimal concentration. Subsequently, 140 patients who underwent failed IVF/ICSI cycles received 140 cycles of embryo culture in vitro with a medium containing 10-9 M MT, these 140 MT culture cycles were designated as the experimental group (10-9 M group), and the control group was the previous failed cycles of patients (0 M group). The results showed that the fertilization, cleavage, high-quality embryo, blastocyst, and high-quality blastocyst rates of the 10-9 M group were significantly higher than those of the 0 M group (P < 0.01; P < 0.01; P < 0.0001; P < 0.0001; P < 0.0001). To date, in total, 50 vitrified-warmed cycle transfers have been performed in the 10-9 M group and the implantation rate, biochemical pregnancy rate and clinical pregnancy rate were significantly higher than those in the 0 M group (all P < 0.0001). Two healthy infants were delivered successfully and the other 18 women who achieved clinical pregnancy also had good examination indexes. Therefore the application of 10-9 M MT to embryo cultures in vitro improved embryonic development in patients with repeated cycles after failed IVF/ICSI cycles and had good clinical outcomes.Trial registration: ChiCTR2100045552.

Effect of pond fertilization on growth performance of pirarucu (Arapaima gigas) during grow-out phase

Fertilization of aquaculture ponds has been pointed out as an efficient practice to improve fish feed conversion and growth performance. In this way, the present study aimed to assess the effect of pond fertilization on the growth performance, body composition, and water quality of juvenile pirarucu Arapaima gigas reared in earthen ponds (600 m²) during the grow-out phase. Two fertilized and two non-fertilized ponds were stocked with 208 juvenile pirarucus (19.9 ± 3.6 g and 15.0 ± 0.9 cm) and reared for 100 days. All four ponds were limed before the study. Ponds were fertilized before fish were stocked and weekly until the end of the experiment, and fish offered feed until apparent satiation. Pirarucu reared in fertilized ponds presented higher final weight (20%) and biomass (19%), further to lower feed intake and feed conversion rate (1.31) than fish reared in non-fertilized ponds (1.61). Pond fertilization did not affect the fish coefficient of variation, which was reduced over the culture cycle. The body composition of fish reared in fertilized ponds presented higher water content, protein, and energy retention rates and lowered crude fat and energy. Fertilized ponds presented lower transparency levels and higher pH from the 50th day of culture, whereas ammonia concentration was higher in the fertilized ponds in the first 25 days. Therefore, pond fertilization is a recommended practice for pirarucu during the grow-out phase.