Growth Performance and Economic Analysis of Indian Major Carps and Tilapia in Rainwater Ponds
Growth Performance and Economic Analysis of Indian Major Carps and Tilapia in Rainwater Ponds
Date
2014
Authors
Pandey, Pramod K.
Sethi, Laxmi N.
Pholane, Limbraj P.
Panda, Sudhindra N.
Pandey, Vinay K.
Biswas, Sagor
Soupir, Michelle
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Society of Fisheries Technologists (India)Cochin
Abstract
Enhancing water resources is crucially important
for improving food production in rainfed regions.
The income of rural people in these regions is
mainly tied with water availability. One option is
disseminating rainwater harvesting for conserving
rainwater and utilizing it for food production. Here
we propose a rainwater harvesting method, which
helps to conserve rainwater in the rainy season,
provide water storage for rearing fish and facilitate
supplemental irrigation to crops in the dry season.
To verify the suitability of rainwater harvesting
approach for improving food production and rural
income, here we conducted a field study, which
involved designing rainwater harvesting ponds
(lined and unlined), storing rainwater and water
recycling for irrigating crops. The growth of Catla
catla, Labeo rohita, Cirrhinus mrigala, and tilapia in
lined and unlined rainwater harvesting ponds was
assessed and the resulting benefits were calculated
under various scenarios. Water quality measurements
showed the suitability of water stored in both
rainwater harvesting ponds for fish culture. The
Specific Growth Rates (SGR) of all the species in
the lined ponds were greater than the unlined
ponds except SGR of C. mrigala. Results show that
the fish culture in the ponds improved the annual
net benefit of rainwater harvesting systems. For
Description
Keywords
Rainwater harvesting ponds, fish growth, net benefits, water quality
Citation
Fishery Tech 51 (2) : 71 - 77