USE OF Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) IN THE FISH FARMING IN INDIA
Post no-1421 Dt 26/12/2019
Compiled & shared by-DR RAJESH KUMAR SINGH ,JAMSHEDPUR,JHARKHAND, INDIA, 9431309542,rajeshsinghvet@gmail.com, &
Er. Ritesh Pandey, Jago kisan jago,7004551516
Aquaculture remained as the fastest-growing food production sector in the last decade. Asia has been the center of aquaculture production for decades and currently, more than 90 percent of the total aquaculture production comes from Asian countries, China being the biggest producer in the world . Interestingly, more than 70 percent of the total aquaculture production comes from small-scale farmers, who are also the major contributors of small-scale innovations and adaptations of aquaculture technologies. In many countries of the world, the adaptation of indigenous technologies has resulted in the development of sustainable and environmentally friendly aquaculture practices and hence helped the farmers to increase aquaculture production during the past decade . In this article , we have attempted to enlist some of the indigenous knowledge practiced by fish farmers.
Aquaculture is the controlled production, propagation and rearing of aquatic organisms of highly economic value in a controlled environment such as ponds, channels and enclosures, using a higher density of cultured aquatic organisms than normally found in nature. Many rural farmers have applied indigenous knowledge in various stages of aquaculture in order to meet their livelihood necessities.
In the coming years, small scale aquaculture (sometime referred to as ‘rural aquaculture’) is poised to play significant role in increasing freshwater fish production in the country. This low-input aquaculture system is closely associated with Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITKs). Though efforts are made to identify, validate and recommend ITK by some Governments, much indigenous knowledge remains undocumented. There is a need to recognize ITK, compile, value and appreciate their interaction with local communities. The enhancement of the quality of life of the people who depend on aquaculture production would be almost impossible if this rich tradition of ITK is kept to a few people. Therefore, ITK needs to be incorporated into the zonal research and development agenda. However, before reliable recommendations can be made, there is an urgent need to understand, critically validate and document the different ITKs so as to integrate the best ones into the farming system.
1.Pond construction and maintenance
i. Site selection:
The fish farmers of many parts of our country are reported to have selected lowlying areas near the home for fish pond. These ponds can be used as multipurpose ponds for bathing, cloth and utensil washing in addition to fish culture . They preferred to construct embankment ponds to the dugout ponds considering economy.
ii. Soil quality:
In order to test the suitability of soil in terms of water retention, a mud ball is prepared from the soil where the pond is to be constructed. If the ball does not break, the soil is considered to have enough water holding capacity, hence suitable for pond construction .
iii. Outlet:
Farmers of Assam hill district used hollow bamboo fitted at a certain height from the bottom as outlet pipes. The end of the bamboo facing the ponds is blocked with stone and clay soil .
iv. Protection of pond dyke:
During pond construction, the bottom of the pond is made wider than the top as it can better withstand the force of water . In places experiencing heavy rainfall, most dykes are prone to erosion and damage. Farmers plant plantation crops like coconut, papaya or vegetable crops with creeping vine like cucumber, gherkin etc. or turf with fodder grass. In Manipur, farmers use pond dykes for Colocasia plantation at 3000 nos. ha-1, which is used as a vegetable in many parts of India
2.Fish breeding and seed transportation
i. Breeding:
Knowledge on dry and wet bundh systems of fish breeding and spawn production has been recorded from farmers . Breeding in bundh including Bangla bundh with hormonal injection is a very cheap and effective method practiced by the farmers in many parts of West Bengal. These bundhs are most economical and very much tuned to the environment. Farmers in West Bengal were reported to use proper doses of the extract of water-immersed catechu (Acacia catechu) and myrobalan (Myrobolus indica) nut in hatching pool, to make the eggshell hard . This is known to help in shell hardening and prevent immature release of hatchlings, enabling higher hatching rates. In Tamil Nadu, the practice of covering the rostrum of brood stock of freshwater prawn with plastic tube has been reported (TNAU). This is done to avoid damage of packing material during transport. TNAU also recorded that some fish breeders use banana leaves for deposition of eggs and teak leaves to maintain acidic pH in the ornamental fish tanks during breeding egg layers and place carrot/ potato slices and banana peels in ornamental fish larval rearing tanks to enhance the formation of live feed Infusorians.
ii. Seed collection:
Collection of spawn of murrells like Channa punctatus, which moves in shoals and periodically comes to the surface for breathing in natural waters using bamboo sieve/mosquito net/ cloths is reported to be a practice during monsoon in Assam
. iii. Seed transportation:
Saha and Chowdhary have described the traditional method of transporting fry and fingerlings in hundis, practiced in Bengal. A traditional hundi is an earthen vessel, but later aluminum hundis were introduced. Though the hundis are of variable sizes, they are generally of two types, the smaller one has 22 cm mouth diameter and 23 l capacity carried as a head load and the other larger one has 23 cm diameter and 32 l capacity used for transport by rail or bicycle or as slings. The hundis are filled with water from the same source as the fry and are stocked at 50 000 in the smaller and 75 000 in the larger ones. About 58 g of fine silt is sprinkled over the water surface in the hundi. During transport, the hundis are shaken periodically. Basu had reported that addition of silt coagulates the suspended organic pollutants. Saha and Chowdhury have observed that management practices like addition of silt, removal of sediments by mopping them up with a rough cloth rope and partial exchange of water permitted transport up to a duration of 30 hrs. Saha et al. demonstrated that pulverized earth and activated charcoal tend to absorb carbon dioxide and ammonia from the medium, consequently increasing the survival of fry. Use of around 50 ml of rice beer for every 10 l of water in aluminum hundis, which probably acts as an anesthetizer has been reported in Assam during seed transport . However, traditional methods of transporting fish seed in hundies (earthen or aluminum pots) resulted in heavy mortality of fish seed
3. Seed stocking
i. Weed fish eradication:
Mahua oil cake is used for killing unwanted fish. This later gets converted into organic manure enhancing pond fertility, reducing the quantity of cow dung to be applied subsequently.
ii. Bird scaring:
The some farmers has recorded the use of audio/video tapes/coloured plastics for bird scaring in several fish farms of Karnataka.
iii. Testing the seed quality and species identification:
To test the quality of seeds, farmers keep a few of them in the water taken in a plate and rotate the water with finger. Those seeds which swim in the opposite direction are considered as healthy seeds . Kalitha et al. have recorded that farmers distinguishing fry of catla from rohu and mrigal by its bigger head and their preference of fingerlings to fry since they grow quickly.
v. Stunted seeds:
Andhra Pradesh farmers have developed the technique of using stunted seed that are aged but have not attained a weight proportionate to their age, and stimulating their rapid growth in a limited period of time by compensatory growth effect .
4. Fish feeding
i. Fish feeding using gunny bags:
Andhra Pradesh farmers have developed a simple feeding method called “the bag feeding technique” whereby the feed is kept in feed bags with small perforations that may be arranged in two to three rows. Indian major carps have the habit of browsing, sucking the feed through perforations
ii. Supplementing common salt with feed:
Another indigenous practice followed by Andhra farmers is the use of common salt in feed . Studies conducted at College of Fisheries, Mangalore with carps have revealed the growth promoting potential of NaCl .
iii. Use of agriculture by-products as fish feed: Some farmers are reported to feed partially fermented maize, poultry offal and chopped dead poultry birds to the African catfish for high growth . Many farmers in Bangladesh were found to use kura, the red powdery coating of rice under the husk as feed. Other food sources include cow dung, poultry waste, choker (the remains of wheat grains) obtained after the extraction of aata and oil cake . Chowdhury had observed that farmers in Lalmonirhat, north-west Bangladesh, frequently grind up the intestines of livestock and feed it to fish. In Joydebpur, termites are a frequently cited problem by farmers. It is reported that the local women and children collect up the mounds which are then thrown into fish ponds. Carp, particularly rohu, catla and Thai saputi appear particularly fond of termite eggs. Feeding fish with other on-farm resources like grass, azolla have been observed by the first author in some parts of Karnataka. The addition of banana leaves to ponds stocked with grass carp was recorded by Islam . Grass- fed fishponds are reported mainly from China and Thailand . In a polyculture pond, the poorly-digested excreta from grass carp serve as fertilization for the pond ecosystem and also as direct feed for other fish species. The inclusion of grass carp as ‘grass bio-processor’ enables the use of near-pond grass sources and leads to marked increases in overall fish production.
5.Fish health management
i. Dissolved oxygen deficiency:
Depletion of dissolved oxygen especially during morning hours is managed by farmers through indigenous methods like channelizing fresh spring water, beating the water with bamboo pole/banana pseudo stem (TNAU), spraying water with open containers, making children swim in ponds (Adarsh G. Pers. Comn.) etc. Saha and De (unpublished) reported the use of ducks which swim in pond and aerate the water.
ii. Turbidity management:
For controlling persistent clay turbidity farmers in Assam apply paddy straw/pieces of banana stem . The application of lime to ponds to clear unclean water and addition of pieces of banana stem was also recorded by Chowdhury et al. in Bangladesh. When these substances rot, they will be removed periodically. To control algal bloom, practices like spraying cattle urine in considerable quantities or mixture or red soil and sand on pond surface (Rajesh, K.M. Pers. Comn.) have been reported to be effective. Goswami et al. have observed the use of bamboo poles with toothed prongs or coir rope to remove aquatic weed (Jahanesbaptistia sp.) from water bodies where Penaeus monodon (Bagda) is cultivated.
iii. Argulus (fish lice) control:
In cases of infection with the crustacean ecto-parasite Argulus sp., farmers plant bamboo pieces in ponds. Farmers believe that the fishes can get rid of Argulus by rubbing their bodies against the bamboo pieces . In fact, Bamboo poles are good substrates for Argulus to breed. They colonize on bamboo poles and lay eggs on them (Hemaprashanth, Pers. Comn.). Some farmers also keep old gunny bags submerged in pond water. Bamboo poles or gunny bags will be removed periodically and dried to kill eggs of the Argulus deposited over them.
iv. Leach control:
Farmers in Assam are reported to throw peels of cucumber or leaves of bitter gourd made into paste form. It is believed that these bitter plant materials help in eradicating leaches .
v. Control of epizootic ulcerative syndrome (EUS):
Application of a paste of turmeric powder and ash of hay or bamboo to control EUS has been practiced by fish farmers in Assam. Some farmers even apply branches of Neem plant into fish ponds . Goswami et al. have reported the use of a paste made from garlic (2 kg), salt (2 kg), CuSO4 (20 g), KMnO4 (20 g) mixed in 30-50 liter of water and sprayed over pond water of 0.133 ha pond by hatchery owners in West Bengal to control EUS. Saha and De (unpublished) reported the application of a solution of rotten jaggery on fish for controlling ulcers.
vi. pH control:
Toddy (palm sap) is used by shrimp farmers for pH control . Goswami et al. have reported that banana pseudo stem can be used to increase pH through their alkaline secretion by cutting them into pieces and immersing in pond water. This practice of West Bengal farmers is reported to minimize protozoan diseases and Argulus.
vii. Removal of poisonous gas:
Raking of the pond bottom by dragging tree-branches or brick suspended from a rope is practiced by some farmers for the release of obnoxious gases trapped inside the soils
. viii. Hiding places:
Farmers cultivating Australian freshwater crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus use tyres and bricks as hiding places . They also use onion bag bundles to protect and harvest small juveniles from ponds. Use of bricks/tiles/ tyres as hid outs is also seen in India in prawn culture ponds.
Some Indigenous techniques used by the farmers of South 24 Parganas, West Bengal in Aquaculture practices——————
1.To reduce the water pH————-use of Moringa (Moringa oleifera) and Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) steam andbraches. 8-10 numbers of 1.5-3 m branches are immersed per bigha (33 decimal) of pond depending on water pH.
2. To control some protozoan diseases and increase the water pH——–
Use of Banana stem, Banana stems are cut into small pieces and immersed in the water.
3. To control White Feces Syndrome in shrimp——–
Use of Thankuni (Centella asiatica) leaf. Fresh thankuni leaf is mixed with the shrimp feed @30-40 leaves per kg feed.
4. To make the fishes hardy (disease resistant) and reduce the mortality rate————
Use of Mahua (Madhuca longifolia) oil cake. Mahua oil cake is packed in gunny bags @ 10-15kg and immersed in two corners of a stocking pond (per bigha/ 33 decimal).
5. To attract fish during angling.————-
Use of Ekangi (Kaempferia galanga L.) rhizome and Jayatri (Myristica fragrans) flower. Ekangi rhizomes and Jayatri flowers are sundried followed by moderate heating in the hot plate and ground into powders for incorporation through the feed.
6. To manage fish-lice by providing a rough surface for rubbing of the fish body. It also helps in minimising the poaching problems.————–
Use of Bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris) branches. Different size of bamboo branches are placed in the separate location of a pond
7. To attract fish due to its aroma and to make the fishing effective.————-
Use of Garlic (Allium sativum) and Fenugreek (Trigonella foenumgraecum) seeds. 1kg of semi-dried garlic is mixed with 250 g of roasted and ground fenugreek seeds. This mixture is then applied before one hour of fishing.
FISH-ARKH——–
Ingredients
Desi Fish- 1kg (depends on availability)
Jaggery- 1kg
Clean cloth (to cover)
Clean stick (to mix)
Earthern pot/ Plastic drum
Uses • Spray for fish disease control (3 ltr/100 litre water)
The traditional farmers are continuing the use of ITKs as a part of their culture, generation after generation. In most of the cases, the ITKs have a good scientific basis with an ecofriendly approach which is an urgent need of current era. The scientific background of such ITKs can be integrated with modern technologies for better efficiency and as well as this authentic knowledge base has to be documented for the future upliftment of hidden scientific rationales of different ITKs.
