POLYCULTURE FARMING BASED ON FISH
Smita Shukla
Department of Zoology,SSN College,University of Delhi
The farmers mainly practices mixed farming system where fishery/ crop/ livestock/ subsystem are independent of each other.In mixed farming system the plants and crops provide food for animals, animal organic matter for fertilization of agriculture land and fish pond.In recent years in the north east India integrated fish farming very popular.Fish duck integrated is one of the most popular farming practice among woman fishers.Duck dropping act as feed and fertilizer for cultured fish in the pond.
There are so many types of integrated fish farming
A.Rice + fish + mashrooms
B.Agricultural + livestock
C.Pig +fish culture
D.Fish culture + sericulture
E.Poultry+ fish culture+ horticulture
This practice is very common, popular and profetable in Indian agro climatic condition and most of the state practicizing in the farming purpose.The main linkages between agro- livestock activities and fish culture involve the direct use of crops/ livestock waist as well as the recycling of crop or manure based nutrients which function as fertilizers to stimulate natural food webs.
1.Fish farming integrated with livestock
a.Animal wastes in integrated fish farming
In pond ecosystem animal waist and waist feed utilized in several ways
In primary production nutrients are the sources
Nutrients and organic substrates for heterotrophic micro organisms which in turn may be consumed directly by fish or by invertebrates fish food organism. Directly consumed by fish. Direct feeding value of pure wastes is known to be poor.Wastes act by
Stimulating phytoplankton and acting as substrate for bacterial production (detritus) and as feed for zooplankton. These two processes are strongly interlinked since phytoplankton is a major source of detritus for bacterial production. Also phytoplankton ,through photosynthesis, is the chief producer of dissolved oxygen in the pond used by all organisms including fish.
b.Values of animal waste Animal wastes represents a vast reservoir of cheap nutrients ,particularly from poultry is easily collected as it is concentrated in small area,and its costs, as raw material for feed,is generally the cost and transport alone.The only expensive item may be processing but this cost relatively small and its recover able from the profit arising out of the low original cost.Feed coasts for daily of beef cattle usually 50 to 80% of the total production costs,this can be reduced to 20- 40%by utilizing these new feed resources protein minerals and other nutrients. Animal wastes contains many beneficial constituents that if recycled effectively can be used as fertilizer of crops fodder for animals and to produce energy.Organic wastes also improves water filtration rates,water holding capacity and hydraulic conductivity of the soil. Farmers gardeners and other use !livestock manure as a soil amendment to improve soil quality. In addition to providing nutrients for plant growth ,applying fresh or composted live stock. Manure to cropland improves soil organic matter and filth( The physical condition that makes a soil suitable for growing crops
b.Storage of animal wastes
An animal waists management plan consists of information about manure production ,storage and use.Manure can be disposed off site.All manure remaining on the farm should be spread according to Allan that distribute s nutrients in manure on land according to the uptake rate of the various crops or grasses on the farm.Store the manure out of the flood hazard area and it is easily accessible to load and unloaded. Use of vegetables filter strips and avoid steep slopes when sitting your storage location.
Animal manure contains complex organic compound s originated from the undigested and wasted feed as well as simple organic and inorganic compounds produced in the gastrointestinal tract of animal. Once excreted manure will natural ly undergo anaerobic decomposition ,producing a number of odorus gases and compounds.Production and characteristics of manure on a farm are largely affected by feed rations species and growth stages of animals,manure collection and handler methods, and the amount of water added into the manure collection system.
C.Multiple use of wastes
Use of manure in integrated fish farming should be able to produce more benefit for the farmer over its other use. Cattle and buffalo manure is widely used as fuel in the rural area .Chicken manure is also being used as fertilizers.
d.Proper waste applications
About 1-2 weeks before fish stocking to produced natural food for immediate fish consumption. Apply or load manure after sunrises and maintain a regular schedule or routine of application.Make sure that freshwater is available for flushing in case of direct oxygen depletion.Scrape off 2-5cm of pond bottom soil during pond preparation.This can serve as excellent fertilizer for vegetables.
e.Public health risks
Large number of bacteria ,including potential pathogens were found in skin gill and intestOne of fish culture fusing manure of efficient ,but tissue and blood appeared sterile on both groups.farm equipment should be cleaned and disinfected before each use .Workers should be disinfected clothing boots and other gear before having contact with healthy fish. Sanitation is particular ly important in preventing the spread of disease between ponds or vats when sick fish are present. Fish farm frequently use antibiotic to control disease in their crowded pens.By eating fish that have been treated with antibiotic ,consumers may be ingesting harmful levels of antibiotic residues. This suggested that the consumption of fish cultured in waters containing animal manure would not cause a health risk greater than that of fish caught from natural waters.:
Potential of integrated fish cum poultry farming
This system is very popular in our country particularly in the Kerala, Orrisa, Andhra Pradesh,Bihar West Bengal.It is one of the best fish cum poultry system.Duck dropping directly fall in water or collected and used for fertilization in pond.Fish cum poultry farming system the excreta of birds is used as manure to fish pond while waste feed is utilized by fish as feed.Further the pond bottom silt and water containing high level of dissolved nutrients is used for growing agriculture crops with more production. Maximum of resources utilized on the same area for fish and poultry farming and two economic activities take place.Which leads to increase in productivity per unit area. Biological and chemical energy can use more efficiently Poultry manure fertilizes the pond provides substrate for bacterial growth, enhances growth of aquatic flora like phytoplankton and zooplankton and fish feed directly on them and the aquatic flora.In integrated fish cum poultry farming we can save fertilizer cost,supplementary feed cost ,chicken can get required quantity of water from fish pond and fish, chicken, meat, eggs can be produced in the same time and same place.
Integrated farming of fish cum poultry have two steps
Fish culture
Poultry farming
1.Fish culture
Fish culture is where we own the fish and care for them. Fish culture includes fish stocking ,fish stocking is the process of introducing ,selected,culturable compatible and fast growing fish seeds into pond for growing.It have three different steps
a.Pre stocking management
Aim of Pre stocking management to proper preparation of ponds and to remove the causes of poor survival unsatisfactory growth, etc.,and also to ensure deadly availability of natural food in sufficient quality and quantity for the spawn/fry//fingerlings to be stocked.Construction and selection of fish pond depends upon the species for culture and on the size and shape of the area.Design of the pond consists of the some basic component. Pond component are usually rectangular in shape.They wary in size from less than a hactare to several hectares. Weeds and grasses deprives pond of nutrients.Provides shelter to predatory and predators insects and animals.Properly management for control of aquatic weeds.
b.On stocking management
Selection of species is important step in on stoking management .we should select fast growing fish ,good food conversion efficiency,resistabnce to diseases ,adaptability to crowded conditions good market value ,adaptibility to changing physico chemical and biological conditions of the pond water.We should stock fry fingerlings carefully to avoidant post stocking mortality due to infections.Fry and fingerlings should be slowly and gradually acclimatized to the temperature and quality of the water in the stocking pond to avoids the post stocking mortality. For spawn fry fingerlings freely swimming out to open the mouth seed transported bags containers and gradually add the pond water in phases and after 15-20 minutes slowly dip and tilt the bag container in the pond. To avoid post stocking infection provide prophylactic treatment to seed period to release. June a and July is the best suitable time for stocking of fingerlings. The stocking time varies depending upon the climate in different regions of the country and also the availability of optimum water level in pond. During winter months growth is slow but in rainy season faster growth observed in fishes. IN winter months and in dry season water level comes down drastically in the water bodies so that stocking of fingerlings after winter months in rainy season and harvastes before the water scarcity.
c.Post stocking management
Aim to post stocking activities are manuring harnessing the pond productivity for natural fish food ,feeding,growth,health monitoring and harvesting. Fish are entirely dependent on the pond water environment for growth and survival. Feed is one of the most crucial aspects of fish farming.This is because fish is entirely dependent on the quality of feed.Feed plays a big role in the post stocking stage.There stages of life cycle fish start grazing spawn feed plankton.Therefore ,immediate step must be taken for providing supplementary feed .The need for supplementary feedingin aquaculture depends on the intensity of fish culture. After certain level of fish biomass increase the available natural food organisms in a pond are not sufficient to ssupport further growth of fish. Oil cakes ,rice /wheat beans ,grains fodders and other agricultural by products and available slaughter house by products may be utilized as fish feed ingredients.Under feeding will result in poor growth of fishes whereas, overfeeding will increase the cost of feeding.So feeding assumes prime importance in improving the yield and the profitability of aquaculture. The required quantity of feed has to be estimated based on the biomass and feed has to be given in internals based on the species cultured. Supplementary feed is broadcast on the pond surface in the form of fine powder daily in the morning hours at prescribed rates. Management of pond is also important factor in integrated fish farmin.The pond should be water retentive and not to be situated in flooded prone area.There should be constant water supply throughout the year. Seasonal ponds ,which can retain 8 to 9 months water also,can be considered for integrated fish farming. Water quality management is important for integrated fish farming . Dissolve oxygen is the amount of oxygen present in water .The relevance of monitoring the level of dissolved oxygen in pond is very important because fish breath in oxygen through their gills for general body metabolism. Dissolved oxygen levels to around 5mg/litre(ppm) in the pond . When dissolved oxygen level are lower than 1.5 mg/litre,the fish will be much stressed and eventually die.The supply of Dissolved oxygen for fish may be reduced when there is excess phytoplankton, and mud dwelling in pond water can be solved by performing artificial aeration. Productivity point of view the depth of water in the fish cultured pond is important. The optimum depth of water in pond is 2-2.5 m.Temperature is also important factor in integrated fish farming. The temperature range for cat fish is 26. -32 degree Celsius.Water temperature 16 -26 will increase stress levels of fish.PH value for the pond is between 6.5 and 8.5. If PH value for their pond is constantly between 4.0 and 6.0, the fishes will be highly in stressed their feed intake will reduced and their growth will be slow. When it is below 4.0 the fishes will die due to water acidity.
d.Fish health management
Cultured fish should checked regularly for their health. Fish health is a critical component to disease control and is invaluable to improved harvests and sustainable production. Taking care not to overstock ,ensuring suitable water treatment and hygiene ,high quality feed and prophylaxis which includes all the regular disinfection of nets, buckets animal transport containers and fish tanks are the easier cheapest and most certain way to prevent outbreaks of fish diseases.
e.Harvesting of fishes
Complete removal of fish from the pond at the end of production is called harvesting of fishes. Cultured fishes reaches marketable size after 8 to 9 months. Generally fishes are harvested after 12 months of stocking methodology used for harvesting first the water drained through outlet pipe and thus allowing fishes and water accumulated there by fishes are caught with the help of tasting puda,hand packing etc. And then stocking in large plastic bucket in live condition. After harvesting partially ,the pond should be restocked with the same species and the same no.of fingerlings depending upon the availability of the fish seed. The grass carp and the silver carp become 1 kg in size in 7 to 8 months cultured period When the cultured fish reaches 740 to 1 kg in weight then they are harvested from the pond .A single stocking and a single harvesting are the common practice in existence. The technique of partial harvesting and restocking is now being practiced and has been found to yield better results in terms of fish production per unit area.During harvesting, marketable fish should be sorted out first and then small fish should be returned in the pond.
2.Poultry farming
Poultry can be constructed above the pond or the embankment hence no additional land is required for this purpose. Poultry house and shade can be bult along with fish pond. Chicken manure can used as intense zooplankton growth and for bloom of microalgae. It has also nutritional value as fertilizer. At the pond bottom phytoplankton and zooplankton produce detritus, and support for colonization of micro organisms ,chironomid larvae. Poultry dung and bacteria is useful for zooplankton.
Chicken manure can be collected for applying in fish pond. Recycling method of Poultry manure in integrated Poultry and fish farming. Integrated fish cum poultry farming we can apply dropping of chicken by two steps In the first step utility of manure for construction of Poultry farm that partially shaded the pond and chicken dropping for fish culture. IN second step manure is stored in a proper place before applying. 450 chickens weight of 400 kg produce enough manure 20 to 25 kg/day.For the carp any aquatic weeds can used . 450 to 550 birds and 40 to 50 kg poultry manure is sufficient to manage 1 hectare fish pond. Poultry farmers make another source of income with manure apart from eggs and meat. Many factors like control of disease ,proper housing , health care breed are involved for production of egg meat and marketing. Intensive system is used for birds in integrated fish cum poultry farming. In intensive system water and medication are provided for the bird with in the building and birds not allowed to move out for feeds.
a.Bird house
Construction of Poultry house we can use low cost and locally available materials like wood etc.Upper side of the pond Poultry house can be constructed. The hight of Poultry house depends upon the number of birds and size of the pond. We can collect and applied dropping of the birds from fall on th floor. For Poultry farming two type of intensive system are battery cage system and deep litter system
Battery cages system
A battery cage, called a conventional case is designed to house laying hens,female chicken who produced eggs. Number of hens kept in battery cases vary depending on the size of the cage.Usually each one contains between four to ten birds. This is a practice where poultry especially egg laying chicken are reared in identical columns and rows of cages connected for easy feedings and collection of eggs. Under battery cage system birds do not come in context with their droppings hence there is less occurrence of parasitic disease such as worms and coccidiosis hence lower mortality.it is healthiest as it is reduces diseases transmission through fecal matter.
Deep litter system
This is based on decomposing faces by microbiological methods for Poultry manure.It is modern ecological breeding technique.it increase efficiency in Poultry farming ,increase rate of growth,,production maximum use of labour ,protects birds from harsh weather conditions. In Poultry management along with fish so many steps like Poultry house formation, selection of birds,feeding ,housing for birds laying of eggs ,harvesting and health care.200 birds are kept in this system and floor is covers with litter.Saw dust ,chopped straw used to co cover the floor up to a depth of about 4-6 inches The bird are kept upper side of litter space of about 0.3-0.6 square meter per bird.According to age of birds should be fed balanced diet in feed hooper to avoid wastage and maintenance of hygienic hygienic environment. The age of 7-18 weeks should provide Grower mash 70 -110 gm/bird/day.
b.Egg laying
we can make birds nest with empty kerosin boxes it will be cheap and easily available 6-7 birds kept in one nest as layers up to the age of 16 months. The bird which are proven for their ability to produce large and more eggs as in the case of layers and body weight gain is in when bird will be in the age of 140-150 days will ready to start laying eggs. One year is egg production period .After that the production should be changed. At the beginning 80-90% production up laying rate increase later it will reduced.Eggs are collected daily in morning and evening. Every bird lays near about 170-1200 eggs/year.
Ducks also plays important role for integrated fish farming. Ducks are highly compatibile with in integrated fish farming. Ducks could became easy prey to cats, hunting dogs, hawks and eagles. Ducks dabbling the pond bottom mud , duck dropping go directly in to water and releasing the nutrients so that pond productivity increases, increase the biomass of natural food organisms and provide essential nutrients. Duck meat and eggs also produced in same place and keep water clean, Duck feed on predators and help to grow fingerlings. Ducks are easy to manage and do not requir expensive or large scale shelters. We could use them as meat also.
http://worldwideaquaculture.com/integrated-fish-farming-benefits-of-polyculture/
