Using a feed containing 40% DDGS in carp farming can boost growth rates and profits, shows a study by researchers at the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
The conventional nutrition technology involves the use of natural food in combination with cereal grains, but DDGS has been proven to be a suitable alternative feed ingredient.
The team of scientists in Hungary in previous research tested different levels of DDGS and concluded that a proportion of up to 40% would not have any negative effect on growth, fish health and metabolic processes. In their latest study they sought to assess the experimental feed’s impact on growth, quality of meat and economic performance, as compared to a commercial feed under semi-intensive farming conditions.
The experiment lasted 155 days. The protein production value hit 36.3% in the experimental group and 31.8% in the commercial feed control group. The gross yield was 3,520 kg.ha−1 under the experimental diet, and 3,020 kg.ha−1 in the control group.
In Central Europe, gross carp farming yields fall somewhere between 500 and 1,500 kg ha−1 under semi-intensive cereal-based technologies.
