Rearing of Fish, Puntius gonionotus seed and Marigold, Tagetes patula Plant in NFT Aquaponics System for Economic Returns

Author: B.C. Mohapatra, Pravati K. Sahoo, N.K. Chandan, M. Mahapatra, S.K. Panda, D. Majhi and B.R. Pillai

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Abstract

An experiment was conducted for 75 days (5 November 2020 to 21 January 2021) at ICAR-CIFA, Bhubaneswar, Odisha focusing on economic evaluation of Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) aquaponics system on a pilot-scale mode for rearing puntius (Puntius gonionotus) seed and marigold (Tagetes patula) plant in it. Fish culture tank, biofilter, hydroponics tank and sump are the integral parts of one NFT aquaponic system. The experiment was conducted in six units of aquaponics system; taking three treatments in duplicate. Culture tanks of each unit were stocked with 200 numbers of puntius advanced fry of 44-63 mm length and 3-5 g weight. Hydroponics tanks were planted with marigold plants with varying densities, i.e., 42, 63 and 84 numbers as T1, T2 and T3 respectively. Random sampling method was followed for data analysis. After 75 days, advanced fingerlings were harvested with size 100-147 mm length and 20-56 g weight with survivability rate of 92.33±2.31%. As there was no significant difference

Keywords

NFT aquaponics; Hydroponics; Fish seed rearing; Marigold production; Economics returns

Conclusion

The present experiment revealed that the rearing of pangas seed along with marigold plants is economically viable. The production of puntius and marigold can be increased by scaling up the present design. However, for optimum plant holding capacity for the present fish culture unit, future experimentation of nutritional analysis may be helpful for maximum possible economics out of the developed NFT aquaponics model. The beneficial outcomes of the study are; an annual return of INR 498 per m2 land area; greener environment; integrated aquaculture; minimizes the wastage of water; organic and healthy food availability; etc. With the current depletion rate of arable land and water scarcity, the present system can prove to be sustainable in producing crops with limited resource usage. Also as a hobby, this type of system in the backyards can provide a greener environment and healthy food to common people. This type of integrated system could also become a reliable agriculture method that pl

References

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How to cite this article

Mohapatra, B.C., Sahoo, P. K., Chandan, N.K., Mahapatra, M., Panda, S.K., Majhi, D. and Pillai, B.R. (2021). Rearing of Fish, Puntius gonionotus seed and Marigold, Tagetes patula Plant in NFT Aquaponics System for Economic Returns. Biological Forum â€