Effect of sun-dried and fresh cassava leaves on growth of Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fish fed basal diets of rice bran or rice bran mixed with cassava root meal

The growth response of Tilapia fish (Oreochromis niloticus) to supplementation with fresh or dried leaves of a sweet variety of cassava was studied in 1 m deep ponds (each 4 m * 2.5 m * 1 m). Rice bran or rice bran mixed with cassava root meal was provided as the energy source (20-24% of feed DM), the mixed feed being given at the rate of 5% of fish LW. There were 30 fish per pond with average initial weight of 6 g per head. The treatments were arranged as a 2*2 factorial in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 4 replicates. The first factor was cassava leaf processing (sun-dried or fresh); the second factor was energy source (rice bran or rice bran mixed with cassava root meal). The cassava leaves and roots were from a local “sweet” variety traditionally planted by farmers for human consumption. The experiment was conducted for 100 days. Daily gain in weight and length, and the ratio weight: length after 100 days of growth, did not differ among treatments. All the fish survived and there was no evidence of HCN toxicity. Water quality parameters were not affected by the treatments. There were no interactions between sources of protein and of energy. It is concluded that the feeding of cassava leaves with rice bran can be readily adopted by small scale farmers as both these feed resources are readily available in rural areas