Sunday, July 26, 2009

Harvesting the benefits of grain application in Aquafeeds

Dr. Brett Glencross, Stream Leader – Novel Feed Ingredients and Nutrition, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, Australia

To reduce risk associated with being too dependent on fish meal use in aquaculture feeds, considerable effort has been expended to assess and develop a range of grain protein meals as alternatives. However, the evaluation of such feed ingredients is crucial to their effective application in diets for aquaculture species. In evaluating ingredients for use in aquaculture feeds there are several important knowledge components that should be understood to enable the wise use of any particular ingredient in a feed formulation. The four primary knowledge components are: (1) Ingredient characterization, (2) Ingredient digestibilities, (3) Ingredient palatability, and (4) Nutrient utilization and/or interference of utilization.

In addition to these four key knowledge components, further details on ingredient functionality, gene and/or protein expression, the influence on immune status and organoleptic qualities are also important considerations.

Using this approach a range of feed grain resources have been evaluated in the diets of a range of aquaculture species. While there is no single ideal alternative many of the different feed grain resources offer sound potential when used in the right application. Indeed the judicious use of certain feed grain resources can confer significant nutritional and technical advantages to the feed design and management process.

No comments: