Indian Journal of Animal Research

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Research Article

Indian Journal of Animal Research, volume 55 issue 10 (october 2021) : 1200-1205

Effect of Inclusion of Different Levels of Duckweed (Lemna minor) on the Performance of Broiler Chicken

B. Zaffer1, I.U. Sheikh1,*, M.T. Banday1, S. Adil1, H.A. Ahmed1, A.S. Khan, S.S. Nissa1, U. Mirza1
1Division of Livestock Production and Management, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Srinagar-190 006, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Cite article:- Zaffer B., Sheikh I.U., Banday M.T., Adil S., Ahmed H.A., Khan A.S., Nissa S.S., Mirza U. (2021). Effect of Inclusion of Different Levels of Duckweed (Lemna minor) on the Performance of Broiler Chicken . Indian Journal of Animal Research. 55(10): 1200-1205. doi: 10.18805/IJAR.B-4201.

ABSTRACT

Background: Duckweed is a monocotyledon species of the family Lemnaceae. It is a small floating aquatic plant that grows very well on stagnant ponds and is commonly found throughout tropical countries in natural ponds, lakes and flooded rice fields. Duckweed has high crude protein content and a well-balanced amino acid profile and is also a good source of vitamins and minerals. Duckweed at different levels was utilized in the diet of broiler chicken to study their performance. 

Methods: One hundred and fifty day old broiler chicks of one week old were distributed randomly into five treatment groups viz T1: (Control), T2: 5% Duckweed without enzyme, T3: 5% Duckweed with enzyme, T4:10% Duckweed without enzyme and T5 :10% Duckweed with enzyme having 30 chicks in each groups with three replicates of 10 chicks each. 

Result: The Duckweed contains 20.33% crude protein, 3.10% ether extract, 18.06% crude fibre, 2.80% calcium, 1.10% phosphorous and 1660.77 ME (Kcal/ Kg). Significantly (P≤0.05) higher body weight was recorded in T1 (1889.67±13.28g) and T3 (1878.65±2.02g) groups followed by T2 (1831.67±3.51g), T5 (1798.31±1.76 g) and T4 (1728.63±2.60 g) groups, respectively. The average daily body weight gain was ranged between 37.87 to 41.66 g. The cumulative feed consumption was recorded to be highest in T1 (3050.13±14.01) and lowest in T4 (2943.17±8.54g) group. The Cumulative FCR was significantly (P≤0.05) better (1.74±0.01) in T1 and T3 groups in comparison to T2 (1.78±0.01), T4 (1.85± 0.01) and T5 (1.78± 0.04) groups. Total 3.3% mortality was recorded in all treatment groups except T3 group in which there was no mortality during entire experimental period.

INTRODUCTION

The Indian poultry sector has evolved into a vibrant agribusiness spurred by domestic economic growth and consumption dynamics. The sector has been growing at around 8-12% annually over the last decade with annual growth rates of 8.51 percent and 11.44 per cent in egg and broiler production, respectively driven by increased domestic consumption (BAHS, 2019). The revolution of Indian poultry sector is contributing to improved nutrition and poverty reduction. Today India is the sixth  largest producer of poultry meat in the world with an annual production of 4.06 million MT and third largest producer of eggs with an annual production of 103.32 billion (BAHS, 2019). In poultry rearing, feed cost accounts for 60-70% of the total cost of production.There is a shortage of quality feed ingredients in Kashmir valley. The cost of feed is higher in Kashmir valley compared to other parts of the country because of additional transportation cost incurred during importation from neighbouring states. Inclusion of non conventional feed resources in poultry ration such as aquatic macrophytes like Duckweed (DW) could be one of alternatives which may reduce the cost of poultry production in Kashmir Valley.
       
Duckweed (Lemna minor) is a monocotyledon species of the family Lemnaceae adapted to grow in water at temperatures between 6 and 33°C (Leng et al., 1995). It can be grown to recycle nutrients from waste water and it provides a good source of proteins and can be utilized for the production of some products such as animal feed and fuel ethanol (Cheng and Stomp, 2009). This plant grows rapidly and gives high yields with high protein content, low fibre content and high mineral content.
       
The potential nutritional value of Duckweed in broiler chickens has been recognized (Haustein et al., 1994). The Duckweed plant has been postulated to offer a solution to the feeding of broiler chickens (Khandaker et al., 2007). This plant has been used to replace protein sources such as sesame oil cake (Ahammad et al., 2003) and fishmeal (Effiong et al., 2009) at graded levels. In this regard, it is important to determine how important the Duckweed is in the nutrition of broiler chickens under temperate climate.
       
Many trials have been carried out using Duckweed as the major feed to raise fish, pig, chicken and also ducks. Duckweed has high crude protein content and a well-balanced amino acid profile and is also a good source of vitamins and minerals for livestock (Men et al., 2001). Even though the moisture content of duckweed can be the first limiting factor for chickens, it can play important role in poultry feeding. It contains 28% crude protein, 3.7% crude fat, 33.8% ash, 11.5% fibre and 42.6% carbohydrates (Tania et al., 2009).
       
Despite many studies conducted on utilization of Duckweed as a feed ingredient in broilers ration, probably no systematic study on their effect is carried out in Kashmir valley, although it is abundantly available in the water bodies of this region. Therefore, the present experiment has been undertaken to study the performance of broiler chicken fed different levels of Duckweed with or without enzyme supplementation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The present study was conducted during March to August, 2019 at Experimental Poultry Farm, Division of Livestock Production and Management, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, SKUAST Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, India. The Duckweed was collected from the local water bodies of Srinagar district. The material was transported to the Poultry Farm. The material was dried properly and stored for future use. All together ten types of experimental diets (five Starter and five Finisher) were prepared on iso-nitrogenous and iso-caloric basis as per BIS (1992) using Duckweed at different levels of with or without enzyme supplementation viz. T1 (Control) group: basal diet only prepared without Duckweed, T2  group: Basal diet replaced with 5% Duckweed without enzyme, T3 group: Basal diet replaced with 5% Duckweed with enzyme, T4 group: Basal diet replaced with 10% Duckweed without enzyme and T5 group: Basal diet replaced with 10% Duckweed with enzyme. 150 broiler chicks were procured from reputed source (Private Company) and brooded in battery cages. On 8th day 150 chicks were distributed into five treatment groups viz. T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 containing 30 chicks in each which were subdivided into three replicates of 10 chicks each. The birds were offered ad lib. measured quantity of experimental diets twice daily. The birds were reared under deep litter system for a period of six weeks.
       
The proximate analysis of Duckweed was carried out as per the method of AOAC (1990). The calcium and phosphorus were estimated as per the method of Talapatra et al., (1940). The metabolizable energy (Kcal/Kg) of DW was calculated as per the formula of Pauzenga (1985).
       
The weekly body weight, weekly feed consumption and cumulative feed consumption, mortality were recorded for all the treatment groups. The body weight of the experimental birds was recorded on individual basis at weekly intervals. The feed consumption was recorded on group basis at weekly intervals. From recorded data body weight gain, feed conversion ratio, daily protein intake, protein efficiency ratio etc. was calculated. The data obtained were analysed as per the method of Snedecor and Cochran (1994).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Chemical composition of Duckweed
 
The chemical composition of Duckweed has been presented in Table 1. However, higher crude protein value was reported by Tania et al., (2009). In contrary to the findings of present study the lower values of crude fibre was also reported (Kabir et al., 2005; Khanum et al., 2005; Khandaker et al., 2007). It contains 2.80% calcium and 1.10% phosphorous. The ME (Kcal/kg) calculated out in the present study was much lower than the value reported (Khanum et al., 2005; Iram et al., 2015). The variation in nutrients reported by different authors may be due to the more availability of nutrients in the aquatic environment where they have been grown.
 

Table 1: Proximate composition of Duckweed.


 
Body weight
 
The mean body weight of control group (T1) and 5% DW with enzyme supplementation (T3) was significantly (P≤0.05) higher than other groups during 4th and 5th weeks. Similar trends in body weights were also noticed at 6th week of age with significant (P≤0.05) differences in the final body weight (Table 2) being highest in T1 group (1889.67±13.28 g) and lowest in T4 group (1728.63±2.60 g). Reduced growth of broilers with increasing level of Duckweed in the diet might be due to high fibre content of Duckweed which increased the bulkiness of feed and lower digestibility of protein in Duckweed supplemented diets (Islam et al., 1997). However, enzyme supplementation improved the body weight in the present study. The body weight of broiler chicken was reduced significantly (P≤0.05) at 6th week when Duckweed at 12% level was incorporated in the diet (Kabir et al., 2005). The body weight of broiler linearly declined as the proportion of Duckweed meal in the diet was increased (Islam et al., 1997; Kabir et al., 2005; Iram et al., 2015). Increase in body weight with the supplementation of enzyme in the diet of broilers has been observed in the present study supported by other workers (Bansal et al., 2012).
 

Table 2: Weekly mean body weight (g) in broiler chicken fed Duckweed with or without enzyme supplementation.


       
However, in contrary to the present study, Kusina et al., (1999) found that incorporation of Duckweed in broiler finisher diets up to 10% levels did not affect the growth performance of birds. Haustein et al., (1994) recorded significantly (P≤0.05) higher live weights in broilers fed a diet containing 5% levels of Duckweed compared to other treatments which were fed higher or lower levels of Duckweed.
 
Body weight gain
 
The overall mean body weight gain (g) from 1-6 weeks of age was significantly (P≤0.05) higher in T1 (Control) and T3 groups than T2, T4 and T5 groups (Table 3). The lower body weight gain in the groups fed with Duckweed might be due to high fibre content of Duckweed, increases the bulkiness of feed and lower digestibility of protein. Significantly lower body weight gain was also recorded by Ahammad et al., (2003) in broilers and Khandaker et al., (2007) in Jinding ducks when the diet was replaced by Duckweed at different levels. The body weight gain significantly (P≤0.05) decreased as the level of Duckweed was increased in the diet of broiler chicken (Islam et al., 1997; Kabir et al., 2005). However, enzyme supplementation significantly (P≤0.05) improved body weight gain by improving the digestibility of feed and thereby better absorption and assimilation of the nutrients available resulting in higher body weight gain. The effect of enzyme supplementation on body weight gain in broilers in the present study was supported by the findings of Mathlouthi et al., (2003), Luo et al., (2009) and Tiwari et al., (2010).
 

Table 3: Weekly mean body weight gain (g) in broiler chicken fed Duckweed with or without enzyme supplementation.


       
However, in contrary to present study, higher body weight gain in chicks fed Duckweed compared with chicks fed diets without Duckweed was reported (Khang and Ogle, 2003). The average body weight gain of ducks was significantly (P≤0.05) lower in control diet as compared to Duckweed diets (Khanum et al., 2005).
       
The average daily body weight gain was highest during 4-5 week ranged between 53.18 g in T4 to 57.44 g in T1 groups and lowest during 1-2 week ranged between 32.93 g in T4 to 33.62 g in T1 groups as the T1 group does not supplemented with Duckweed resulting no viscosity. The average daily body weight gain was decreased as the level of Duckweed increased in the diet. However, enzyme supplementation compensates the body weight gain. The total average daily body weight gain was ranged between 37.87 to 41.66 g during 1-6 weeks of age.
 
Feed consumption
 
The cumulative feed consumption of T4 and T5 group was found to be significantly (P≤0.05) lower than T1, T2 and T3 groups (Table 4). The reduced feed consumption in Duckweed supplemented group might be due to increased level of fibre content and bulkiness of diet. The decreased feed consumption was due to fishy smell, unpalatibility, voluminous and dustiness of the feed on increasing dietary level of Duckweed meal (Kabir et al., 2005). The decreased feed consumption with incorporation of Duckweed in the diet of broilers was reported by many workers (Akter et al., 2011; Iram et al., 2015).
 

Table 4: Feed consumption (g) and protein efficiency ratio in broiler chicken fed Duckweed with or without enzyme supplementation.


       
However, enzyme supplementation non significantly increased feed consumption in the present study which might be due to increased digestibility of nutrients in enzyme supplemented diets. The birds fed on enzyme supplemented diets consumed more when compared to control group (Khan and Siddique, 2006; Hajati et al., 2009). Ghobadi and Karimi (2012) also recorded significantly (P≤0.05) increased feed intake in broilers in wheat based diets when supplemented with enzyme.
       
The average daily feed consumption was ranged between 70.07 g in T4 to 72.62 g in T1 groups. The average daily protein intake was ranged between 15.06 g in T3 to 15.65 g in T1 groups. The protein efficiency ratio (PER) was ranged between 2.51 in T4 to 2.66 in T1 groups. The average daily feed consumption, average daily protein intake and protein efficiency ratio was decreased linearly as the level of Duckweed increased in the diet. However, enzyme supplementation improved the average daily feed consumption, average daily protein intake and protein efficiency ratio.
 
Feed conversion ratio (FCR)
 
The FCR of broiler chickens fed different levels of Duckweed with or without enzyme supplementation is presented in Table 5. The FCR during 1-2, 2-3 and 3-4 week of age did not differ significantly among different groups. However, the FCR was significantly (P≤0.05) poor in T4 group as compared to other groups during 4-5 and 5-6 weeks of age.
 

Table 5: Weekly and cumulative feed conversion ratio in broiler chicken fed Duckweed with or without enzyme supplementation.


       
 The cumulative FCR was significantly (P≤0.05) improved in T1 and T3 groups in comparison to T2, T4 and T5 groups. The lower FCR in Duckweed fed groups might be due to high level of fibre content of the diet which increases bulkiness resulting in reduced digestibility and ultimately decreased FCR. The lower FCR may also be due to lower body weight gain recorded in this study.
       
The feed efficiency decreased with the increase in proportion of Duckweed in the diet of broilers (Kabir et al., 2005). Ahammad et al., (2003) reported that the FCR was improved when Sesame oil cake was replaced by Duckweed at 3% and 6% level but the FCR was poorest at 9% Duckweed.
       
The improvement in FCR by enzyme supplementation in the present study was in accordance with the findings of Hajati et al., (2009) and Luo et al., (2009) who also reported improved in FCR with enzyme supplementation in the diet of broilers as the supplementation of enzyme is capable of breaking down the non starch polysaccharides and phytates and thereby enhancing the nutrient availability to the birds results in improved FCR.
 
Mortality
 
The mortality was recorded in different groups up to 3rd weeks of age, after that no mortality was recorded in any of the treatment groups. The total mortality of 3.3% was recorded in all treatment groups except T3 group in which no mortality was recorded. The main cause of mortality as per post mortem report was Colibacillosis and Salmonellosis which might be carried by drinking water as the birds were provided untreated spring water. The mortality was not affected by incorporation of Duckweed in the diet of broiler chicken evidenced by the histomorphology of liver of broiler chicken which did not show any variation from normal structure indicating no adverse effect of feeding Duckweed in broilers. Kabir et al., (2005) also reported that incorporation of Duckweed did not affect the mortality which is in support of the present experiment.

CONCLUSION

Duckweed is a very good source of crude protein, calcium and phosphorus. It could be used as alternative source of feed ingredients in the diet of broiler chicken for reducing the feed cost. High fibre content and bulkiness of the Duckweed often limits its use at higher level. From the present investigation it is evident that Duckweed could be included in the diet of broiler chicken at 5% level with enzyme supplementation for better performance without any adverse effects.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Authors are thankful to the Dean, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, SKUAST-Kashmir for necessary funding to carry out the experiment.

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