was introduced in pig diets at up to 30%, resulting in relatively high nutrient digestibility values (OM digestibility 88%), similar, or higher, than those obtained with dried cassava leaves, stylo and sweet potato vines included at the same rate (Du Thanh Hang et al., 2009). 6/99, Islam, K. M. S. ; Shahjalal, M. ; Tareque, A. M. M. ; Howlider, M. A. R., 1997. Duckweed may be fed to chickens and livestock. Res. As discussed above, about 10% of the daily feed can be replaced by duckweed without any impact on the growth of tilapia. Duckweed can be valuable as fodder for chickens. According to current legislation duckweed used for food or animal feed needs to meet strict standards and duckweed collected from urban water bodies does not meet these standards. Asian-Aust. Preparation of poultry feed for starters using duckweeds and mixed pulses. Duckweeds grown in enriched waters containing minerals or effluents from agricultural and municipal waste lagoons can have a protein content as high as 30-40% DM (Chang et al., 1977; Hillman et al., 1978; Culley et al., 1973; Rusoff et al., 1977; Rusoff et al., 1978). Harvesting Duck weed . Duckweed can provide all the protein needs of tilapia and carp — which is why it works great for aquaponics. Bioponica is a research and development company offering systems and products for sustainable farming. Rural Dev., 22 (7), Azim, M. E. ; Wahab, M. A., 2003. Feeding diets containing different forms of duckweed on productive performance and egg quality of ducks. Summarized from article published in  Livestock Research for Rural Development Effect of harvest rate waste loading, and stocking density on the yield of duckweeds. Duckweeds are moderately rich in lysine (about 4% of the protein) though a higher value (6% of the protein) has been reported for a leaf protein extract (Dewanji, 1993). Fresh duckweed and maize silage fed at 2:1 (DM) for 28 days. Few differences in carcass traits except for a more attractive skin colour with duckweed. Duckweed systems distinguish themselves from other effluent wastewater treatment mechanisms in that they also produce a valuable, protein-rich biomass as a by-product. Livest. Asian-Aust. Pond depth should be 20-50 cm to reduce the potential sources of stress and to facilitate harvesting. Duckweed as a potential source of protein for broilers was the subject of a study by the University of Jordan, Jordan. A scavenging system with supplementary duckweed and a concentrate feed containing 8% roasted soybeans gave good results under village condition, Dried duckweed included 0, 15, 25, and 40% inclusion rate, Performance (egg production and weight) was maintained at all levels, though the optimal level was 15%. This results in an exponential growth that lasts until the plants become crowded or run out of nutrients (Rusoff et al., 1980; Hasan et al., 2009). There could not be a more ideal plant in the entire world than duckweed. To make it more palatable I add brewers yeast. ANIMAL FEED. An upcoming shortage of enough plant protein sources is foreseen. Though a least-cost formulation trial showed that dried Lemna paucicostata was cost-effective when included at 29.5% in broiler diets (Olorunfemi, 2006), other feeding trials with broilers suggested that the contribution of duckweed to the dietary protein should not exceed 6%. It grows on water with a nitrogen concentration of 10-30mg NH3/m2. Livest. Rice bran mixed with fresh duckweed in equal parts on fresh basis and fed. Effect of different types of plants (, Ngamsaeng, A. ; San Thy ; Preston, T. R., 2004. Livest. Ruminants fed typical diets of mature biomass straws are often deficient of minerals and ammonia which is important for fermentative digestion in the rumen. Tilapia fed diets with 20% to 40% duckweed contained significantly more ash, phosphorus and protein and significantly less lipid and dry matter than tilapia fed the control diet without duckweed (El-Shafai et al., 2004). L. minor is used as animal fodder, bioremediator, for wastewater nutrient recovery, and other applications. Animal feed resources information system. Duckweed replaced up to 50% of fish meal protein without affecting performance. Ileal and total tract digestibility in growing pigs fed cassava root meal and rice bran with inclusion of cassava leaves, sweet potato vine, duckweed and stylosanthes foliage. “It looks promising, especially the harvest yield,” says Van … Eggs from hens fed 15 and 25% Lemna had higher protein content than control eggs. Proceedings of the World Mariculture Society, 10: 769-780, Sakarya, M. ; Kamalak, A. ; Canbolat, O. ; Gurbuz, Y. ; Tursun, N. ; Ozkan, C. O., 2005. Numerous studies have demonstrated the value of duckweed as a feed for poultry, fish and other animals (Skillicorn et al., 1993). Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) fed a diet containing 20% dry duckweed had similar weight gains and feed conversion efficiency as catfish fed a standard feed (Robinette et al., 1980). This is similar to wheatgrass grown in water with no soil (e.g. High levels of inclusion (or substitution) rates tend to decrease performance, particular in young chicks that cannot consume enough duckweed due to the bulkiness of the material (Mwale et al., 2013). The energy value was reported to be relatively poor. Speaking to FeedNavigator, Schenk said: “At the end of the project, we basically had lab-scale production of microalgae and lemna or ‘duckweed’, and we had done a food technology economic analysis to find out how much it cost to produce.We had also produced new technology to reduce the cost at every step. Rural Dev., 7 (1), Ly, J. ; Pok Samkol ; Preston, T. R., 2002. duckweed are almost always contaminated the potential use for food or animal feed is currently slim. Fish meal (12%) fully replaced with combinations of duckweed and soybean meal. Final live weight and daily weight gain were highest with high protein duckweed. Duckweed could be grown on farms to limit nutrient pollution in surface waters. Feeding behaviour of yearling and older hybrid grass carp. Phenolic compounds, tannins and saponins have been reported (Negesse et al., 2009). The high carotene content of duckweed has been shown to deepen the yellow colour of the broiler meat and skin (Mwale et al., 2013). This is due to the fact that fish may have to eat as much as 10x their body weight per pound of growth. Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Bribie Island Aquaculture Research Centre, Bribie Island, Queensland, Zetina-Cordoba, P. ; Ortega-Cerrilla, M. E. ; Torres-Esqueda, M. T. S. ; Herrera-Haro, J. G. ; Ortega-Jimenez, E. ; Reta-Mendiola, J. L. ; Vilaboa-Arroniz, J., 2012. Duckweed - a potential high-protein feed resource for domestic animals and fish. Pond workers (who come into direct contact with the waste materials used to fertilize the ponds), populations (particularly children) living in the vicinity and the consumers (humans and animals) of products from duckweed pond systems may be at risk. All the disciplines needed are present at Wageningen to help research the use of duckweed as a possible new protein crop that can be used world-wide. Duckweed as a feed ingredient in laying hen diets and its effect on egg production and composition. Optimal conditions require decaying organics, including ammonia,  phosphate, minerals and trace elements. Results of trials including duckweeds in the diets of cattle are summarized in the table below: There have been few trials on the use of duckweeds for pig feeding. Our process for organic hydroponics and  for making organic liquid fertilizer from biomass improves the nutritional quality of plants and the sustainability of organic agriculture. Duckweed would require more manhours to turn and dry unless you are using it for animal feed- then it’s worth the added energy and time. 5th Int. Feasibility of duckweed as poultry feed - a review. Use of duckweed for waste treatment and animal feed Dudley D. Culley, Jr., and Ernest A. Epps R?cent papers have presented the view that aquatic plants demonstrate po tentials for reducing inorganic nutrients in domestic wastewater effluent and animal waste lagoons.1-4 These workers have also suggested that aquatic plants have poten Effects of feeding an aquatic weed, Hasan, M. R. ; Chakrabarti, R., 2009. Bui Xuan Men et al., 1995; Dang Thi My Tu et al., 2012; Hassan et al., 1992; Ly et al., 2002; Negesse et al., 2009; Ngamsaeng et al., 2004; Nguyen Nhut Xuan Dung et al., 2002; Nguyen Nhut Xuan Dung et al., 2002; Rusoff et al., 1980; Zaharaby et al., 2001, Anderson et al., 2011; Bui Huy Nhu Phuc, 2006; Chantiratikul et al., 2011; Da et al., 2013; Domínguez et al., 1996; Du Thanh Hang et al., 2009; Hassan et al., 1992; Haustein et al., 1988; Huque et al., 1996; Islam et al., 1997; Khandaker et al., 2007; Ly et al., 2002; Muztar et al., 1976; Nolan et al., 2001; Rusoff et al., 1980; Sakarya et al., 2005; Zetina-Cordoba et al., 2012, Heuzé V., Tran G., 2015. Required fields are marked *. Culley, D. D. ; Myers, R. W., 1980. Res. Growth characteristics of aquatic macrophytes cultured in nutrient-enriched water: II. For cattle, it provides protein and trace nutrients that straw lacks. They grow prolific, and your animals will love it. It is an excellent substitute for vegetable protein and supplement for lower-protein feeds like corn. For some duckweed is a menace, for others it's a Godsend. Nutritional value of wastewater-grown duckweed for fish and shrimp feed. Reported yields vary widely, ranging from 9 to 38 t DM/ha/year, depending on species, climatic conditions, nutrient supply and environmental conditions (Hasan et al., 2009). Duckweed (, Nguyen Nhut Xuan Dung; Luu Huu Manh; Udén, P., 2002. Duckweed is also an alternative starch source for fuel ethanol production. This is particularly important at a time when 30% of industrial corn is used to feed livestock, which is not an ideal food for ruminants. Dried duckweed and commercial feed promote adequate growth performance of tilapia fingerlings. The sheep readily ingested the fresh or dried duckweeds. By dry weight, this is greater than what can be produced by soy growing on a similar area. He commented that the ducks were herded to the ponds daily and returned to their cages. Effect of processing Taro leaves on oxalate concentrations and using the ensiled leaves as a protein source in pig diets in central Vietnam. Duckweed may be fed to chickens and livestock. Stein, H. H., 2014. These substances are then removed permanently from the effluent stream following the harvesting of a proportion of the crop. Duckweed species are adapted to a wide variety of geographic and climatic zones, with most species inhabiting tropical and subtropical areas (Mwale et al., 2013). 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