Impact of Azolla-Based Vermicompost on Water Quality Parameters and Growth Performance of Amur Carp (Cyprinus carpio var. haematopterus) in Sodic Soil Ponds

The present work was designed to evaluate the efficacy of Azolla-based vermicompost on the water quality and Amur carp growth potential sodic soil condition. A 90 days experiment was conducted in FRP tanks measuring containing Sodic soil bed to simulate pond conditions. Three experimental groups, each with duplicate tanks, were established. In each tank, 10 Cyprinus carpio var. haematopterus fry (with an average weight of (1.23 ± 0.03g) were stocked. Using a Completely Randomised Design (CRD), three different fertilization treatments were administered: T1 with Cow dung (CD) @ 15 t/ha/yr, T2 with manure containing cow dung-based vermicompost (CDV) at the same rate, and T3 with manure containing Azolla-based vermicompost (ABV), also @ 15 t/ha/yr. Throughout the experiment, the fish were fed an artificial diet @ 5% of total body weight while also consuming natural food (plankton) available in the tanks. Water quality parameters were found to be within the optimum range for Amur carp culture in all the treatments. Fish growth in terms of total weight gain, total length gain, percentage weight gain and specific growth rate was recorded maximum in treatment ABV followed by CDV and CD.