Sugarcane bagasse biochar enhances the growth parameters, haematological parameters, and enzyme activities of genetically improved farmed tilapia (GIFT) reared in inland saline water.

In the present scenario, waste management, especially agro-waste, is one of the major challenges. India is an agrarian country and the economy depends on agriculture and a huge amount of agro-wastes are generated. In this study, biochar was prepared from paddy straw and sugarcane bagasse and was used in the feed of genetically improved farm tilapia (GIFT) at 0.5% (w/w) basis to study its effect on growth and haematological parameters. An experiment was carried out in triplicate in 500-l capacity FRP tanks comprising two treatments and one control. Tanks were filled with inland saline soil to maintain 25-cm soil's bed and water with 12 ppt salinity. A total of 22 fish having an average length of 5.14 ± 0.07 cm and weight of 4.8 ± 0.05 g were stocked in each tank; the fish were fed at apparent satiation level, twice daily for 45 days. It was observed that growth parameters like SGR% (specific growth rate), weight gain (WG%), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were significantly improved (p < 0.05) than the control. Biochar-enriched feed also significantly improved the haematological parameters like red blood cell (RBC), white blood cell (WBC), haemoglobin (Hb) haematocrit % (HCT), mean cell haemoglobin concentration (MCH), and MCV (mean cell volume) in treatment groups than the control. Feeding biochar as feed additives was also found to decrease catalase (CAT) and enhanced amylase and lipase activities in treatments as compared to control (p < 0.05). It can be concluded that the application of biochar as a feed additive enhanced the growth and overall health of the fish, and it can enhance fish production. However, biochar from sugarcane bagasse was found to be more effective than the paddy straw biochar in the diet of tilapia (GIFT).