Post on September 25, 2024

Project Summary:

November 3, 2023

Project: Enhancing Sorghum Opportunities in Domestic and Export Aquafeed Sectors in Rainbow trout

This project investigated the potential of sorghum as a substitute for traditional carbohydrate sources in rainbow trout (RBT) diets. The research focused on four main objectives:

  • Proximate analysis of sorghum varieties: Researchers analyzed the protein, fat, fiber, starch, and mineral content of different sorghum varieties. Red sorghum exhibited the highest protein content (around 15%).
  • Digestibility coefficients in rainbow trout: digestibility trials measured how well rainbow trout digested nutrients from different sorghum varieties. Red sorghum again showed promising results, with digestibility coefficients comparable to the other varieties for most nutrients.
  • Rainbow trout nutrition trials: Rainbow trout were fed diets containing varying levels of sorghum (0%, 5%, 10%, and 20%) alongside a control diet. While fish fed the control diet grew slightly faster, sorghum inclusion levels up to 10% appeared to have no negative effects on growth performance.
  • Economic analysis: The study suggests that sorghum has the potential to replace up to 10% of carbohydrate sources in commercial RBT diets. This could translate to a significant demand for sorghum grain in the salmonid aquaculture sector.

Key Findings

  • Rainbow trout can digest nutrients from sorghum efficiently.
  • Replacing up to 10% of dietary carbohydrates with sorghum appears to be feasible for rainbow trout production.
  • Including sorghum in aquafeed could create a new market for sorghum producers, particularly those focused on non-GMO grains.

READ THE FULL STUDY