Effects of replacing fish meal with irradiated chickpea in diet on growth performance, body compositions and apparent digestibility of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

This study aimed to introduce new protein sources to replace fish powder in diets for rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss. In this study, fish powder protein was replaced with the typical Kabuli chickpea (Cicer arietinum) and irradiated pea seeds in the diet followed by assessing their effects on growth and nutritional indices, digestion and body composition of rainbow trout. The study was conducted in the Artemia and Aquatics Propagation Research Institute, University of Urmia, Urmia, Iran. 720 juvenile O. mykiss (60 ± 4 g) were randomly divided equally into eight treatments with three replicates, and were fed with experimental diets for 60 days. The experimental diets were commercial food, homemade food without pea (control), typical pea diets containing 20, 30 and 40% and diets containing 20, 30 and 40% irradiated pea. The results showed that radiation has not significantly affected the food ingredients of peas (protein, fat and dry matter) and growth parameters (P>0.05), but there were significant changes in nutritional indicators and digestibility of the diet along with increasing the percent of peas replacement (P<0.05). As a result, the increase in radiation as well as 40% peas in the diet of O. mykiss did not exhibit negative impact on growth performance. Therefore, the irradiated pea protein can be a good food item to replace fish powder in the fish diet.