Potential of Toasted Lima bean ( Phaseolus lunatus L) as a substitute for full fat soyabean meal in the diets for (Oreochromis niloticus) fingerlings

A 56-day feeding trial was conducted with Oreochromis niloticus to evaluate the effect of toasted lima bean ( Phaseolus lunatus L) meal as a partial replacement supplement for fullfat soybean meal. Five isonitrogenous (30% crude protein) diets were formulated in which full fat soybean was substituted at the rate of 10, 20, 30 and 40% with protein from roasted lima bean. A diet containing no toasted lima bean served as control. Fish fed with test diet B had significantly (p 0.05) difference among the different treatments. Fish fed test diet B (10% inclusion level) showed an overall superior growth than other experimental diets. Growth rate and nutrient utilization decreased with increase in inclusion level of toasted lima bean except the high specific growth rate (SGR) value observed in the group fed test diet D (40% inclusion level). These data indicated that up to 10% of fullfat soybean meal protein in the diets of Oreochromis niloticus fingerlings can be replaced by toasted lima beans protein. Keywords : Oreochromis niloticus ; Phaseolus lunatus ; isonitrogenous; specific growth rate; feed conversion ratio Moor Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 6 (1&2) 2005 pp. 92-98