Growth performance and economic viability of dietary inclusion of Ipomoea batatas L. shoot powder and extracts in the practical diets of Oreochromis niloticus L.

The study aims to determine the growth performance and economic viability of the dietary supplementation of camote i.e., Ipomoea batatas L. powder and extracts in the diets of the Nile tilapia. The fish were reared in twelve 1 m³ hapa nets installed in a 500 m² pond. Four groups of fish were used in the experiment; the control group was fed with formulated practical diets (PD), and diets supplemented with either camote shoot powder (PD + CSP), hot-water extract (PD + CSHWE), and crude ethanol extract (PD + CSCEE). The feeding trial lasted 12 weeks. The weight gain (WG), feed conversion ratio (FCR), feed efficiency ratio (FER), protein efficiency ratio (PER), specific growth rate (SGR), and condition factor (CF) were studied. The economic viability was determined through the cost of production, gross profit, cost-and-return, and profitability analyses. The fish fed with PD + CSHWE exhibited improved growth performance as evidenced by an increase in WG, FER, PER, SGR, and CF, while showing low values of FCR. The economic analyses also revealed that PD + CSHWE was the most economically feasible diet based on the cost of production, gross profit, cost-and-return, and profitability analyses. The study had proven that the incorporation of CSHWE in practical diets could improve the growth performance and increase profitability if used for tilapia culture.