Effects of pine pollen as a dietary feed additive on growth performance, survival, and stress response of postlarval giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii)
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The rising costs and environmental concerns associated with fishmeal-based feeds have spurred efforts to identify sustainable, viable alternatives in freshwater prawn farming. The present study was performed to investigate the effects of supplementation of pine pollen meal (PPM) on growth performance, length development, survival, microbial characteristics, stress tolerance, and feed cost in postlarval Macrobrachium rosenbergii. A 45-day feeding experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three dietary treatments: a control diet without PPM and diets supplemented with 25% and 50% PPM. Growth parameters, including weight gain, specific growth rate, final length, and length increment, were evaluated alongside survival rate, water quality, microbial counts, and stress response. The 25% PPM diet provided the maximum growth and length increment for post-larval prawns, whereas the 50% PPM diet showed the highest survival and stress resistance. Water quality conditions were within acceptable limits during the experiment. Pine-pollen supplemented treatments resulted in enhanced lactic acid bacterial populations in the culture water. These findings suggested that pine pollen meal could be a promising functional dietary additive to improve growth performance, length development, survival, and stress tolerance of juvenile M. rosenbergii as it supports its potential application in sustainable freshwater prawn production.
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