Progress 10/01/09 to 09/30/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Several feeding trials were completed with fish and shrimp fed the Yucca extracts. We also added additional extracts from the soapbark, Quillaja saponaria, The results were shared with the commercial partner who supplied the product. The findings were also described in the student's (Mario Hernandez) dissertation. Technical presentations of the results were provided at professional conferences in the US and Mexico. Abstracts were published for one of the meetings and a conference proceeding is being prepared for another. PARTICIPANTS: Mario Hernandez Acosta completed his PhD and has returned to a faculty position at Universidad Autonoma de Tamaulipas. Desert King International Inc. has developed the nutritional supplement and now is marketing to the shrimp farming industry. TARGET AUDIENCES: The results have been reported to the sponsor and at professional and industry meetings. Shrimp nutrition and feedmill operators have considered the findings and conduct their own cost analysis to determine if they want to utilize the supplement in their formulations. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Inclusion of the two extracts at various levels in tilapia diets did not provide any significant difference in growth, survival or water quality. However, in shrimp diets higher levels of inclusion did significantly increase shrimp growth and feed conversion ratio. There were no signifcant differences in survival or water quality. Second Place Poster Award at World Aquaculture Meetings ($200) - Mario Hernandez-Acosta for "Growth and Development of Nile Tilapia Oreochromis niloticus Fingerlings, Fed with Different Diets Supplemented with Soapbark Tree Extract" A commercial supplement for shrimp (Nutrifito +) has been developed and marketed to feed companies as a dietary supplement for shrimp nutrition.

Publications

• 1. Feeding of Nile Tilapia Oreochromis niloticus and White Shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei witih different diets supplemented with Yucca schidigera and Quillaja saponaria extracts (Saponins). By Mario Hernandez-Acosta Disseratation submitted to University of Arizona. 2009.
• 2. FOOD SAFETY STUDY OF LEAFY GREENS IRRIGATED WITH TILAPIA FARM EFFLUENTS IN TAMAULIPAS. Pablo Gonzalez-Alanis Juan I. Gutierrez-Olguin, Isabella Castro-Segura, Hilario Ezqueda-Palacios, Mario Hernandez Acosta, Hector H. Gojon-Baez, Gabriel Aguirre-Guzman, Kevin M. Fitzsimmons. In: BETTER SCIENCE, BETTER FISH, BETTER LIFE: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NINTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON TILAPIA IN AQUACULTURE,Editors, Liu Liping and Kevin Fitzsimmons Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, China 22-24 April 2011.
• 3. Gilberto J. Gutierrez-Salazar, Abundio Gonzalez-Gonzalez, Mario Hernandez-Acosta,Jorge Loredo-Osti y Francisco M. Guzman-Saenz 2012. Evaluacion de la maduracion y la reproduccion de camarones Litopenaeus vannamei en sistema de recirculacion de agua. Ciencia Pesquera (2012) 20(1): 29-37

Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: The feeding trials with the yucca extracts did not demonstrate a significant difference in growth with tilapia, but did show significant difference with shrimp. We concluded that depending on the retail cost of the yucca as an ingredient, it might be a cost effective component of shrimp diets. We also continued our broader based research into integrated farming systems, with the focus on inland aquaculture. Specific research was conducted looking at reuse of tilapia effluents on lettuce production at the Campus Ag facility. We also worked with farmers and high schools across the state to discuss and demonstrate integrated inland aquaculture and irrigated farming systems. PARTICIPANTS: One student, Mario Hernandez, completed his dissertation with the yucca feed ingredient study being his major aspect. Kyle VanderLugt, also completed his dissertation with a focus on integrated farming. Another student, Eric Highfield, has begun work on his Master's degree with a focus on integrated farming systems and aquaponics. TARGET AUDIENCES: One major audience is high school agriculture teachers. We hope that they will each be able to instill in their students the importance of aquaculture and sustainable methods in modern farming. The second formal audience are small holders who run farms across the state of Arizona. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Two of our former students now operate Desert Springs Tilapia. This farm is the best example of the technique we are promoting. They are producing over one million pounds of tilapia per year along with farming olives, wheat, sorgum, Sudan grass, alfalfa, and Bermuda grass on 500 hectares of land in southwestern Arizona. The commercial supplier of the yucca ingredient has used our results to further promote the use of yucca as an ingredient for shrimp diets and has proposed a larger scale trial with tilapia which should be more definitive. Over all, we are convinced that integrated farming will become increasingly important, starting with arid and semi arid regions. We are actively working with students, ag teachers in high schools, agency professionals, and the general public to demonstrate and instruct on the intricacies of the multiple use concept.

Publications

• Stevenson, K., Fitzsimmons, K., Clay, P., Alessa, L., and Kliskey, A. 2010. Integration of aquaculture and arid lands agriculture for water reuse and reduced fertilizer dependency. Experimental Agriculture 46:1-18.

Progress 01/01/09 to 12/31/09

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Mario Hernandez presented the results of the research at the US Aquaculture meetings in Seattle Washington in Feb 2009 and at the World Aquaculture Meetings in Veracruz Mexico in September 2009. Mario also completed his PhD at the University of Arizona in May 2009, with his dissertation based on this research. PARTICIPANTS: Mario Hernandez based his dissertation on this research which contributed to his completing his PhD. Rodrigo Otero, from Desert King, provided substantial financial support for Mario's travel and conference presentations TARGET AUDIENCES: Presentations at aquaculture conferences were directly aimed at feed mill employees and formulators as well as nutrition experts and farmers. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
The results of inclusion of the extracts in shrimp diets did demonstrate a significant increase in gorwth. The slight improvement in tilapia growth was not significant. At the inclusion levels for the shrimp diet, the economic value would be marginal, but with increased commodity prices for shrimp it might become financially attractive to include the extract.

Publications

• No publications reported this period

Progress 01/01/08 to 12/31/08

Outputs
OUTPUTS: An additional trial of yucca ingredients in shrimp diets was compelted during 2008. The results demonstrated the benefit of inclusion of yucca as an ingredient to improve the growth rate of the shrimp. The results of the research have been shared with farmers and academic professionals through a series of presentations and lab tours. These presentations included a poster at the US Aquaculture meetings in Orlando Florida in Feb 2008, and presentations at the World Aquaculture meetings in Busan, Korea in May 2008, at a conference in Ciudad Obregon, Mexico in August 2008, and finally at the Eighth International Symposium on Tilapia in Aquaculture in Cairo, Egypt in October, 2008. Local information sharing in Arizona includes tours of the lab and description of the work to school groups and visiting farmers. PARTICIPANTS: Mario Hernandez is the PhD candidate who has completed most of the research. The work has also received significant support and material from Desert King, Inc. of California. Desert King is a manufacturer and marketer of Yucca ingredients for animal nutrition. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience are fish and shrimp biologists who work on feed and nutrition issues; feed mill operators who formulate commercial fish and shrimp diets; and farmers who purchase commercial feeds for their farms. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Farmers and feed mill operators are considering inclusion of Yucca ingredients in both tilapia and shrimp diets in Mexico, Guyana, and the US. An additional poster was presented at the US Aquaculture meetings in Seattle Washington in Feb 2009. The PhD student working most closely on the project presented his research in a department seminar and to a visiting class of high school students. The student should complete his PhD in 2009. We are also developing an article for publication in a peer-review journal.

Publications

• No publications reported this period

Progress 01/01/07 to 12/31/07

Outputs
OUTPUTS: At the beginning of the experiment a feeding of 4 % of the biomass daily was stipulated, but it was reduced to 3% once the tilapia were unable to eat the total amount of feed because of the low temperature. The calculated average values for feed conversion ratio ranged from 2.45 to 2.54. This result is above the recommended range. Intensive projects have shown feed conversion ratios from 1.8 to 2.2 depending on the culture conditions, culture management and the availability of improved genetic strains for the environmental conditions (Negrete C. E. 1991). At the end of the experiment all the fish were weighed individually to obtain the average weight per treatment. Addition of Yucca schidigera to formulated Nile tilapia diets has been shown to reduce ammonia accumulation and increase fish growth. El-Sadidy and Gaber (2004b) reported that adding yucca to Nile tilapia diets, especially in intensive culture systems, at 750 mg/kg diet could reduce ammonia and nitrite in the water and could act as a growth stimulant to improve growth performance and feed utilization. In this study, ammonia and nitrite were not a problem as they remained in the normal range for tilapia culture. In this experiment the temperature ranged from 17 to 21 C, as a result, the feed consumption could have been affected by the low temperature. Therefore, the feed conversion rate was above the recommended level for Nile Tilapia culture. Even though the temperature was low, Tilapia did not present any infections during the experiment Parameters such as total ammonia ranged from 0.10 to 0.21 mg/L, nitrite from 0.34 to 0.43 mg/L, nitrate from 5.2 to 9.5 mg/L, dissolved oxygen from 5.5 to 6.3mg/L, and pH from 8 to 8.10. The water quality parameters were not significantly different between treatments during the experimental period. The water quality parameters were determined every ten days and remained within the recommended limits for Nile Tilapia culture. At the end of the experiment the one way ANOVA does not show any significant difference (F6, 349 = 0.439, P = 0.852) between growth rates of fish fed the 7 different diets. PARTICIPANTS: Mario Hernandez-Acosta*, Moises Franco-Merchant, Pablo Gonzalez-Alanis, Rafael Martinez-Garcia, Graduate students Rodrigo Otero Sponsor from commercial ingredient supplier Kevin Fitzsimmons Project PI TARGET AUDIENCES: Fish farmers and feed manufacturers. Initial efforts have focused on contracting supplier and technical community. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: No major changes.

Impacts
Tilapia kept in partially closed systems, and fed with artificial diets have, previously been reported to have lowered feed intake, lowered feed conversion efficiency and decreased growth after a certain period of time (Jackson et al., 1082). This might be due to the fact that tilapia need a continuous supply of their natural food or because of a build-up of growth inhibiting factors in the system. In this experiment the irrigation reservoir had its water supply from artesian wells, and the water was in a constant flow, being one of the factors that did not permit an appropriate primary production during the trial period. The lack of nutrients in the water and the low temperature could have been the reasons why there was not significant difference between treatments. More research is required to identify the correct inclusion level of saponins in the diet of Nile tilapia. Abiotic and biotic factors in the culture such as temperature, natural food, turbidity, chemical concentrations, and others, should be maintained in a good condition for tilapia culture, in order to ensure the development of the experiment.

Publications

• Mario Hernandez-Acosta*, Moises Franco-Merchant, Pablo Gonzalez-Alanis, Rafael Martinez-Garcia, Rodrigo Otero, Kevin Fitzsimmons. 2008. EFFECT OF DIETS SUPLEMENTED WITH Yucca schidigera and Quillaja saponaria EXTRACTS ON THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF NILE TILAPIA Oreochromis niloticus JUVENILES, CULTURED IN CAGES. Poster at World Aquaculture Meetings in Orlando Florida.

Progress 01/01/06 to 12/31/06

Outputs
Initial trial was conducted with tilapia in a recirculating system fed yucca extract in three different levels of inclusion. The initial trial did not demonstrate any signficant differences between diets. A second trial was designed to repeat in cages stocked with tilapia. Tilapia feeding trial (Cages) We plan to conduct a six-week feeding trial of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in order to determine the effects of several inclusion levels of saponin products provided by Desert King of California. The basic design of the trial will be to obtain a mixture of product derived from Quillaja and Yucca (Nutrafito plus) that will be supplied by Desert King. We will grind a commercial diet to powder level; the powdered feed will be divided into seven equal portions and the distribution of the treatments with Nutrafito plus will be as follows: The control with 0 ppm, the second one will have 200 ppm, the third with 400 ppm, the fourth with 800 and the fifth, sixth, and seventh with 1800, 2700 and 5400 ppm respectively. The powdered feed will be repelleted on a California Pellet Mill. Fourteen fish cages, from 1 to 1.5 m3 in size will be stocked with 25 fish with an average weight of approximately 100 grams each. Two replicates will be randomly assigned to each of the seven diets. Fish will be fed twice daily with 3% of body weight in the morning and 3% of body weight in the afternoon. Fish will be weighed and measured every two weeks and adjustments will be made to keep the feeding rate at 6 % per day depending on the incremental growth and survival. If fish continue to consume all feed, the rate will be kept steady. If fish are unable to consume at a 6% rate as they grow, the rate will be reduced to 4% of fish biomass per tank. Water quality parameters such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate will be measured to make sure water quality remains in good condition within recommended limits for Nile Tilapia culture. The temperature and Dissolved oxygen will be measured daily using a YSI oxygen meter; pH will be monitored daily with a Milwaukee model pH meter. Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate will be monitored once a week with a Hach model DR/890 colorimeter The final weight will be determined at 6 weeks. If there are no significant differences at that time, we will extend the trial for another 2 weeks. The data will be analyzed with Duncan's Multiple Range test and with One Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Regardless of the first trial results, a second trial will be conducted to repeat the entire experiment. A final report will be prepared for the sponsor including results of both trials and all the raw data. The results will also be used to prepare an article for presentation at professional meetings and for publication in a professional journal.

Impacts
Improved growth rate or better feed conversion ratio would reduce costs and improve profits for fish farmers. We have not demonstrated this yet, but hope to do so with additional trials. We have demonstrated that there are no negative impacts so far, but still need to demonstrate positive impacts.

Publications

• No publications reported this period

Progress 01/01/05 to 12/31/05

Outputs
Several field trials were completed in 2005 and results were reported at conferences and field days. One graduate student (Chad King)completed his PhD work based on this research. Another grad student (Kalb Stevenson) is still preparing a manuscript based on his Master's thesis. Two other students have conducted supporting work with greenhouse trials at the Environmental Research Lab. These trials have focused on aquaponics and irrigation of saline tolerant crops (salicornia and mangroves). This research should extend to field work in the coming year. One of the cooperator farms has put in extensive field plantings this year that should provide additional data.

Impacts
A new grant will support research on sustainable coastal aquaculture based on the previous work. Fitzsimmons will travel to Indonesia in March 2006 to apply the work to restoration efforts in Banda Aceh. The field work in Arizona shoud help convince additional farmers to consider multiple use of water for aquaculture and irrigation of field crops. EPA has designated discharge of aquaculture effluents onto irrigated field crops to be a Best Management Practice. The project has been highlighted in the annual report of the SARE program and has been picked up by other publications. We hope to further expand on the successes of integrated aquaculture/agriculture in the coming year with additional trials and extramural support.

Publications

• No publications reported this period

Progress 01/01/04 to 12/31/04

Outputs
Integration allows for groundwater and nutrients in water and solid waste to be reused. Shrimp farms in Arizona use low-salinity ground water from aquifers for shrimp ponds and agricultural irrigation. On one of these farms, effluent is reused for irrigation of olive trees and other field crops. We quantified changes in the height of olive trees due to irrigation with shrimp effluent. Trees receiving effluent grew an average of 61.0 cm over the two-year experiment, 70.4 cm with fertilizer and 48.4 cm in the well water treatment. Leaf nutrients were similar among all treatments. Soil salinity did not increase with effluent irrigation. No negative effects due to effluent irrigation were found, while increases in water use efficiency were realized by producing two crops with the same irrigation water. We also investigated the reuse of solid waste produced by shrimp farming through integration with field crops in a greenhouse study. We examined responses of tomato production when grown in pots with varying amounts of shrimp sludge. Despite the low levels of nutrients in the solid shrimp waste, tomato production was higher with sludge additions of 10% and 20% by soil volume, 805 and 1,610 g/plant, respectively (F3, 24=7.84, p = 0.0008, one-way ANOVA).

Impacts
Many shrimp farming areas in coastal regions are severely impacted by competing uses for the land and water resources. Inland culture of shrimp and constructive use of the effluent will be critical to long term sustainability. The stocking of fish with the shrimp further enhances sustainability by yielding a second cash crop, reducing disease incidents and improving the microbiological makeup of the pond.

Publications

• McIntosh, D., Fitzsimmons, K., 2003. Characterization of effluent from an inland, low-salinity shrimp farm: what contribution could this water make if used for irrigation. Aquacultural Engineering 27, 147-156.
• McIntosh, D., K. Fitzsimmons, J. Aguilar and C. Collins. 2003. Toward integrating olive production with inland shrimp farming. World Aquaculture 34(1):16-20

Progress 01/01/03 to 12/31/03

Outputs
A single earth pond (3/4 hectare) was prepared and divided into nine (7 x 30m) enclosures that were considered to be three blocks of three enclosures, during a water exchange the water past first for block A (first use water), then block B (second use) and finally block C (third use). Each block was randomly stocked with shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) and three different densities of red tilapia hybrids (with an Oreochromis mossambicus genetic component) to give three different treatments: T0: zero tilapia per m2 and 30 shrimp m2; T25: 0.25 tilapia per m2 and 30 shrimp m2; T50: 0.50 tilapia per m2 and 30 shrimp m2. Growth of the tilapia and shrimp in each enclosure were sampled approximately every two weeks. During the 2 month experiment temperature ranged from 16.2 to 25.6 degrees Centigrade and salinity from 28 to 35ppt. Growth rates of the tilapia and shrimp across the different treatments were similar and no significant differences were observed in mean sample weights for any sample date. Growth of the tilapia was also similar across the experimental blocks and no significant differences were observed. The tilapia grew from 4.6 S.D. 0.9g to mean final weights from the replicas that ranged from 32.8 S.D. 8.1g to 38.8 S.D. 10.0g. However, the experimental blocks had a significant (P<0.05) affect on mean sample weight of shrimp and when the experiment finished shrimp in blocks 2 and 3 were significantly (P<0.05) bigger than shrimp from block 1. The shrimp grew from 0.004g to mean weights from the replicas that ranged from 1.82 S.D. 0.40g to 2.07 S.D. 0.45g in block A and from 2.08 S.D. 0.48g to 2.29 S.D.0.47g in blocks B and C. There was no significant difference in survival of tilapia among the different treatments and blocks, survivals ranged from 86 to 92%. A larger variation was observed in the survival of the shrimp, the replicas exhibited a range from 46.6 to 73.9%, the survivals from block C that ranged from 66.4 to 73.9% were significantly (P<0.05) higher than in blocks A and B that exhibited survivals that ranged from 46.6 to 57.0%. The three stocking densities of tilapia (0, 0.25 and 0.50 tilapia per m2) did not affect survival or growth of the tilapia or shrimp. Shrimp survival and growth was affected by position of the enclosure in the pond, survival and growth was significantly higher with water that had previously passed through other enclosures. A second trial conducted at the Wood Brothers Farm in Gila Bend Arizona focused on irrigation of olive trees with effluent from a shrimp pond. Controls of irrigation with un amended well water and well water with fertilizer were part of this second trial. Results are pending.

Impacts
Many shrimp farming areas in coastal regions are severely impacted by competing uses for the land and water resources. Inland culture of shrimp and constructive use of the effluent will be critical to long term sustainability. The stocking of fish with the shrimp further enhances sustainability by yielding a second cash crop, reducing disease incidents and improving the microbiological makeup of the pond.

Publications

• McIntosh, D., K. Fitzsimmons, J. Aguilar and C. Collins 2003. Towards Integrating Olive Production with Inland Shrimp Farming. World Aquaculture 34(1):16-20.

Progress 01/01/02 to 12/31/02

Outputs
Continued research on production of shrimp in western Arizona and use of effluents to irrigate field crops. Shrimp acreage and production continues to increase. Focus in the past year has been on use of effluent to irrigate olive trees. We are seeing trends with increased growth of plants irrigated with effluent and those that have been side dressed with sludge from the pond bottoms. Additional data may demonstrate significant differences. We have seen some mortality which may be attributable to salinity stress. Mortalities do not seem to be treatment related, but may be result of uneven soil structure within the plot. Leaf samples have been submitted for analysis.

Impacts
If this style of integrated farming can be demonstrated to be sustainable, additional farms may be built. This would increase availability of domestically produced shrimp and lower production costs for olives and other dryland crops.

Publications

• McIntosh, D. and Fitzsimmons, K. 2003. Characterization of effluent from an inland, low-salinity shrimp farm: what contribution could this water make if used for irrigation. Aquacultural Engineering 27:147-156.

Progress 01/01/01 to 12/31/01

Outputs
Water quality data has been collected and growth data for olive trees irrigated with shrimp farm effluents has been determined. Additional trials are under way. An ancillary trial using koi and irrigating barley and cotton has been started at the U of A experimental station (Maricopa Ag Center).

Impacts
We expect to determine the sustainablity of irrigation of various crops with aquaculture effluents.

Publications

• Fitzsimmons, K. 2001. Polyculture of Tilapia and penaeid shrimp. Global Aquaculture Advocate 4(3):43-44
• McIntosh, D., Baldwin, T. and Fitzsimmons, K. 2002. Aquaculture development potential in Arizona, A GIS-Based approach. p. 205. USAS Abstracts. San Diego. CA.
• McIntosh, D., Fitzsimmons, K., Aguilar, J., and Collins, C. 2002. Integrating olive production with inland shrimp farming. p. 206. USAS Abstracts. San Diego. CA.
• McIntosh, D.and Fitzsimmons, K. Characterization and evaluation of effluent from an inland shrimp farm as an irrigation source. World Aquaculture Meetings Jan 2001. Orlando, FL.

Progress 01/01/00 to 12/31/00

Outputs
We have developed working relationships with two shrimp farms in Arizona. During 2000 we collected data on algae populations and water quality. The algae blooms were identified and counted through the growing season. Statistical relationship of algae species and prevalence to water quality or shrimp growth have been inconclusive to this point. A second year's data may be needed to discern statistically significant correlations. Dennis McIntosh is the PhD student working on this project as his dissertation topic.

Impacts
Preliminary results were presented at the World Aquaculture meetings in Jan 2001. A second year of research will focus on another year of algae and water quality analyses and reuse of shrimp farm effluents for irrigation of olive trees. Two additional farms are starting operations and have offered facilities to gather additional data.

Publications

• No publications reported this period

Progress 01/01/99 to 12/31/99

Outputs
A set of Best Management Proceedures related to aquaculture effluents were prepared and presented to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. Two talks on integrated system results in Arizona were presented at the World Aquaculture meetings in Sydney, Australia. Farms in Arizona are continuing to adopt integrated aquaculture-agriculture systems. The Website on Arizona Aquaculture is now receiving 12,000 plus hits per week.

Impacts
Fifteen high schools have now incorporated aquaculture into their agriculture curriculum. Two new fish farms and a new shrimp farm opened in 1999.

Publications

• Brown, J.J., Glenn, E.P., Fitzsimmons, K.M. and Smith, S.E., 1999. Halophytes for the treatment of saline aquaculture effluent. Aquaculture 175:255-268.
• McKeon, C., Glenn, E., Gerba, C.P., Fitzsimmons, K., and Maier, R. 1999. Microbiological hazards of fresh water fish culture systems. Aquaculture. In Press.

Progress 01/01/98 to 12/31/98

Outputs
Demonstration projects are in operation at the Maricopa Agriculture Center and at two private farms. Results demonstrate that 10-15 kg/ha of nitrogen can be contributed from fish effluents. A farm in Gila Bend, Arizona has adapted the technology producing marine shrimp in low salinity water that is then used to irrigate sorghum, cotton, and olive trees. A web site has been put on-line: http://Ag.Arizona.Edu/azaqua. Two papers have been submitted to an Aquaculture journal. "Integration of aquaculture and field crop irrigation in the southwestern US" will be presented at the World Aquaculture meetings in Sydney, Australia in May of 1999.

Impacts
(N/A)

Publications

• No publications reported this period