Application Of Asparagus racemosus Roots for Production Of Monosex Nile Tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus

The present study was aimed to investigate the effect of Asparagus racemosus root extract for masculinisation of Nile tilapia during its in vivo application through immersion technique. Three days old mixed sex juveniles of Nile tilapia (mean weight 0.025 ± 0.009 g; mean length 1.25 ± 0.012 cm) were subjected to immersion treatment with aqueous extract of the plant roots (0.01, 0.015, 0.02 g/L) for one month. Treatment with 0.015 g/L yielded the highest survival percentage (95.56±1.12). Treatment with the plant material resulted in significantly higher (P<0.05) percentage of males compared to the control groups. The highest percentage (90.60±1.56) of males was obtained in 0.015 g/L category, which was significantly higher (P<0.05) compared to all other treatment groups. The highest percentage of females (56.92±3.07) was observed in the control group and it was significantly higher (P<0.05) than all the treatment categories. The control diet fed group showed no intersex fish while the highest percentage of intersex fish (1.45±1.44) was observed at the concentration of 0.02 g/L of immersion treatment with A. racemosus. The study indicates that A. racemosus aqueous extract might be used as a potential alternative of synthetic steroids for production of all-male tilapia population.