Grow-out Systems - Monoculture

Freshwater prawns (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) have been grown to market size in several types of monoculture systems, in both commercial farms and research centres.They have also been grown in brackishwater, in cages, and in pens but this species is normally monocultured in earthen ponds supplied with freshwater of a wide range of temperatures. This type of grow-out procedure forms the major subject covered in this chapter. The grow-out of M. rosenbergii in ponds has been described in detail in a number of practical manuals and included in various reviews (see Chapter 1). This chapter summarises and updates the information on tropical and sub-tropical management systems found in those publications. Freshwater prawn grow-out management in temperate regions is covered in Chapter 11.