Impact of Organic and Inorganic Feeding Management on Water Quality, Growth Performance and Plankton Communities in Pond‐Based Polyculture of Major and Chinese Carp Species

ABSTRACT The current study assessed the impact of organic and inorganic feeding management on water quality, growth performance and plankton communities in a pond‐based polyculture system over 9 months, using three treatments: Ctrl (C), organic feeding (T1) and inorganic feeding (T2). Significant differences were observed in electrical conductivity (EC) and total dissolved solids (TDS), with inorganic feeding showing the highest EC (1719.95 ± 41.05 µS/cm, p = 0.0017) and TDS (884.80 ± 4.90 mg/L, p = 0.0122), while other water parameters such as DO, pH and temperature showed no significant variation ( p > 0.05). In terms of growth, grass carp in organic feeding showed the highest weight gain (1264.0 ± 5.0 g) and specific growth rate (2.31 ± 0.01%/day), significantly higher than inorganic feeding (1089.4 ± 1.6 g, p < 0.0001). The overall gross yield was also highest in organic feeding (238,506.5 ± 29,668.4 g/ha, p < 0.0001). Phytoplankton and zooplankton diversity and abundance were significantly greater in organic feeding, with total densities of 31,224.0 ± 145.0 and 16,485.0 ± 524.0 cells/mL, respectively ( p < 0.001). Proximate composition revealed significant improvements in organic feeding fish for protein (e.g., grass carp: 22.19 ± 0.79%, p < 0.0001), fat, ash and moisture content. Organoleptic evaluation also favored organic feeding, showing significantly better texture (8.16 ± 0.22), flavour (8.43 ± 0.26) and overall acceptability (8.01 ± 0.20) compared to organic and inorganic feeding management ( p < 0.0001). These findings suggest that organic feeding management (organic feeding) improves water quality (excluding EC and TDS), enhances fish growth, promotes richer plankton communities and improves fish nutrition.