The Effect of Tofu Dregs Fermentation Media Thickness and Different Stocking Density on Growth of Silkworms (Tubifex sp.)

Abstract

The cultivation of silkworms is still very rare, because to the low result of its culture. Chosing the right cultural medium is necessary. The aimed of this study was to determine the effect of the thickness of the tofu dregs fermentation media and the different stocking densities on the population, biomass, and length of silkworms (Tubifex sp.).  this study was conducted on 12 February to 9 April  2021 at the Fish Hatchery and Breeding Laboratory, Faculty of Fisheries and Maritime, University of Riau. The method used was a completely randomized design with two factors. The first factor was the thickness of the media with three levels, namely 1 cm, 1.5 cm, and 2 cm respectively. The second factor was stocking density with four levels of 10, 15, 20, and 25 g respectively, besides that there was a control medium (K) in the form of pond mud, so there was 15 treatments levels. Each treatment used 3 replications. The results showed that the the optimal silkworm population growth was 9971±72.84 individuals, biomass growth was 77.56±1.05 g and length gain was 2.60±0.09 cm (P₁₂, treatment tofu dregs fermented media with a thickness of 2.0 cm and a stocking density of 20 g), while the lowest was in treatment P₁(control, treatment. uses pond mud as a medium with a thickness of 2.0 cm and a stocking density of 10 grams). Based on the test results of the Analysis of Variance (ANAVA) factor of media thickness and stocking density, the combination of the two factors had a significant effect on population growth (individuals), biomass (grams), and length (cm) of silkworms (Tubifex sp.) (P < 0, 05). This research concludes that 2 cm of tofu dregs fermentation medium and 20 g of stocking density is the optimum point for silkworm culture.