Vol. 9, Issue 3, Part A (2025)

The present investigation was carried out in Bargi reservoir, Jabalpur district Madhya Pradesh. The study was conducted to assess the microbial load at the cage and control sites from May to October 2024. Water samples were collected from cage culture sites and control sites monthly and Total plate count (TPC) was measured for analysis of microbial load. The result showed that the Total plate count (TPC) was analysed during the study period and showed a significant difference between the cage sites and control sites (p<0.05). The higher values of TPC were observed at the cage site (0.73 x 10⁵ to 1.81 x 10⁵ cfu/ml), during the monsoon. The control sites recorded the highest TPC count 1.47x105 cfu/ml in the month of august and lowest count 0.58x105 cfu/ml in the month of October, respectively. The TPC values were observed higher in cages due to the influence of rainfall, availability of nutrients and deposition of uneaten feed waste at the bottom of cage. The result demonstrated that the TPC range was observed higher at cage site than control site. The study concluded that the microbial load observed at cage culture site and control sites clearly showed that the cage farming in the reservoir does not have major environmental impacts on the water quality parameters of reservoir.