Efecto de la densidad poblacional en la productividad de caracoles (Helix aspersd) en un sistema a cielo abierto alimentados con acelga y suplemento alimentario balanceado

heliciculture is performed worldwide and has been promoted in argentina; however, its development and expansión has been limited by several factors that make it impossible to reach the production volumes necessary for a commercial scale. among other factors, it has been impossible to obtain a high amount of finished product according to the initial density determined in the fattening stage; additionally, difficulty in maintaining an adequate forage supply has limited snail production. in this study, the influence of snail density using balanced food supply on the final production was studied in an open sky system. density had no significant effect on the mean final live weight. for snails cultured at densities higher than 200 snailm2, the average diameter was lower than for snails cultured at 50 snailm2 (low density); however, the difference between the modérate snail density (100 snailm2) and the low density was not significant. the highest productivity per unit of surface was about 510 gm2 (n = 200), which is similar to the amount that heliciculture producers want to achieve and slightly lower than what has been reported previously.