Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The culture of Indian Major Carps involves distinct, sequential rearing phases: nursery phase, rearing phase, and grow-out phase.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
- Nursery phase: Rearing of 4-day-old, newly hatched spawn (length \(5\text{--}6\text{ mm}\)) to the fry stage (length \(20\text{--}25\text{ mm}\)).
This phase is carried out in highly fertilized nursery ponds for a short period of \(15\text{--}20\text{ days}\).
- Rearing phase: Rearing of fry to fingerlings (\(100\text{--}150\text{ mm}\)) over a period of \(2\text{--}3\) months.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The nursery phase duration is 15-20 days, corresponding to option (D).