Growth performance of pigs feed sugar cane juice (Saccharum officinarum) and mulberry leaf meal (Morus alba).

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of including sugarcane juice and mulberry (Morus alba) leaf meal (MLM) in the diets of growing pigs. Forty-eight crossbred pigs (24 gilts and 24 barrows of mean initial weight 40 ± 2 kg) were randomly allotted to one of eight dietary treatments, with three replications per treatment of two pigs each. Dietary treatments consisted of T1, a cornmeal basal diet (BD) + 0% MLM; T2, BD + 8% MLM; T3, BD + 16% MLM; T4, BD + 24% MLM; T5, sugarcane juice + high-protein mix (CJP) + 0% NKN; T6, CJP + 8% MLM; T7, CJP + 16% MLM; T8, CJP + 24% MLM. Pigs were allowed ad libitum access to sugarcane juice and BD, while the intake of the high-protein mix was restricted. The dependent variables included intakes of total feed (TFI) of a high-protein mix (HPI), and of crude protein (CPI); mean daily gain (DG), feed conversion ration (FCR) and feed costs (FC). TFI decreased (P < 0.01) as dietary MLM level increased to 16 and 24% in CJP diets (T7 and 78) and to 24% in the BD (T4), although the BD without MLM (T1) showed similar low intake. DG was lowest for T8 and T4 and lower for T7 than for T6 or T2, which gave the highest growth rates (P < 0.05). There were no differences among treatments (P > 0.05) in FCR. CPI and FC were lower when CJP was fed with or without added MLM. Inclusion of 8 o 16% MLM and use of CJP permitted substituting 89 and 91.6% of conventional ingredients, respectively, while maintaining satisfactory growth performance, especially at the 8% MLM level (In Spanish).