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. 2017 Aug;30(8):1150-1159.
doi: 10.5713/ajas.16.0838. Epub 2017 Feb 1.

Effects of wheat supplementation levels on growth performance, blood profiles, nutrient digestibility, and pork quality in growing-finishing pigs

Tae Hee Han  1 , Jin Su Hong  1 , Lin Hu Fang  1 , Sung Ho Do  1 , Byung Ock Kim  1 , Yoo Yong Kim  1
Affiliations

Effects of wheat supplementation levels on growth performance, blood profiles, nutrient digestibility, and pork quality in growing-finishing pigs

Tae Hee Han et al. Asian-Australas J Anim Sci. 2017 Aug.

Abstract

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate various wheat supplementation levels on growth performance, blood profiles, nutrient digestibility, and pork quality in growing-finishing pigs.

Methods: A total of 120 growing pigs ([Yorkshire×Landrace]×Duroc), with an average 27.75± 1.319 kg body weight, were used in growth trial. Pigs were allotted into each treatment by body weight and sex in 4 replicates with 6 pigs per pen in a randomized complete block design. Four-phase feeding programs were used in this experiment. The treatments included the following: i) corn-soybean meal (SBM) - based diet (CON), ii) corn-SBM - based diet+15% of wheat (W15), iii) corn-SBM - based diet+30% of wheat (W30), iv) corn-SBM - based diet+45% of wheat (W45), and 5) corn-SBM-based diet+60% of wheat (W60).

Results: There was no significant difference in growth performance among the dietary treatments. However, the gain-to-feed (G:F) ratio tended to increase (quadratic, p<0.08) when the pigs were fed a higher wheat diet during the finishing period. The digestibility of crude ash and fat tended to decrease as the wheat supplementation level increased (p<0.08). The proximate analysis of the longissimus muscle was not affected by the dietary level of wheat. The crude ash content in pork was decreased linearly as the wheat supplementation level increased (p = 0.05). There was no significant difference in the pH level, shear force, water holding capacity, and cooking loss of the pork. In pork and fat, L*, a*, and b* values were not significantly different among dietary treatments.

Conclusion: Wheat can be supplemented up to 60% in a growing-finishing pig without detrimental effects on growth and pork quality. The G:F ratio tended to improve in the finishing period by wheat inclusion.

Keywords: Blood Profile; Growing-finishing Pigs; Growth Performance; Nutrient Digestibility; Wheat.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

We certify that there is no conflict of interest with any financial organization regarding the material discussed in the manuscript.

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