December 6, 2006

Wheat and rye hybrid could serve as alternative pig feed

A team of swine researchers from Kansas State University have found that triticale - a genetic hybrid of wheat and rye - could be an economical substitute for corn in nursery and growing-finishing pig rations.

The researchers, led by C.R. Monge, conducted two experiments to determine the effects of replacing corn with triticale.

In the first experiment, 168 weaning pigs were used in a 34-day growth assay. The experimental diets were a typical corn-soybean meal control ration with 33, 66, and 100 percent of corn in the control and in the test case, was replaced with triticale.

In the second experiment, 184 growing-finishing pigs were fed either a typical corn-soybean meal control diet or a ration in which triticale replaced 33, 66, and 100 percent of the corn.

In nursery pigs, growth performance was not influenced by replacing corn with triticale. However, the researchers observed that during the 0-20-day and 0-34-day part of the trial, pigs consuming feed with 33 percent corn replaced with triticale gained the most weight.

In the growing-finishing pig experiment, replacing up to 33 percent of the corn with triticale did not adversely impact growth or feed efficiency.

The report suggested that replacing corn with triticale improved growth performance of nursery pigs, and had little effect on finishing pigs unless more than one-third of the corn was replaced. Considering the nursery and finishing diets together, replacing a portion of the corn with triticale would decrease diet costs, the researchers said.