Locally produced cottonseed meal for growing pigs

Abstract

The nutritive value of locally produced cottonseed meal, incorporated at a level of 10 per cent in wheat based diets, was compared with meat and bone meal and soybean meal for growing pigs. The effect of adding synthetic lysine to the cottonseed meal diet was also observed. The diets were fed at restricted rates and pig performance was assessed over the 18 to 45 kg, 45 to 73 kg, and 18 to 73 kg growth phases. Cottonseed meal was of similar nutritive value to meat and bone meal and the addition of lysine increased growth and feed conversion during the 18 to 45 kg growth phase. Soybean meal produced similar gains to the cottonseed meal plus lysine diet during the 18 to 45 kg range, but greater gains than the other three diets over the 18 to 73 kg range. Carcase quality was similar for all four diets. With cottonseed meal there was an increase in the ratio of saturated to unsaturated fatty acids in the backfat of the pigs due to cyclopropene fatty acids in the residual oil in the meal. The metabolizable energy values of the diets were approximately 96.7 per cent of the digestible energy values and there was a significant correlation between them (r = 0.94). The correlation between digestible energy values estimated by the methods (gross energy in the feed X dry matter digestibility) and (gross energy in feed - gross energy in faeces/dry matter intake) was significant (r = 0.92).