Nitrogen digestion and metabolism in Mong Cai pigs fed sugar cane juice and different foliages as sources of protein

摘要

GrowingMongCaipigs(10-14kgliveweight)wereusedina4*4Latinsquarearrangementof4treatments,whichwere:ensiledcassavaleaves,freshfoliageofcowpea,freshduckweed,andsilagemadefromamixtureofcassavaandtrichantera(Trichanteragigantea)leaves.Theseweregivenasthesoleproteinsourceindietsinwhichfreshsugarcanejuicewasthesourceofenergy.Theintakeofleaves,aspercentofthetotaldrymatter,rangedfrom4%(cowpea)to30%(ensiledcassavaleaves).Thedigestibilityofdietdrymatterdecreasedwithincreaseofleavesinthediet:from96%(4%ofleavesindietdrymatter)to86%(30%ofleavesindietdrymatter).Onthebasisoftheregressionofdigestibilityonpercentleavesindietdrymatteritwasestimatedthattheapparentdrymatterdigestibilityoftheleaveswasonaverage77%.Nretentionincreasedlinearlyastheproportionofleavesinthedietincreasedandwashighestforensiledcassavaleaves.Ensiledcassavaleavesappearedtobethemostpalatable(highestNretention)ofthefoliagesfollowedbyduckweed.ThefreshcowpeafoliagewasnotlikedbytheMongCaipigs.