Pinto-Santini et al., 2005. Livest. Res. Rural Dev., 17 (5)
Evaluación de tres núcleos proteínicos en la dieta de cerdos alimentados con jugo de caña de azúcar y Azolla sp.
Three different proportions of fish meal and soya bean meal (0:100, 14:86 and 28:72 as crude protein) were compared as the main protein source for growing pigs (n=27; initial weight 25 kg at 76 days if age) fed a basal diet of fresh sugar cane juice supplemented with palm oil (5% of diet DM) and the aquatic plant Azolla (16% of diet DM). Crude protein levels were 16.3% in DM. There were 3 repetitions (pens of 3 animals) of each treatment. The experiment lasted 63 days. Mean values for growth rate were 500 g/day and for DM feed conversion 3,3, with no differences among treatments. The pigs readily consumed azolla at an average rate of 4.8 kg d -1. However, the degree to which the protein from this plant contributed to the pigs' requirements was obscured by the fact that the overall protein supply (16.3% in DM) was probably in excess of requirements given the well balanced array of amino acids from the three protein sources.