Sarria, 1994. Livest. Res. Rural Dev., 6 (1)

The leaves from Trichanthera gigantea, a multi-purpose tree native to Colombia and Venezuela, was used as partial replacement for soya bean (extracted meal or cooked whole seeds) during the pregnancy phase of sows fed a basal diet of sugar cane juice. Eleven crossbred sows were used during two successive reproductive cycles. Preliminary observations indicated that although individual sows were able to consume up to 4 kg daily of fresh leaves (about 160 g N x 6.25), body condition deteriorated rapidly when the conventional protein source (soya bean meal) was completely removed from the ration. It was therefore decided to offer the Trichanthera ad libitum and to complement the diet with either soya bean meal or cooked whole soya bean seeds to supply a total of 150 g/day of N x 6.25, the amount needed to supply all the required essential amino acids. The control treatment received only cooked whole soya ben seeds as the protein source. During the following lactation all sows were fed cooked whole soya beans. Sugar cane juice was restricted to 7 litres daily during pregnancy and given ad libitum during lactation. The measured total intakes of protein were 178, 186 and 160 g/day for the treatments Trichanthera+soya bean meal, Trichanthera+cooked soya bean seeds and control; the contribution from the Trichanthera was 57 and 53 g/day for the respective treatments. There were no significant differences in productive traits (days empty, numbers, weights and growth rate of the piglets) due to treatment. Protein conversion rate (kg protein/kg of weaned piglets) was best on the Trichanthera+cooked soya beans (0.425) and worst on the Trichanthera+soya bean meal. The control treatment was intermediate (0.608). The poor result with the Trichanthera+soya bean meal was considered to be a reflection of the superior palatability of the meal compared with the cooked seeds, which resulted in higher consumptions than were necessary. It is concluded that the leaves of Trichanthera gigantea can be used in the diet of pregnant sows fed cane juice diet to provide about 30% of the protein (about 1 kg/day of fresh leaves).  KEY WORDS: Forage trees, Trichanthera gigantea, sugar cane juice, pigs, pregnancy, soya bean meal, soya bean seeds  

Se estudió el uso de las hojas de nacedero (Trichanthera gigantea), un árbol multi-propósito de la flora nativa de Colombia y Venezuela, como reemplazo parcial de la soya durante la fase de gestación de cerdas recibiendo jugo de caña como dieta básica. Se comparó también la soya en forma de torta y grano cocido. Se utilizaron 11 cerdas cruzadas (Landrace x York x Duroc) durante 2 ciclos reproductivos. Pruebas de observación indicaron que aunque unas cerdas lograron a consumir hasta 4 kg/día de nacedero fresco (160 g de proteína), el estado corporal de ellas se empeoró drásticamente al quitar totalmente la suplementación convencional de soya. Por lo tanto, se decidió ofrecer el nacedero a voluntad, complementándolo con torta o grano cocido de soya para llenar los 150 g/día de proteína, cantidad suficiente para cubrir las necesidades de aminoácidos esenciales. El consumo actual de proteína (a partir de la Trichanthera gigantea) fue 178 (57), 186 (53) y 160(0) para los tratamientos de nacedero+torta, nacedero+ grano cocido y testigo, respectivamente. No hubo diferencias significativas entre los tres tratamientos (testigo de grano cocido, nacedero+grano y nacedero+torta) para los parámetros productivos (días vacíos, número, peso y crecimiento de las crías). La eficiencia de conversión de proteína procedente de la soya por kilogramo de lechón al destete favoreció el tratamiento de nacedero+grano cocido (0.425) comparada con los valores de 0.713 y 0.608 para nacedero+torta y testigo, respectivamente. El pobre resultado con la torta se considera como efecto de un sobre-consumo debido a su mayor aceptación comparada con el grano cocido. Se concluye que el nacedero puede usarse a niveles de 30% del aporte proteico (alrededor de 1 kg/día de hojas frescas) en la fase de gestación de cerdas alimentadas con jugo de caña.