Abstract

CONTINO ESQUIJEROSA, Yuván et al. Productive performance of fattening pigs fed with Morus alba fresh foliage as partial substitute of concentrate. Zootecnia Trop. [online]. 2008, vol.26, n.3, pp.391-394. ISSN 0798-7269.

The forage use in the feeding of the pigs brings nutritional and physiological advantages that favour pig behaviour. From these antecedents, the objective of this investigation consisted of evaluating the productive response of racially mixed pigs in the stage of fattening, when used fresh morera, Morus alba, foliage as partial substitute of the commercial concentrated. The investigations took place in the EEPF “Indio Hatuey “. The gains of live weight of pigs in growth were evaluated from 30 to 90 kg. Weighting was made every 14 days, with the determination of the live weight, daily weight gain, and the feed conversion. The groups initiated and finished the stages of evaluation with very close weights (63.02 vs. 60.59 kg) and the difference in the total increase of live weight during the fatten stage was small (2.43 kg/pig). The weight gain average in both groups (treatment and control) was similar, with a tendency to the superiority of the group that consumed only concentrated. The value in the control group was 636 g/anim/d, while in the experimental group was 623 g/anim/d, with a non significant difference between groups. Pigs that consumed only concentrated, the conversion index was low with value of 1.71, and in the experimental group was of 1.94. The inclusion of morera foliage in the diets improved the performance of the productive indicators of mixed pigs in fattening stage.

Keywords : intake; mulberry; foliage; productive indicators.

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