Abstract
Simple SummaryIn southern Chile, lamb production systems are based on the grazing of temperate swards. During late spring and early summer, grass-based swards can display herbage with suboptimal growth and quality, reducing lamb production. Plantain and chicory are alternative herbages that improve animal performance, especially in periods with a risk of water deficits. This study was carried out during late spring, to evaluate live weight gain and meat quality in lambs grazing on plantain-chicory sward or grass-based permanent sward. The results show that lambs fed with herbs (plantain-chicory) have a similar final live weight, carcass weight and meat quality to those fed with grass. Plantain and chicory swards are good form of alternative herbage for finishing lambs in late spring to maintain the performance of the animals.Under the predicted conditions of climate change, the productivity of temperate grasslands may be affected by drought stress, especially in spring and summer. In this scenario, water-deficit-tolerant species such as plantain and chicory are interesting alternatives for use in sheep production systems. In this study, we compared a mixture of plantain and chicory herbage (PCH) with a grass-based permanent sward (GBS) on the weight gain and meat quality of lambs finished on these grasslands. Fifteen weaned lambs (31.3 kg and 4 months of age) were assigned to each treatment for seven weeks in late spring and live weight gain (LWG), carcass and meat quality were evaluated. There was a tendency (p = 0.09) in final weight (40.3 ± 0.8 kg) and live weight gain (173 ± 10 g/d) to be higher in PCH compared to GBS. Carcass weight, dressing percentage and meat quality in terms of pH, color and tenderness did not differ (p > 0.05) and were considered to be of good quality. We concluded that both swards result in comparable lamb performance and good meat quality.
Highlights
Consumers are increasingly recognizing the value of healthier animal products from sustainable production systems with a low impact on the environment [1]
Climate change is affecting rainfall patterns and increasing temperatures in temperate humid regions, causing water deficit problems, with an impact on the yield of permanent grasslands dominated by perennial ryegrass, other grasses and white clover, mainly in late spring and early summer [2], which is the time when lambs are normally finished in sheep production systems based on pastures
The metabolizable energy (ME) and fiber fractions differed, the former being higher in grass-based permanent sward (GBS)
Summary
Consumers are increasingly recognizing the value of healthier animal products from sustainable production systems with a low impact on the environment [1]. The use of alternative forage species for sheep, such as Plantago lanceolata (plantain) and Cichorium intybus (chicory) is interesting, since these species can withstand the above limitations and maintain growth and a high nutritional quality, which is important for growing animals [3,4,5,6]. These species have a high mineral content, anti-inflammatory effects and an anthelmintic potential [3,4,5]. The importance of achieving high lamb weights and being finished on pastures leads to a higher acceptability on the part of consumers, who seek healthier meats from pasture-fed animals raised in the open, conditions normally associated with superior animal welfare [10,11]
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