Influence of methionine and palm oil supplementation of cassava flour-soybean meal diets on performance, nitrogen retention and rate of tissue deposition in weanling pigs

Abstract

Thirty-six eight-week-old weanling Large White × Landrace pigs, initially averaging 7.8 kg body weight, were used to evaluate the effect of palm oil and methionine supplementation on growth performance, nitrogen retention, some blood parameters, and rate and proportion of tissue deposition of pigs fed cassava flour-soybean meal diets. Palm oil levels of 3.0, 6.35 and 9.70%, and methionine levels of 0.47, 0.55 and 0.63% were used. All diets had a common protein level of 20%. Increasing the palm oil level from 3.00 to 6.35% of the diet significantly improved growth rate of pigs on all dietary methionine levels. Except for bone, there were no significant interactions between the effects of palm oil and dietary methionine levels in terms of the other parameters used. Daily nitrogen retention was not significantly influenced by increased dietary palm oil, although levels higher than 3.00% depressed the efficiency of retention of ingested nitrogen at all dietary methionine levels. Increased caloric density due to increased palm oil levels resulted in a greater proportion of fat relative to lean in the carcass. Calculated daily rate of lean deposition reached a maximum in the group of pigs fed the 0.63% methionine diet containing 6.35% palm oil, while maximum efficiency of feed conversion to lean was reached on the same methionine level but with 9.70% palm oil. Minimum plasma urea concentration was obtained on a diet containing 0.63% methionine and 3.00% palm oil.