A note on the supplementation of low-protein, maize-soya-bean meal diets with lysine, tryptophan, threonine and methionine for growing pigs

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
An experiment conducted at two experimental stations was designed to identify the limiting amino acids in maize-soya-bean meal diets with 120 g crude protein per kg given ad libitum to pigs from 20 to 40 kg body weight. The effects of additions of tryptophan and of tryptophan plus threonine in both the presence and absence of added methionine were studied. The responses to supplemental amino acids were not significantly different at the two stations (P > 0·10). The addition of tryptophan tended to improve growth rate. However, significant improvements in rate and efficiency of gain were not realized until both tryptophan and threonine were added (P < 0·05). Interactive effects between supplemental amino acids on pig performance were not detected. Thus, the maize-soya-bean meal diet with 120 g crude protein per kg and given ad libitum to 20-kg pigs appeared to be limiting in lysine, tryptophan, threonine and possibly methionine.