Investigations on genetically modified maize (Bt-maize) in pig nutrition: fattening performance and slaughtering results.
A grower finisher performance trial with forty-eight pigs was designed to compare the growth performance of pigs fed diets containing either genetically modified (GM) Bt-maize (NX6262) or its parental maize (Prelude) line. During the experiment, the pigs were fed with a grower and a finisher diet both containing 70% maize investigated in a previously study which showed that they contained similar ME values and digestibility of crude nutrients. The pigs with an initial live weight of 23.9 +/- 3.0 kg were allotted to single boxes. During a 91 days growing period the pigs of both groups recorded equal performance in daily weight gain (AW) 815 +/- 93 vs. 804 +/- 64 g/d depending on equal amounts of feed intake 1.95 +/- 0.15 vs. 1.94 +/- 0.15 kg/d (parental vs. transgenic). The results confirm equal performance among growing-finishing pigs fed parental or genetically modified maize containing diets. For slaughtering the pigs were divided into 4 groups with a different duration of the finishing period. After slaughtering the carcass characteristic were registered.
Reuter
T
T
Institute of Animal Nutrition, Federal Agricultural Research Centre Braunschweig (FAL), Braunschweig, Germany. tim.reuter@fal.de
Aulrich
Karen
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Berk
A
A
D000821:Animal Feed / Q000032:analysis; D000824:Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D000818:Animals; D001823:Body Composition; D004063:Digestion; D004435:Eating; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005260:Female; D006799:Housing, Animal; D008460:Meat / Q000592:standards*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics*; D011897:Random Allocation; D013552:Swine / Q000254:growth & development*; D015430:Weight Gain; D003313:Zea mays / Q000235:genetics*