Improving ideal and total tract digestion of corn and soybean meal-based diets by growing pigs using feed enzymes, steeping and particle size reduction.
Research at the University of Illinois compared various strategies for improving the digestibility of corn and soybean meal-based diets. The treatments consisted of adding fiber-degrading enzymes (0.3% a-galactosidase, 0.1% cellulase, 0.2% hemicellulase, 0.1% pectinase/arabinase, and 0.05% xylanase), steeping the feed, supplementing with 0.5% phytase, and two particle size diets (555 and 731 micron). The researchers found that reducing the particle size of the diet, supplementing with fiber-degrading enzymes and phytase, or steeping the feed, improved the ideal and total tract digestibility of most of the nutrients measured.
Smiricky, M.R. and co-workers. 2001. Improving ideal and total tract digestion of corn and soybean meal-based diets by growing pigs using feed enzymes, steeping and particle size reduction. J. Animal Sci. 79:Suppl. 1 (abstract 750).
