EFFECTS OF TRICHANTERA LEAF MEAL AND FERMENTED LEAVES ON THE GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND CARCASS CHARACTERISTICS OF GROWER-FINISHER PIGS.

A study involving three dietary treatments, namely, basal diet, 20% trichantera leaf meal and 20% fermented trichantera leaves, was undertaken to examine the effects on the growth and carcass characteristics of grower-finisher pigs. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design for 98 days with 18 eight-week old weanlings. The experimental diets were given in restricted feeding scheme with half of the amount in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. Total weight gain, average daily gain and feed efficiency were computed from data on initial and final body weights and feed consumption. The costs of feeds and weanlings and price of grown-out pigs were used in the computation of returns over weanling and feed cost. Based on the results, pigs fed with fermented trichantera leaves performed significantly better than the pigs fed the basal diet only and those fed with trichantera leaf meal in terms of total weight gain, average daily gain and feed conversion. There were also significant differences among treatment means in terms of feed cost/kg gain and returns above weanling and feed cost. The highest advantage in terms of costs and returns was realized in using fermented trichantera leaves followed by using trichantera leaf meal. Therefore, trichantera leaves in leaf meal and fermented forms can be used efficiently with growing finishing pigs up to20% of the diets.