Carcass and yield of meat pieces in growing pigs, fed meal of Bactris gasipaes H.B.K (peach-palm) and lysine

Abstract

Twenty-four Yorkshire x Landrace crossbred barrows, with average weight of 30 0.5 kg and 67 d of age were used to evaluate the
characteristics and the yield of meat pieces from growing pig carcasses, fed meal of peach-palm and synthetic lysine. The animals were randomly distributed in each of the six experimental diets, in 2 x 3 factorial fit of treatments: two levels of synthetic lysine (0 and 0.27 %) and three of substitution of the DE of corn by meal of Bactris gasipaes H.B.K (peach palm) (0, 25, and 50 %) for six weeks. At the end of the
period, the pigs were slaughtered to evaluate the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the carcass and the yield of meat pieces,
through the utilization of the Creole meat cutting. The carcass yield, the area of the Longissimus dorsi muscle (ALDM), the dorsal fat and
the lean meat yield were similar between treatments. The synthetic lysine affected the pH of the carcass (P < 0.01). The pigs fed 0.27 % of
synthetic lysine in the diet, regardless the addition of peach-palm meal, had higher pH (pH24= 5.84) compared with those fed SL (pH24= 5.70). In general, there was no effect of the treatments on the weight of the different meat pieces of the carcass and its yield. The peach-palm meal could substitute 25 and 50 % of the DE of corn, with or without synthetic lysine, in growing pig diets, not affecting the carcass characteristics and the yield of meat pieces.
Key words: peach-palm meal, pigs, crystalline lysine, carcass traits, meat yield.