Can naked Barley replace wheat in weaner diets?
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Date
1997
Conference Title
Sixth Biennial Conference of the Australasian Pig Science Association APSA
Place of Publication
Canberra
ISBN
0 646 34188 x
ISSN
1324-9177
Keywords
Pigs, Weaners, Wheat, Barley, Diets
Disciplines
Agribusiness | Agriculture | Animal Sciences | Food Science | Meat Science | Nutrition
Abstract
Barley is avoided as the cereal base in weaner diets (Miller et al., 1991) because of its variable content of largely indigestible components, 13-glucans and fibre. As most of the fibre found in barley resides in the husk, the recent developments of naked barley cultivars may lead to an alternative to wheat as the cereal component in weaner diets. Naked barley has a digestible energy similar to that of wheat, 13.6 MJ/kg and 14.3 MJ/kg respectively, higher levels of important amino acids, such as lysine and threonine (Miller et al., 1991) and lower levels of crude fibre than wheat, 2.1% vs 2.6% (Mullan, B.P. personal communication, 1996). These characteristics give naked barley the potential to become a useful ingredient in weaner feeds. It was hypothesized on the basis of nutritional similarity that naked barley would allow weaners to grow at a similar rate to those fed wheat, and at a faster rate to those fed conventional barley. The 3-glucans also occur in the endosperm of the grain so it was expected that treatment of the naked barley diet with a corresponding enzyme might further improve the digestibility and stimulate even faster growth of weaners.
Recommended Citation
Trezona, M., Mullan, B.P., Williams, I.H., 1997. Can naked barley replace wheat in weaner diets? In “Manipulating Pig Production VI”, ed., P.D. Cranwell, Australasian Pig Science Association, Werribee, p. 236.
