Abstract
Two experiments were carried out with Large White x Landrace pigs. In the first experiment cassava root meal was substituted for maize at rates of 0, 18, 36 and 54 per cent of the diet. The maize protein was replaced by a soya bean- Sesame meal mixture in a 1:2 ratio. The diets were fed from 41 kg to 90 kg liveweight according to a feeding scale giving levels of energy and protein intake below those for maximum growth. Treatments did not differ significantly in their effect on performance carcass characteristics or weights of various internal organs. The diet containing 36 per cent cassava was the most economical in terms of the food cost of carcass gain. In the second experiment equal weights of cassava root meal and final cane molasses were substituted for one another at levels of 0, 17, 34, 51 and 68 per cent of the diet. They were fed to a severely restricted scale from 38 to 80 kg liveweight. Daily gain and food conversion efficiency increased linearly as the cassava content of the diet increased. Carcass measurements did not differ between treatments. As the proportion of molasses in the diet increased, kidney and liver weights increased and the food cost of carcass gain decreased. The practical implications of the result are discussed.
