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Citation of this paper

Rice distillers’ byproduct and biochar as additives to a forage-based diet for native Moo Lath sows during pregnancy and lactation

Bounlerth Sivilai and T R Preston1

Department of Livestock and Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture, National University of Laos, Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR
lerth_si@yahoo.com
1 Centro para la Investigación en Sistemas Sostenibles de Producción Agropecuaria (CIPAV), Carrera 25 No 6-62 Cali, Colombia

Abstract

Supplements of 4% rice distiller byproduct or 1% biochar had no effect on the feed intake and live weight change of Native Moo Lath sows fed a 70% forage diet during pregnancy and lactation. The litters of piglets from supplemented sows were 39% heavier at birth and 33% heavier at weaning than piglets from sows that were not supplemented. The overall feed conversion (feed consumed by the sows during pregnancy and lactation per unit weight of piglets produced at weaning) was improved by 25% by either of the supplement fed separately. There was less benefit when the sows were given both supplements.

Keywords: feed conversion, growth rate, piglets, prebiotics, probiotics, taro, weaning


Introduction

In order to improve the negative environmental image projected by most livestock production strategies the first step must be to reduce the dependence on imported cereal grains and soybeans the production of which in exporting countries is a major cause of deforestation, soil deterioration and loss of biodiversity. Such a strategy requires making better use of local feed and animal resources in the importing countries. Emphasis should be on crops that have a high potential for biomass production leading to high rates of extraction of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and finally the sequestration of carbon to the soil.

The research described in this paper is part of an overall strategy that aims to make better use of local breeds and local feed resources for the benefit of small-scale farmers in rural areas.

Previous research (Sivilai et al 2018a) showed that native Moo Lath gilts gained more body weight during gestation, and were heavier at the end of lactation, when their forage-based diet was supplemented with 4% rice distillers’ byproduct (RDB). The litters from RDB-supplemented gilts were heavier at birth, and at weaning, than litters from un- supplemented gilts. Supplementation of the dams appeared to have no effect on piglet mortality at birth or during lactation. However, DM feed conversion, expressed as (total feed DM consumed during pregnancy and lactation/weight of piglets weaned), was improved by 60% when the Moo Lath gilts were supplemented with 4% RDB.

Beneficial effects on performance have been recorded when RDB was fed as a supplement in diets of growing pigs (Sivilai and Preston 2017), cattle (Sengsouly and Preston 2016; Sagkhom et al 2017) and goats (Silivong and Preston 2016). It is believed that these beneficial effects on animal performance arise from the action of a prebiotic in the form of β-glucan, present in the cell walls of cereal grains and yeasts, and released by the process of fermentation and distillation that occurs when rice is fermented and distilled to produce rice wine.

Biochar, the residue when fibrous waste is combusted at high temperature (500-1000 °C) in downdraft gasifiers (Rodriguez and Preston 2010; Orosco et al 2018) or updraft gasifier stoves (Philavong et al 2017) also appears to act as a prebiotic, in this case as a support mechanism for biofilms that facilitate the activities of beneficial microbial communities (Leng 2017). Positive effects of biochar supplementation on growth rate and feed conversion have been reported in cattle (Leng et al 2012; Sengsouly and Preston 2016) and goats (Silivong et al 2016: Phuong et al 2019; Thuy Hang et al 2019). Positive effects on growth and feed conversion of growing Moo Lath pigs when their forage-based diet was supplemented with either 4% of RDB or 1% of biochar were reported by Sivilai et al (2018b).

The objective of this research was to determine if there would be benefits on performance of Moo Lath sows from feeding biochar during the pregnancy – lactation cycle.


Materials and methods

Location

The experiment was conducted in the livestock farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, National University of Laos, Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR.

Sources of additives and forage preparation

The biochar was made from rice husk combusted in a gasifier stove (Philavong et al 2017). The rice distillers’ by-product was bought from traditional rice wine producers, mostly smallholder farmers, in the area surrounding Vientiane city. It was stored in closed containers to avoid contamination with moulds.

Taro (Colocasia esculenta) foliage (leaves + petioles) were collected from natural sources where waste water was stored; banana pseudo-stem was obtained from farmers with banana plantations. Taro foliage was processed by machine into particles of 0.5 to 1.0 cm. The inner part of the banana stem was chopped by hand into small pieces (1-2 cm). Both forages were wilted under shade for a day to reduce the moisture content to about 80%. They were then ensiled separately in anaerobic condition in closed plastic bags for 14 days prior to preparing the mixed diets (Table 1) and offering them to the sows.

Experimental design and treatments

The Moo Lath sows (n=12) were in their second reproduction cycle following the experiment described by Sivilai et al (2018a). The average live weight was 80.6 ± 9.3 kg. They were individually housed in concrete pens and fed a mixture of the ensiled forages supplemented with broken rice and soybean meal (Table 1).

Table 1. Composition of experimental diets (DM basis)

CTL

RDB

BIO

RDB+BIO

Ensiled banana pseudo stem

10.0

10.0

10.0

10.0

Ensiled taro foliage

62.0

58.0

59.0

57.0

Broken rice

20.0

20.0

20.0

20.0

Soybean meal

2.0

2.0

3.7

2.0

Soybean oil

4.2

4.1

4.4

4.4

Rice distillers’ byproduct

0.0

4.0

0.0

4.0

Biochar

0.0

0.0

1.0

1.0

Minerals#

1.8

1.9

1.9

1.7

Proximate composition

DM, %

24.8

25.5

28.0

25.4

Crude protein, % in DM

12.4

12.3

12.3

12.1

Crude fiber, % in DM

14.6

14.1

14.2

13.9

Ash, % in DM

3.3

3.8

3.8

4.1

pH

4.2

4.0

4.4

4.3

# Mixture of CaCO3 30%, CaHPO4 30% and NaCl 40%

The four treatments in a completely randomized design, replicated 3 times, were:

Management

The sows were vaccinated against swine fever and dewormed with Ivermectin. They were mated with a native Moo Lath boar. The sows were fed 2% of live weight (DM basis) during pregnancy and ad libitum during lactation. Feeding times were 7:30 am and 4:30 pm. Water was freely available through nipple drinkers in the pens.

Data collection

Feed offered and refused was recorded every day during gestation and lactation. Samples of feeds offered and refused were taken at intervals and stored at -20°C until analysis.

The sows were weighed immediately after mating, prior to and after parturition, and at weaning. The litter size and individual piglet weights were recorded at birth and at weaning at 4 weeks. Mortality of piglets was recorded as it occurred.

Feed analysis

Dry matter (DM), crude protein (N*6.25), crude fiber (CF) and ash contents of feed ingredients were determined following AOAC (1990) procedures. pH of the silages was determined by electronic meter. Water retention of the biochar was determined by suspending 100 g of over-dry biochar in 1 liter of water and recording the weight of water absorbed after 24h.

Statistical analysis

The data were analyzed using the general linear model (GLM) of the ANOVA program in the Minitab (2016) software. Sources of variation were: treatments and error.


Results

Chemical composition and proximate analysis of diets

The biochar had a water retention capacity of 4.56 liters water/kg oven-dried biochar (Table 2), which is at the high end of the range of values reported for biochar produced from rice husks in a own-draft gasifier (Lanh et al 2019). Water retention capacity is considered to be indicative of the surface area of biochar and therefore its capacity to act as a support mechanism for biofilms that facilitate the activities of communities of micro-organisms (Leng 2017).

Table 2. Proximate analysis of diet ingredients

DM
%

% DM basis

pH

Water retention
capacity

CP

CF

Ash

Ensiled banana pseudo stem

10

4

35

2.5

4.3

-

Ensiled taro foliage

12

15

17

2.8

3.8

-

Broken rice

85

8

3

2.6

-

-

Soybean meal

86

48

5

7.3

-

-

Rice distillers’ byproduct

6

23

3

12.9

3.6

-

Biochar

78

-

-

40.2

-

4.56

Mineral mixture

96

-

-

86.4

-

-

DM intake of sows during pregnancy and lactation

The feed intakes and the changes in live weight of the sows during pregnancy and lactation were not affected by supplementation with RDB or biochar given singly or in combination (Tables 3 and 4). By contrast the growth rates of the piglets from birth to weaning were increased both by biochar and RDB although these effects were less pronounced when both supplements were fed (Table 5; Figure 1).

The overall feed conversion of the system was calculated on the basis of total feed intake of the sows during pregnancy and lactation expressed in terms of the weight of the litters at weaning. (Table 5; Figure 2). On this basis both supplements improved the feed conversion ratio when given singly, although the effects where less marked when both supplements were fed.

Table 3. Mean values of daily DM intake of sows during pregnancy and in lactation

CTL

RDB

BIO

RDB+BIO

SEM

p

Pregnancy

2.99

2.90

2.9

3.06

0.199

0.99

Lactation

3.58

3.78

3.66

3.60

0.23

0.92



Table 4. Mean values for live weight of sows at conception, pre- and post-parturition and weaning

CTL

RDB

BIO

RDB+BIO

SEM

p

Live weight, kg

Conception

85.5

85.0

78.8

73.2

5.23

0.357

Pre-parturition

114

117

111

103

6.24

0.452

Post-parturition

107

109

101

95.7

6.03

0.455

Weaning

85.8

92.3

83.2

76.0

5.32

0.261

Weight change of sows, kg

Pregnancy

29

32.1

31.7

29.8

2.42

0.775

Lactation

-21.2

-16.7

-17.8

-19.7

2.11

0.516



Table 5. Mean values for size and weights of litters at birth and weaning and mortality at birth and from birth to weaning

CTL

RDB

BIO

RDB+BIO

SEM

p

Number of piglets born

Total

8.3

9.3

9.7

9.0

1.15

0.864

Dead

0.7

0.3

0.7

0.7

0.33

0.859

Alive

7.7

9.0

9.0

8.3

1.11

0.802

Number of piglets weaned

Alive

6.7

8.0

8.0

7.3

0.75

0.561

Dead

1.7

1.3

1.7

1.7

0.60

0.971

Litter weight of piglets, kg

Birth

5.b

7.2a

7.1ab

7.0ab

0.46

0.034

Weaning at 28 days

24.6b

32.4a

31.5a

28.7ab

0.98

0.002

Feed conversion#

8.7a

6.5b

6.6b

7.5ab

0.34

0.007

# DM intake of sows (during pregnancy-lactation)/weight of litters at weaning



Figure 1. Effect of RDB and biochar on litter
weight of piglets at birth
Figure 2. Effect of RDB and biochar on litter weight
of piglets at 28 days weaning




Figure 3. Effect of RDB and biochar on average
daily gain of litters to weaning
Figure 4. DM feed conversion (total feed consumed in
pregnancy-lactation/litter weight at weaning


Discussion

In a maize-growth “biotest” in a “grey” soil in Vietnam (Lanh et al 2019), rice husk biochar of the same water retention capacity, as that used in this experiment, supported a 25% increase in growth rate of maize compared with the zero biochar treatment. Rice husk biochar with a similar water retention capacity supported higher growth rates and reduced enteric methane in goats fed on cassava foliage (Thuy Hang et al 2019).

There were differences and similarities between the results of this experiment and the earlier one in which rice distillers’ byproduct and brewers’ grains were given as supplements to the same sows fed the same basal diet. In the previous experiment, the Moo Lath pigs were in their first gestation. In the present experiment the same sows were in their 2nd pregnancy. It may be that the lack of effects of the supplements on growth rates in the present experiment were because the sows had already reached maturity. By contrast he effects of the supplements on the weights and growth rates of the litters were similar between the earlier experiment and the present one. In both cases the overall feed conversion was improved by supplementation with RDB. The present experiment appears to have been the first attempt to feed biochar to indigenous sows throughout the whole reproductive cycle. The significance of the high percentage of the diets as forage (60% of diet DM from ensiled taro leaves and petioles and 10% from banana pseudo-stem), and the major response to both rice distillers’ byproduct and biochar fed separately, merits further study.

This experiment was concerned with potential economic responses to supplementation of native pigs with locally available feed resources. Understanding the mode of action of both rice distillers’ byproducts and of biochar is a separate issue. It is unlikely there were any viable microorganisms remaining in the rice distillers’ byproduct after the distillation, thus it cannot be categorized as a “prebiotic”. Biochar, the product of pyrolysis at temperatures exceeding 7000C, was essentially sterile. It is proposed that both these supplements can be considered as having effects on animal performance characteristic of “prebiotics” . It is thought that rice distillers’ solubles exert their effects though the presence of β-glucan, a valuable nutrient for microorganisms, liberated from the cell walls of rice during the process of fermentation and subsequent acid hydrolysis as the rice “wine” is distilled. For biochar, the proposal that it contributes “habitat”, enhancing activity of beneficial micro-organisms or sequestering those that are deleterious, such as mycotoxins, is an interesting hypothesis (Leng 2017), that is beyond the scope of our laboratory to investigate.


Conclusions


Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge  the MEKARN II project (Improving Livelihood and Food Security of the people in Lower Mekong Basin through Climate Change Mitigation), financed by Sida and co-research fund from National University of Laos (NUoL). Grateful thanks to the Faculty of Agriculture (NUoL) for providing the facilities to carry out this research.


References

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Received 3 August 2019; Accepted 30 August 2019; Published 2 October 2019

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