NM 15. Determination of the apparent ileal digestibility of sweet-potato foliage (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) in pigs

Abstract

To evaluate, the effect of addition of sweet-potato foliage (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) on digestibility an experiment using four pigs with ileo-rectal anastomosis on a 4 x 4 Latin square treatment design was performed. The treatments were established with a partial substitution of the basic diet with an increasing addition of sweet potato foliage at the rate of 10 % starting from 0 %. The trial lasted 21 days, with three-day adaptation periods and two sampling, the ileal digesta sampling was done every two hours. The digestibility of organic matter (OM) in the diets was greater than 69.8 % with no differences (P>.05) between 0 % and 10 % additions. The digestibility of crude protein (CP) and energy (E) decreased as additions of foliage increased from 0 %(P<.05) The expected ability of OM, CP, and E were similar(P>.05) for foliage at all levels of inclusion It was concluded that sweet-potato foliage is a source of fibrous protein, with an acceptable digestibility of protein and organic matter. Average values can be used to formulate pig diets.