Research Objective
To obtain a cross-section of quality of field peas currently available in the marketplace and select those of diverse quality.
Objective 4To formulate pea-based diets and feed these diets to pigs of two different ages to confirm that field peas can be fed at very high levels while maintaining equivalent animal perfomance.
To generate reliable information on the nutritional value of field peas in swine nutrition and on the effect of processing on the energy value, in order to demonstrate to pork and feed producers that field peas support excellent performance in growing pigs.
The digestible energy (DE) and net energy (NE) content in growing pigs increased linearly as the particle size of pea decreased and differences in DE and NE content were observed between pea samples. Processing “poor quality” peas by pelleting improves nutrient digestibility.