Evaluation of Quality Protein Maize (QPM) and Normal Mazie for Growth Performance of Crossbred Piglets in Wester Hills of Nepal

Abstract

The pig population of the country is estimated to be 1.1 million and producing 17923 MT meats per annum. The pig farming constitutes the livelihood of rural poor belonging to the lowest socio economic strata and they have no means to undertake scientific pig farming with improved stock, proper housing, feeding and management. Maize is a primary source of energy supplement and can contribute up to 30 percent protein, 60 percent energy and 90 percent starch in animal's diet. About 70-80 percent of maize production is used as a feed ingredient in the world. QPM is high in energy, low in fiber, and contains approximately 9-12% crude protein with two essential amino acids lysine and tryptophan. Pigs and chicken raised on QPM attained body weight at roughly twice the rate of animal fed with normal maize. Therefore, a study was carried out on growing crossbred male piglets (Landrace x Yorkshire) piglets of 35 days old with body weight of 8 kg at Regional Agricultural Research Station, Lumle, Kaski for 150 days to compare the growth performance of piglets fed with QPM and normal maize.