Effect of feeding chayote (Sechium edule) meal on growth performance and nutrient utilization in indigenous pig (Zovawk) of Mizoram

AIM: This study was planned to investigate the effect of feeding different levels of chayote (Sechium edule) meal by replacing standard concentrate mixture (CM) on the growth parameters such as feed intake, body weight gain, average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR), and nutrient utilization in indigenous pig of Mizoram. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-four growing indigenous pigs (Zovawk) were used to study the effect of feeding chayote (Sechium edule) meal (fruits and leaves at the ratio 4:1) on growth performance and nutrient utilization. They were allocated randomly into 4 treatment groups (G(1), G(2), G(3,) and G(4)). Chayote meal was used to replace standard CM (pig grower ration) at 0% (G(1)), 20% (G(2)), 30% (G(3)), and 40% (G(4)). RESULTS: During the feeding trial of 90 days, it was found that the dry matter (DM) intake decreased as the level of chayote meal increased. For G(1), G(2), G(3), and G(4), the ADG (kg) was 0.24±0.04, 0.23±0.03, 0.18±0.02, and 0.18±0.02, respectively, and the feed conversion efficiency was 5.42±0.44, 4.93±0.17, 5.38±0.05, and 5.74±0.53, respectively. However, there was no significant difference (p>0.05) among the different treatment groups in respect to ADG and FCR. At the end of the feeding trial, digestibility trial was conducted to study the effect of feeding chayote meal in the digestibility of the different nutrients by the experimental animals. From the digestibility trial, it was revealed that the digestibility coefficient of DM, crude protein, and crude fiber were also similar (p>0.05), although the ether extract digestibility in G(1) was significantly low (p<0.01) as compared to G(2), G(3), and G(4). CONCLUSION: Chayote meal could safely replace the standard grower ration up to 40% in the diet of growing local pigs without causing any adverse effects on growth and nutrient utilization.