Nutritional value of a highly digestible sorghum cultivar for meat-type chickens

Robert G. Elkin, Elaine Arthur, Bruce Hamaker, John D. Axtell, Michelle W. Douglas, Carl M. Parsons

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

The nutritional value of a newly discovered sorghum mutant cultivar (P851171), with high in vitro protein digestibility, was compared to those of corn and two normal sorghums (P721N and 611Y) in two chick feeding trials. Although 8-20 day protein efficiency ratios and net protein ratios of all three sorghums were inferior to those of corn, P851171 and 611Y had markedly greater mean true amino acid digestibilities (TAAD) than either corn or P721N. In a subsequent 42-day experiment, all three sorghums supported weight gains equal to those of the corn-fed chicks. Feeding suboptimal levels of dietary protein resulted in reduced weight gains and no observed benefits of P851171 or 611Y. Furthermore, chicks fed P851171 exhibited poorer feed/gain values as compared to those fed the other cereals. It is possible that the starch content/carbohydrate profile of P851171 was inferior to that of the other sorghums, which offset its superior TAAD and resulted in poorer broiler performance.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)4146-4150
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of agricultural and food chemistry
Volume50
Issue number14
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 3 2002

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Chemistry
  • General Agricultural and Biological Sciences

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