Comparison of opaque-2 corn, milo and wheat in diets for finishing swine.

T HE reliance on certain cereal grains as sole sources of dietary protein for finishing swine has been successful when supplemental lysine has been provided. Milo and wheat, appropriately supplemented with vitamins, minerals and lysine, have each produced gain and feed/gain equal to that of a 12 % protein cornsoybean meal diet (Jensen, Becker and Harmon, 1965, 1967). Recent introduction of Opaque-2 corn (Mertz, Bates and Nelson, 1964), which contains greater amounts of most essential amino acids, especially lysine and tryptophan, than found in regular corn has stimulated further interest in simplified diets for finishing swine. It has been reported (Cromwell et al., 1967; Cromwell, Pickett and Beeson, 1967a) that due to its higher contents of lysine and tryptophan Opaque-2 corn was superior to regular corn for growing swine. The tests reported here were conducted to evaluate Opaque-2 corn, milo and wheat in diets for finishing swine.