Value of corozo palm nut and sesame oil meals, bananas, A.P.F. and cow manure in rations for growing and fattening pigs.

I~TIS is a preliminary report of a series of studies in the American ropics on the nutritional value of local feedstuffs for growing and fattening pigs. Malnutrition in animals is a major problem in these tropical areas. Apparently the problem is related to inadequate storage and transportation facilities, the lack of regulation in feed production, and insufficient experimentation on the nutritional value of indigenous feedstuffs. Many workers have shown that tropical areas contain many valuable feeds that may be used in swine rations (Lewy van Severen, 1949; Munsell et at., 1949; Squibb et al., 1949; Squibb and Wyld, 1949). The feeds tested in the studies reported herein may be obtained in quantity or may be economically cultivated. Corozo palms (Orbignya cohune and species of the genus Scheelea) grow abundantly in many areas in the American Tropics. Corozo oil meal, a byproduct of local oil factories, is highly palatable and has been fed to animals for a number of years. Sesame oil meal, which is being produced locally in increased quantities, contains protein of excellent quality and is of value in local chicken rations (Squibb and Wyld, 1948-1949, 1949). Bananas may be obtained readily; large quantities become available as the result of "blow downs" in plantations, rejects for export, or surplus production. Many farms are able to cultivate bananas economically as an animal feedstuff. Bogert, 1942, in a review of the literature, concluded that bananas are nutritious in that they furnish energy, minerals, and certain vitamins. The value of bananas and other tropical fruits and vegetables in rations for swine (at the