The effects of sorbic acid in high moisture sorghum grain diets on performance of weanling swine.

Three experiments were conducted with 288 weanling pigs to determine the effects of sorbic acid (SA) added to dry (DSG), high moisture (HMSG) or reconstituted (RSG) sorghum grain diets on gains and feed conversion. Dietary treatments for Exp. 1 were: DSG with and without .1% SA; HMSG with .1% SA and RSG with .1% SA. The DSG diets were fed ad libitum. The HMSG and RSG diets were mixed fresh from oxygen-limiting storage every 3 and 7 d and were also fed ad libitum. Pigs fed RSG diets consumed more feed than those fed HMSG diets (P less than .08). Performance was similar between pigs fed DSG diets without or with SA. Dietary treatments for Exp. 2 and 3 consisted of sorghum grains reconstituted to two moisture contents (MC), with additions of either 0, .05 or .1% SA. The diets were mixed fresh from oxygen-limiting storage every 7 d and fed ad libitum. In Exp. 2 and 3, pigs fed the higher MC diets were more efficient in feed conversion (P less than .03) than those fed the lower MC diets. In Exp. 3, a quadratic response (P less than .04) for average daily gain and average daily feed intake was observed for the main effect of SA. Feed efficiency improved (P less than .05) in a linear fashion as SA levels were increased in the diets. The results of these experiments indicate that weanling pigs may be fed HMSG or RSG without adverse effects on pig performance. Inconsistencies in pig response to SA were observed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)