A note on the effect of the composition of barley produced at different locations on performance of growing pigs.

peer-reviewedLocation of production has been shown to affect the nutritive value of barley for growing pigs, but there is a lack of information regarding the effect of this factor on pig performance. The barley variety “Riviera” was produced at nine different locations in Northern Ireland and formulated into diets (barley, soyabean meal and tallow at 650, 283 and 30 g/kg, respectively) for growing pigs. Diets were offered ad libitum to a total of 72 individually housed pigs from 8 to 11 weeks of age. Average start and end weights were 19 and 34 kg, respectively. Location of production had no significant effect on animal performance although a wide range was observed, which may be important under commercial conditions. Barley specific weight was not strongly correlated (r2 < 0.10) with any performance trait indicating that an alternative means of predicting the nutritive value of barely for pigs is required. A significant positive relationship was observed between barley β-glucan concentration and feed conversion ratio (r2 = 0.65).The authors acknowledge the Trustees of the Thomas Henry Scholarship, The Queen’s University of Belfast (QUB) and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland (DARD), for the financial support which enabled this research to be undertaken

Effect of variety, endosperm hardness, the 1B/1R translocation and enzyme addition on the nutritive value of wheat for growing pigs

It has been widely recognised that wheat chemical composition and nutritive value can vary as a result of genotypic differences, but there is a lack of information on wheat grown in Northern Ireland. Furthermore, there have been conflicting reports regarding the effect of endosperm hardness, the 1B/1R translocation and enzyme addition on the nutritive value of wheat for growing pigs. The effects of wheat variety, endosperm hardness, the presence of the 1B/1R translocation and enzyme addition were examined in four experiments involving a total of 326 Large White Landrace pigs. Performance traits of individually housed pigs were measured in Experiments 1, 3 and 4 and apparent in vivo digestibility coefficients were determined at the total tract and ileal level from post-valve-T-caecum cannulated pigs in Experiment 2. The results obtained for the analysis of the chemical composition of the eight varieties were mainly within reported limits. However, there was a wide range of crude protein concentrations (97.8 to 138.7g/kg dry matter) suggesting varietal differences. There was no effect of endosperm hardness or the 1B/1R translocation on chemical composition. In contrast to other research reports, there were no significant differences in pig performance as a result of either variety, endosperm hardness or the presence of the 1B/1R translocation. However, there were significant variety effects on apparent total-tract digestibility coefficients. Enzyme supplementation had no significant effect on pig performance, despite the fact that the basal diet did not have a high nutrient specification.The authors acknowledge the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland (DARD) and Danisco Animal Nutrition for the financial support which enabled this research to be undertaken. Appreciation is expressed to the staff from the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute who assisted with this work

A note on the effect of the composition of barley produced at different locations on performance of growing pigs.

Location of production has been shown to affect the nutritive value of barley for growing pigs, but there is a lack of information regarding the effect of this factor on pig performance. The barley variety “Riviera” was produced at nine different locations in Northern Ireland and formulated into diets (barley, soyabean meal and tallow at 650, 283 and 30 g/kg, respectively) for growing pigs. Diets were offered ad libitum to a total of 72 individually housed pigs from 8 to 11 weeks of age. Average start and end weights were 19 and 34 kg, respectively. Location of production had no significant effect on animal performance although a wide range was observed, which may be important under commercial conditions. Barley specific weight was not strongly correlated (r2 < 0.10) with any performance trait indicating that an alternative means of predicting the nutritive value of barely for pigs is required. A significant positive relationship was observed between barley β-glucan concentration and feed conversion ratio (r2 = 0.65).The authors acknowledge the Trustees of the Thomas Henry Scholarship, The Queen’s University of Belfast (QUB) and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland (DARD), for the financial support which enabled this research to be undertaken

Lc-uv and lc-ms methods for the determination of domoic acid

Peer-reviewed. Released with a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives LicenseUnder European legislation, domoic acid (DA), the main constituent of amnesic shellfish poisoning, is monitored to protect the shellfish consumer. To ensure comparability amongst analytical data, it was deemed necessary to undertake performance assessments of the methods conducted by monitoring laboratories of the United Kingdom and Ireland. In phase I of a two-phase inter-comparison, three laboratories used high-performance liquid chromatography and ultraviolet detection (HPLC-UV). Concentration data for a DA standard solution, a crude extract of whole scallops and a scallop-homogenate fell within internationally accepted limits, demonstrating good agreement for these matrices. Between-laboratory analyses of a scallop gonad showed a higher variation (>16%). In phase II, a second gonad homogenate containing DA one order of magnitude higher in concentration gave results acceptable to internationally set criteria. The efficiency of the strong anion-exchange cartridges used in sample-extract clean-up should be monitored as part of a laboratory quality control system. From a recovery study, it is suggested that recovery correction should also be applied. There was no difference in the quantitation of DA in standard solutions or shellfish using either LC-UV or LC with mass spectrometric (MS) detection, and between-laboratory MS data for a gonad homogenate were also equivalent. Variations of the published method practised by the monitoring laboratories were found not to compromise results, thus demonstrating an acceptable degree of ruggedness, as well as comparability between the participants.UK Food Standards Agency, and the Scottish Environment Executive Rural Affairs Department