Fusarium head blight and the contamination of cereals with the Fusarium toxins deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone is more prevalent when fields are not tilled in order to conserve the soil structure. DON impairs the feed intake and the growth rate of young pigs, whereas both, DON and zearalenone affect the fertility of sows. In two feeding trials using a total of 220 weaner pigs the hypothesis was tested that apple pomace alleviates the negative effects of Fusarium toxins. The two experiments had a 2 x 2 factorial design: Fusarium contaminated and uncontaminated wheat, and 8 % apple pomace and no pomace in the diet. In both trials, the animals receiving the mycotoxin contaminated diets without pomace gained less weight than the pigs receiving either uncontaminated diets without pomace (p = 0.03 and = 0.11) or contaminated diets with pomace (p = 0.07 and = 0.03). In the second trial, female piglets receiving the contaminated diets which contained zearalenone as well as DON had heavier uteri than those on uncontaminated diets (p = 0.003), regardless of apple pomace supplementation. In conclusion, apple pomace may be used to counteract the negative effects of DON on growth, but is ineffective against the oestrogenic effects of zearalenone
