Growth performance of pigs feed sugar cane juice ( Saccharum officinarum ) and mulberry leaf meal ( Morus alba )

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of including sugarcane juice and mulberry ( Morus alba ) leaf meal (MLM) in diets of growing pigs. Forty-eight crossbred pigs (24 gilts and 24 barrows of mean initial weight 40± 2 kg) were randomly allotted to one of eight dietary treatments, with three replications per treatment of two pigs each. Dietary treatments consisted of T1, a corn meal basal diet (BD) + 0% MLM; T2, BD + 8% MLM; T3, BD + 16% MLM; T4, BD + 24% MLM; T5, sugarcane juice + high-protein mix (CJP) + 0% NKN; T6, CJP + 8% MLM; T7, CJP + 16% MLM; T8, CJP + 24% MLM. Pigs were allowed ad libitum access to sugarcane juice and BD, while intake of the high-protein mix was restricted. The dependent variables included intakes of total feed (TFI) of high-protein mix (HPI), and of crude protein (CPI); mean daily gain (DG), feed conversion ration (FCR) and feed costs (FC). TFI decreased (P