Effects of increasing levels of palm kernel meal containing β-mannanase to growing-finishing pig diets on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and pork quality

ABSTRACT In this study, we investigated the effects of increasing levels of palm kernel meal (PKM) in diets containing β-mannanase on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and pork quality in growing-finishing pigs. One hundred twenty pigs [(Yorkshire × Landrace) × Duroc] with 29.68 ± 0.17 kg BW] were allotted to 5 dietary treatments with 4 pigs per pen and 6 replicates per treatment on the basis of sex and BW. These dietary treatments were: NC (negative control; corn-soybean meal-based diet), PC (positive control; basal diet + 0.10 % β-mannanase), PKM6 (diet containing 6 % PKM + 0.10 % β-mannanase), PKM12 (diet containing 12 % PKM + 0.10 % β-mannanase), and PKM18 (diet containing 18 % PKM + 0.10 % β-mannanase). The BW was linearly decreased as the dietary inclusion level of PKM increased in early finishing phase (linear, P