The Rural Voice, 1998-09, Page 64Using sprouted
wheat for pig feed
By Janice Murphy
Swine Nutritionist
The Ontario Wheat Producers'
Marketing Board reports that
sprouting of white winter wheat has
been significant in some regions,
resulting in supplies of downgraded
feed wheat. Sprouted wheat can be
used effectively in rations for
grower -finisher pigs and dry sows.
The feeding value of sprouted
wheat for pigs is not significantly
diffcrent from that of regular wheat.
Research in France by Gatel and
Bourdon (1989) has shown that
feeding value of sprouted wheat was
the same, or even slightly better, than
that of regular soft wheat. Depending
on the degree of sprouting, energy
content of the wheat may be reduced
by up to 10 per cent. This reduction
in energy in sprouted wheat should
not have a negative influence on
growth rate but it will cause pigs to
have poorer feed efficiency.
Sprouting has little influence on the
quantity or quality of protein or
amino acids in wheat. Interestingly,
the phosphorous in sprouted wheat
may even be more available to pigs.
Diets containing wheat should be
balanced on a lysine basis. Good
performance usually results when
wheat replaces 50 per cent of the
corn in the diet. However, it is
possible to feed wheat up to 100 per
cent of the grain portion in the diet
and get good performance. It is very
important when using wheat in the
ration to pay close attention to
Advice
processing. Grind wheat -based diets
coarsely (i.e. through a 4.5 to 6.4 mm
screen) to avoid dustiness and
increase palatability
It is also important to be aware
that sprouted wheat may contain
mycotoxins. The same weather
conditions which cause sprouting
also encourage mold growth.
Producers who want to feed home-
grown wheat should check their
fields for fusarium mold before
harvest. If mold is present, they
should test a sample for vomitoxin,
which reduces feed intake and results
in poor growth performance at levels
as low as 1 ppm. Producers with
sows should also test for zearalenone,
which affects reproduction at levels
as low as 0.5 ppm. Producers who
are considering the purchase of
sprouted wheat should also have
samples tested for mycotoxins.0
Why does corn green
up after a
thunderstorm?
By Keith Reid
Soil Fertilizer Specialist,
Walkerton
How often have we secn it — a
thunderstorm passes through, and
almost immediately the corn takes on
a luxurious dark green colour. The
standard explanation is that the crop
is responding to nitrate fixed out of
the atmosphere by lightening. But
does this explanation stand up close
to examination?
The tremendous energy in a
lightning bolt breaks down the
chemical bonds in nitrogen gas, and
recombine it with oxygen to form
Jim Eccles,
Dave Taylor & Carl Sadler
Forest Management Technicians
Provincially Licensed Tree Markers
R.R.#2, Durham, ON NOG IRO
(519) 369-5780 OR (519) 363-3441
(519) 371-7041
Sustaining Forests
Now and For the Future
n Forest Management Technicians
n Provincially Licensed Tree Markers
s Managed Forest Tax Plan Approver
• Woodlot Assessment, Advice
- Tree Marking: Fuelwood, Sawlog or
Combination, Plantation Thinning
• Advertising, Sales, Supervision
- Chainsaw Operators & Skidder
Certification Courses
60 THE RURAL VOICE
nitrate. Estimates of the amount of
nitrogen supplied to crops in this way
range from 10 to 20 kilograms per
hectare per year, some of which will
fall during the storm, and some of
which will remain in the atmosphere
to fall to earth sometime later. This
means that, during any given storm,
only one or two kilograms of
nitrogen per hectare will be added to
the supply to the crop, which is only
a small fraction of what is available
in the soil. We may be able to
attribute part of the effect to nitrogen
absorbed through the leaves. The
problem is, during a storm the
nitrogen is going to run off the leaves
rather than be retained for absorption,
so an even smaller part of the
nitrogen can get into the plants that
way.
So why do we see corn green up
after a thunderstorm? The answer has
to do with nitrogen, but with the
nitrogen already in the soil and in the
plant. Thunderstorms usually occur
during hot, humid weather, and the
most memorable ones come at the
end of a period of drought stress.
Most of the nitrogen which enters a
plant is carried with the water
entering the plant, so during drought
stress, the flow of nitrogen to the
plant decreases, even though it may
be accumulating in the soil. Also
during drought stress, the nitrogen
which is already within the plant is
not assimilated into tissues but
remains in the root and lower part of
the stalk.
When the thunderstorm hits, there
is a sudden influx of water through
the roots, carrying a high
concentration of nitrate which has
been accumulating in the soil into the
plant. This water also carries the
nitrogen compounds from the lower
parts of the plant up to the leaves,
where it is quickly assimilated into
the leaf tissue, creating the beautiful
dark green colour we associate with
healthy com.0
Please note The Rural
Voice's e-mail address
has changed to
Norhuron@scsinternet,com