Growth and reproductive potential of pubertal boars fed dietary neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) kernel

Abstract

The increasing cost of maize as a source of dietary energy for swine necessitates investigation into unconventional alternative energy sources. Thus, neem kernel (NK) was assessed with diets in which maize was partially replaced with NK for growth and reproductive performance of growing male pigs. In the study, 40 crossbred (Large White x Landrace) male weanling pigs were allotted into four experimental treatments in a completely randomised design with eight replicates to evaluate the effects of NK inclusion in swine diets at 0, 50, 100 and 150 g/kg on feed intake (FI), weight gain (WG), feed conversion efficiency (FCE), reproductive tract characteristics and daily sperm production (DSP). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance at p=0.05.  Pubertal boars on 100 and 150 g/kg NK diets showed significantly (p<0.05) lower FI at79.99kg and 74.89kg respectively while that of WG were18.30kg and 16.58kg respectively compared to control (88.53 kg and 21.26kg respectively). Significant (p<0.05) effects were observed for most of the reproductive parameters evaluated. Similar testes density and DSP values were observed at 0, 50 and 100 g/kg NK diets, while a significant (p<0.05) decrease was indicated at 150 g/kg NK diet. It is concluded that neem kernel can be included up to 100 g/kg to replace maize in boars’ diets without deleterious effects on growth and reproductive performance.