Utilisation of white and blue lupins in weaned piglet diets

A series of experiments were conducted in order to define the maximum level of inclusion of white and blue lupins in weaned piglet diets. A total of 1032 weaned piglets (12-25 kg) were used in three experiments with four lupin inclusion rates :- trial 1 : white Ares lupin, 0 - 5 - 10 - 15 %- trial 2 : blue Boltensia lupin, 0 - 5 - 10 - 15 %- trial 3 : blue Bora lupin, 0 - 10 - 20 - 30 %.Within each trial, the diets were formulated to be iso-energetic and to contain the same levels of digestible amino acids.In trial 2, no significant differences in performance were observed between diets (daily feed intake (DFI), average daily gain (ADG) and food conversion ratio (FCR)).In trial 3, DFI was significantly lower at lupin inclusion rates of 20 and 30 % compared to the control, probably due to the higher alkaloid concentrations seen in this lupin.ADG was significantly lower with 15 % lupin in trial 1, and with all levels of lupin inclusion in trial 3, this appeared to be linked to lower DFI. Globally, FCR deteriorated significantly only once, with the 15 % white lupin Ares diet compared to the control. This was probably due to higher a-galactoside concentrations in the lupin diet compared to the control .In conclusion, despite the positive results obtained with Blue Boltensia lupin (trial 2), it is recommended to limit the rate of inclusion of lupin to < 10 % in weaned piglet diets.