Research project Optimal cultivation of protein crops for poultry feeding

General introduction

If you feed poultry toasted field beans and wheat from a locally grown mixed crop, the laying hens or broilers perform just as well as if they had been fed soy in their ration. That is one of the results of OPTIPLUIM. The research question was: How can arable farmers, poultry farmers and the local animal feed industry in Flanders get started with leguminous crops placed in mixed crops, as an alternative protein source for poultry? The aim was to look at the cultivation, processing and use. Implementing leguminous crops in cultivation plans, certainly in mixed crops, requires new knowledge building, both in conventional and organic agriculture. In terms of reducing antinutritional components from the seeds, we know processing techniques for leguminous crops separately, but not for mixed harvests. And the use in laying hens and broilers in both conventional and organic production systems was also not documented. The last question was about the possibility of also valorising the crop residues after harvesting the seeds as feed: Does this contain a second possible source of protein if the residues were to be processed by white rot fungi via aerobic decomposition?

Research approach

With field experiments we optimized a higher protein content by playing with the cultivation technique of the mixed crops. We tested several processing techniques to reduce antinutritional factors, linked to the different production systems (conventional and organic farming, laying hens and broilers). We investigated whether the crop residues after harvest could be processed via aerobic decomposition by white rot fungi. We determined the interactions between three elements: feed composition, quality of eggs and chicken meat respectively and the effects on nitrogen excretions in the animals. We analyzed the sustainability of leguminous crops as an alternative to soy.

Relevance/Valorization

The field experiments showed that the mixed crops of field beans x triticale and field beans x wheat produced the highest yields. Higher sowing doses did not necessarily lead to higher yields. Ensiling the harvested seeds scored better as a technique to reduce anti-nutritional factors than heat treatments such as toasting, expansion or extrusion. Feeds with the heat-treated mixed crops of field beans x wheat as an alternative protein source resulted in at least as good animal performances in broilers and layers as a soy-based control feed. The quality of the meat and eggs was also little or not affected when using the mixed crop in the ration. Finally, aerobic fermentation by white rot fungi cannot be regarded as an economically feasible technique to valorise crop residues.

Financing

VLAIO