Table 5.
Effect of dietary ME level on carcass characteristics of finishing pigs (Experiment 3)1
| Item | ME, Mcal/kg | SEM | P value | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.05 | 3.15 | 3.25 | 3.35 | ANOVA | Linear | Quadratic | ||
| Dressing percentage, % | 71.98 | 72.31 | 73.30 | 74.03 | 1.86 | 0.86 | 0.34 | 0.64 |
| 10th-rib back fat thickness, mm | 18.5 | 21.5 | 22.3 | 24.0 | 1.42 | 0.09 | 0.02 | 0.07 |
| Loin area, cm2 | 39.62 | 44.42 | 42.98 | 40.31 | 1.59 | 0.16 | 0.93 | 0.06 |
| pH45 min | 6.42 | 6.19 | 6.30 | 6.30 | 0.09 | 0.37 | 0.48 | 0.39 |
| pH24 h | 5.58 | 5.53 | 5.50 | 5.49 | 0.05 | 0.58 | 0.17 | 0.36 |
| L* (Lightness) | 41.45 | 40.81 | 40.77 | 42.58 | 1.77 | 0.88 | 0.67 | 0.72 |
| a* (Redness) | 14.31 | 13.49 | 15.61 | 14.57 | 0.66 | 0.20 | 0.35 | 0.64 |
| b* (Yellowness) | 5.24 | 4.74 | 5.54 | 5.67 | 0.56 | 0.65 | 0.38 | 0.58 |
1Value represent means of six pens with one pig per pen.