Effect of various dietary arginine: lysine ratios on performance, carcass composition and plasma amino acid concentrations of growing-finishing swine.

Crossbred growing-finishing pigs (112 barrows, 48 gilts) were used to determine the effect of reducing excess dietary arginine, through feedstuff variation, on performance, carcass composition and plasma amino acid concentrations. Diets contained five, four, three or two times the NRC requirement for arginine. Lysine in all diets was formulated to be equal to NRC requirements, and all diets contained at least 100% of the NRC recommendations for all other essential amino acids. Initial weight, final weight and days on test for the grower phase were 26.7 kg, 44.2 kg and 28 d, respectively. Weight gain and gain/feed were not different among treatments but feed intake showed a quadratic response during the grower phase, being highest at four times the NRC requirement for arginine. Initial weight, final weight and days on test for the finisher phase were 44.2 kg, 96.9 kg and 67 d, respectively. Weight gain during the finisher phase and for the total experiment exhibited a quadratic response, being highest for the pigs fed the intermediate arginine levels. Gain/feed for the finisher phase followed the same trend as weight gain. Feed intakes for the finisher phase and total experiment were not different among treatments. Carcass data were collected on all barrows. There were no differences in hot carcass weight or adjusted average backfat among treatments. Loin eye area and percentage of lean decreased linearly as arginine level decreased in the diet. Plasma urea, arginine and orthinine concentrations decreased linearly with decreasing dietary arginine. Plasma lysine exhibited both a quadratic and a cubic response. The data indicate that reducing excess dietary arginine had little effect on performance or carcass composition and no consistent effect on plasma lysine of growing-finishing swine.