Researchers at the University of Manitoba have shown that pearling can dramatically reduce the levels of mycotoxins in fusarium-infected barley while improving the grain’s digestible energy content.
Using a commercial pearling unit to remove the hulls, researchers were able to remove 60-70 percent of the deoxynivalenol, or DON, from the barley, said Jim House, an associate professor in animal science at the U of M.
They also witnessed a 15 to 18 percent increase in the digestible energy.
“There’s a double benefit there,” said House, who collaborated on the research with fellow assistant animal science professor Martin Nyachoti and with David Abramson, a mycotoxicologist with Agriculture Canada.
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In trials, pigs refused to eat fusarium-infected barley because of the mycotoxin levels in the grain. However, once the hulls were removed, the refusal disappeared and the hogs ate all their feed, House said.
“Once we dehulled the barley and incorporated it into their diets, there was no problem.
“We know that this works. We know that it removes the DON and improves the feeding value.”
A commercial scale rice whitener was used to grind away the outer hulls of the DON-infected grain. A challenge now, said House, is finding a method of pearling that is suited to the large-scale needs of hog operations.
Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan have been plagued by fusarium head blight for much of the past decade. The disease attacks cereal crops and can cause losses in yield and quality.
Reducing mycotoxins in infected barley could alleviate the need to import feed. And improving the digestible energy content could offset the need to augment a hog’s diet with more expensive sources of energy, House said.
However, producers need to consider the cost of buying and pearling DON-infected grain versus the price and feed value of imported grains.
The research was supported by the Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council and the Manitoba Pork Council.
