Evaluation of Pineapple (Ananas comosus) Wine Sediment as a Dietary Ingredient for Weaner Pigs: Effects on Growth Performance, Feed Utilization and Economic Efficiency

Abstract

This study evaluated the relationships among feed intake, weight gain, and feed conversion ratio (FCR) in weaner pigs fed diets containing pineapple (Ananas comosus) wine sediment meal (PWSM). Thirty-two cross-bred Large White × Landrace weaner pigs, aged 8–10 weeks and with an average initial live weight of 10.50 ± 0.50 kg, were assigned to four dietary treatments and fed for 35 days. Feed intake was recorded daily, body weight was measured weekly, FCR was calculated, and Pearson correlation analysis was used to examine associations among the performance variables. Economic evaluation was based on prevailing market prices of the dietary ingredients. Daily feed intake showed very weak, positive, and non-significant correlations with daily weight gain (r = 0.027, P = 0.932) and FCR (r = 0.017, P = 0.957). In contrast, daily weight gain was strongly and negatively correlated with FCR (r = −0.818, P = 0.001), indicating that greater daily gain was associated with improved feed efficiency. The performance and economic results indicated that moderate PWSM inclusion supported growth performance and reduced feed cost per kilogram of weight gain under the experimental conditions. Overall, feed intake alone did not explain the observed variation in growth or feed efficiency, whereas daily weight gain showed a clear inverse association with FCR. PWSM may therefore serve as an alternative dietary ingredient for weaner pigs when used at an appropriate inclusion level.