Energy and Protein Digestibility of Sorghum Grains with Different Endosperm Textures and Starch Types by Growing swine

Four sorghum grains with three endosperm textures and two starch types were evaluated to determine their energy and protein digestibilities in the growing pig. The four grains were grown in the same field at the Texas A&M Research and Extension Center, Lubbock, and were classified as follows: floury endospermnormal starch (F-N), intermediate endospermnormal starch (I-N), corneous endospermnormal starch (C-N) and intermediate endosperm-waxy starch (I-W). The I-N diet was higher in dry matter (P <.10) and organic matter digestibility (P < .05) than the F-N and C-N diets. The I-N diet also contained the highest content of gross, digestible and metabolizable energy. Digestibility coefficients for dry matter, organic matter and gross energy and the concentration of digestible and metabolizable energy were essentially the same for the normal and waxy starch diets. Protein digestibility and nitrogen retention did not differ significantly among the three endosperm textures and the two starch types. Grain containing endosperm with an intermediate texture appears to have a nutritional advantage over those with floury and corneous textures