Effects of Alternative Cassava and Taro Feed on the Carcass and Meat Quality of Fattening Pigs Reared under Ecuadorian Backyard Systems.

Ecuadorian small producers use crossbred animals with a low level of genetic improvement, which are fed with alternative feeds to decrease production costs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of geographical location and three diets according to the amount of cassava and taro incorporated into the feed (T1 conventional feed; T2 and T3 with 32% and 42% of cassava and taro, respectively) in pigs reared under the backyard system. The results did not show many differences between the treatments for morphological traits; however, between geographical locations, significant differences were evidenced. The fat content from the first rib was higher in the T1 group. The intramuscular fat percentage was higher in the T1 group, contrary to the protein levels, which were higher in the T3 group in Esmeraldas and the T2 group in Ro Chico. In the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and its attached organs, differences were found in the empty stomach weight, full and empty small intestine weight, liver weight, and total GIT weight, with the T2 and T3 groups having the largest and heaviest. Cassava and taro did not affect the morphometric behavior and quality of the carcass but increased the amount of protein in the meat and the weight of the GIT. Geographical location was also observed to have a significant effect.