Fucosidase as a feed additive to influence methane emission from pig slurry

This study was carried out to investigate the impact of fucosidase as a feed additive on mitigation of methane emission from fresh pig slurry in reactors mimicking housing and storage conditions. The study contained three treatment groups where fucosidase was added to the pig diets, 1) for two weeks after weaning, 2) for seven weeks after weaning, and 3) from weaning until slaughter. The treatments were compared to a control group without fucosidase. Fresh urine and feces were collected from three pigs in each treatment group at a bodyweight of ca. 30, 70, and 100 kg. Fresh feces and urine were added every second day to the housing reactors and after four weeks the slurry was moved to the storage reactors and kept at 15°C for twelve weeks. Cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) was used to measure methane concentration in the headspace air of the reactors. The results showed that there was no clear effect of the treatments at 30 and 70 kg. However, at 100 kg there was a significantly lower emission from the treated groups compared to the control. In the storage reactors there was no significant effect of the treatments. In conclusion, fucosidase as a feed additive can influence the methane emission from slurry under in-vitro conditions, but more research is needed to investigate the effect of dosage and if the same results can be obtained under real housing conditions.