Our scientists are helping pig and poultry producers get the best out of the food that their animals are eating whilst also reducing phosphate pollution at the same time.
Phosphate is an essential nutrient for all living organisms but pigs, poultry and even humans are very inefficient at releasing this key nutrient from the food they eat. In particular, seeds represent an important source of both dietary phosphate and calories. The problem arises because plants package about 75 percent of their seed phosphate into a storage form called phytic acid, which passes straight through an animal's digestive system and is excreted, which can cause significant pollution in the environment. Currently, animal feed producers and farmers must therefore add phosphate to their pig and poultry feed so the animals get enough nutrient to grow healthily.
Syngenta, with its joint venture Zymetrics, has launched a heat-stable phytase product for animal feed. The enzyme is produced by microbial fermentation and is particularly effective at releasing the phosphate nutrients in animal feed. As well as reducing phosphorus pollution, our phytase product, known as 'Quantum', also leads to improved digestibility and utilisation of feed, weight gain and better production efficiency.
For a more extensive explanation of this innovative technology download our special Agriscience newsletter on the subject.
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