TY - JOUR
T1 - The Effects of Castration, Implant Protocol, and Supplementation of Bos indicus-Influenced Beef Cattle under Tropical Savanna Conditions on Growth Performance, Carcass Characteristics, and Meat Quality
AU - Huerta-Leidenz, Nelson
AU - Jerez-Timaure, Nancy
AU - Rodas-González, Argenis
AU - Sarturi, Jhones Onorino
AU - Brashears, Mindy M.
AU - Miller, Markus F.
AU - Brashears, Michel Todd
N1 - Funding Information:
Institutional Review Board Statement: The research project (CC-0390-04) was approved by the Institute of Agronomic Research and the Council for the Scientific Development of the Universidad del Zulia; hence, it followed the Bioethics and Biosafety Code of the National Fund of Science, Innovation, and Technology (FONACIT) of Venezuela, the regulatory framework for animal care and welfare in experimental research.
Funding Information:
Funding: This research was funded by Consejo de Desarrollo Científico y Humanístico of Universidad del Zulia, Venezuela (CONDES-LUZ), research project No. CC-0390-04. The authors thank Carlos Rodriguez Matos for his support during the setup and execution of the grazing experiments and the personnel of MINCO for their valuable assistance during cattle harvesting and carcass evaluation. The authors are grateful to MINCO managers for their valuable support during the live and carcass data collection, and donation of beef samples. We thank Martin O’Connors for providing further training in carcass evaluation according to the USDA standards. We appreciate the valuable information provided by Dr. Susmira Godoy about previous experiences in pasture management in the region of interest. Finally, we would like to thank Javier Aracena for his assistance with the final design of tables and figures.
Funding Information:
This research was funded by Consejo de Desarrollo Cient?fico y Human?stico of Universidad del Zulia, Venezuela (CONDES-LUZ), research project No. CC-0390-04. The authors thank Carlos Rodriguez Matos for his support during the setup and execution of the grazing experiments and the personnel of MINCO for their valuable assistance during cattle harvesting and carcass evaluation. The authors are grateful to MINCO managers for their valuable support during the live and carcass data collection, and donation of beef samples. We thank Martin O?Connors for providing further training in carcass evaluation according to the USDA standards. We appreciate the valuable information provided by Dr. Susmira Godoy about previous experiences in pasture management in the region of interest. Finally, we would like to thank Javier Aracena for his assistance with the final design of tables and figures.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2022/2/1
Y1 - 2022/2/1
N2 - The effects of castration, supplementation, and implant protocol (IP) on growth, carcass characteristics, and meat quality of grass-fed cattle were evaluated. Two experiments followed a two-way ANOVA and a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. Experiment-I, 99 bulls were evaluated for: (a) supplementation (mineral (MS) or strategic protein-energy supplementation (SS)), and (b) IP (repeated (day-0 and day-90) Zeranol-72 mg implantation (Zeranol–Zeranol) or Trenbolone Acetate-140 mg/Estradiol-20 mg (day-0) followed by Zeranol-72 mg (day-90) (TBA/E2–Zeranol)). Experiment II, 50 animals were evaluated for: (a) IP (like Experiment-I), and (b) male class (steers vs. bulls). In Experiment-I, SS bulls had greater growth rate, carcass yield, and yield of high-valued boneless lean cuts than MS bulls, while decreasing (p < 0.05) time to harvest. Steaks from SS-bulls on TBA/E2– Zeranol IP were more (p = 0.05) tender than SS/Zeranol–Zeranol counterparts. Experiment-II bulls had greater growth than steers, but decreased (p < 0.05) carcass quality aspects. Zeranol–Zeranol increased (p <0.01) meat tenderness of steers. Interactions (p < 0.05) affected cutability (Experiment-II) and meat sensory traits (Experiment-I/II). The SS improved growth, carcass yield, and shortened days until harvest of bulls, while TBA/E2–Zeranol IP positively affected tenderness in bull meat only. Castration improved carcass quality while the implant effects on cutability and tenderness were male-class dependent.
AB - The effects of castration, supplementation, and implant protocol (IP) on growth, carcass characteristics, and meat quality of grass-fed cattle were evaluated. Two experiments followed a two-way ANOVA and a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. Experiment-I, 99 bulls were evaluated for: (a) supplementation (mineral (MS) or strategic protein-energy supplementation (SS)), and (b) IP (repeated (day-0 and day-90) Zeranol-72 mg implantation (Zeranol–Zeranol) or Trenbolone Acetate-140 mg/Estradiol-20 mg (day-0) followed by Zeranol-72 mg (day-90) (TBA/E2–Zeranol)). Experiment II, 50 animals were evaluated for: (a) IP (like Experiment-I), and (b) male class (steers vs. bulls). In Experiment-I, SS bulls had greater growth rate, carcass yield, and yield of high-valued boneless lean cuts than MS bulls, while decreasing (p < 0.05) time to harvest. Steaks from SS-bulls on TBA/E2– Zeranol IP were more (p = 0.05) tender than SS/Zeranol–Zeranol counterparts. Experiment-II bulls had greater growth than steers, but decreased (p < 0.05) carcass quality aspects. Zeranol–Zeranol increased (p <0.01) meat tenderness of steers. Interactions (p < 0.05) affected cutability (Experiment-II) and meat sensory traits (Experiment-I/II). The SS improved growth, carcass yield, and shortened days until harvest of bulls, while TBA/E2–Zeranol IP positively affected tenderness in bull meat only. Castration improved carcass quality while the implant effects on cutability and tenderness were male-class dependent.
KW - Beef
KW - Bull
KW - Carcass
KW - Cutability
KW - Grass-fed beef
KW - Palatability
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85123775450&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ani12030366
DO - 10.3390/ani12030366
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85123775450
VL - 12
JO - Animals
JF - Animals
SN - 2076-2615
IS - 3
M1 - 366
ER -