Suitability of Soybean Meal from Insect-Resistant Soybeans for Broiler Chickens

Benning(M) and Benning(MGH) are near-isogenic lines (NILs) of the soybean cultivar Benning, which contain insect-resistance quantitative trait loci (QTLs) from the soybean accession PI 229358. Benning(M) contains QTL-M, which confers antibiosis and antixenosis. In addition to QTL-M, Benning(MGH) contains QTL-G, which confers antibiosis, and QTL-H, which confers antixenosis. Soybean meal was produced from Benning and the NILs. Nutritional composition, digestible amino acid content, and nitrogen-corrected true metabolizable energy (TMEN) were equivalent among soybean meals. A 21-day broiler feeding trial was carried out to determine if the QTLs affect soybean meal quality. Weight gain and feed-to-gain ratio were evaluated. No biologically significant differences were detected for broilers fed Benning, Benning(M), and Benning(MGH). This demonstrates that soybean meal produced from the insect-resistant NILs is equivalent to soybean meal produced from their non-insect-resistant parent cultivar for broiler weight gain.