Carcass traits and morphometry, typification of the Longissimus dorsi muscle and non-carcass components of hair lambs: can biscuit bran completely replace corn? A machine learning approach.

ABSTRACT

Biscuit bran (BB) is a co-product with worldwide distribution, with Brazil as the second largest cookie producer in the world with 1,157,051 tons. We evaluate the impact of completely replacing corn with BB on the characteristics and morphometry of carcass of purebred and crossbred Morada Nova lambs using machine learning techniques as an auxiliary method. Twenty male lambs from two genetic groups (GG) were used purebred red-coated Morada Nova (MNR) and crossbred MNR × white-coated Morada Nova (MNF1). Supervised and unsupervised machine learning techniques were used. No interaction (P > 0.05) was observed between diets (D) and genetic groups (GG) and no simple isolated effect was observed for carcass characteristics, qualitative-quantitative typification of the Longissimus dorsi muscle, weight of non-carcass components, weight and yield of commercial cuts and carcass morphometric measurements. The formation of two horizontal clusters was verified (i) crossed lambs with corn and BB and (ii) purebred lambs fed corn and BB. Vertically, three clusters were formed based on carcass and meat characteristics of native lambs (i) thermal insulation, body capacity, true yield, and commercial cuts; (ii) choice, performance, physical carcass traits, and palatability; and (iii) yield cuts and non-carcass components. The heatmap also allowed us to observe that pure MN lambs had a greater body capacity when fed BB, while those fed corn showed superiority in commercial cuts, true yields, and non-carcass components. Crossbred lambs, regardless of diet, showed a greater association of physical characteristics of the carcass, performance, palatability, and less noble cuts. Crossbred lambs, regardless of diet, showed a greater association of physical characteristics of the carcass, performance, palatability, and less noble cuts. BB can be considered an alternative energy source in total replacement of corn. Integrating of machine learning techniques is a useful statistical tool for studies with large numbers of variables, especially when it comes to analyzing complex data with multiple effects in the search for data patterns and insights in decision-making on the farm.