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This study was to assess the effect of fermented rapeseed meal (FRSM) in the diet of sows, taking into account the physiological period (pregnancy or lactation) and reproductive cycle (primiparous or multiparous sows), on production performance, nutrient digestibility, colostrum immunoglobulin content, and microbial flora in sows. The experimental material included 30 primiparous gilts and 30 multiparous sows after their second lactation. The animals in the control groups CG (gilts) and CS (sows) received a standard diet for pregnant or lactating sows, depending on the reproductive period. Experimental groups EG and ES comprised gilts and multiparous sows, respectively, receiving a diet with a 4% share of FRSM in place of soybean meal up to 100 d of gestation. In addition, from 100 d of gestation to 7 d of lactation, the sows in experimental groups received a diet with a 9% share of FRSM, and then again a diet with a 4% share of FRSM until the end of lactation. The addition of 4% to 9% share of a FRSM component in feed significantly improves production parameters, mainly in primiparous gilts, leading to an increase in litter size and in litter weight at 28 d of age. It also helps to improve the digestibility of crude protein, fat, and crude fiber, and positively affects the gut microbiota of sows. Fermentation of rapeseed meal is an effective way to reduce anti-nutrients and to increase the level of lactic acid in the diet. It also stimulates the immune system, which improves piglet health, reducing the severity of diarrhoea and mortality.

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Thirty-one European accessions of grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) originating from Italy, Spain, Northern France, Germany and Poland grown in the same soil-climatic conditions in Poland were investigated. The morphological traits as well as the seed morphology and nutrient contents were studied. Substantial differentiation in some morphological characteristics was noticed. The plants could be assigned to two groups: one group comprising the lines from the Mediterranean basin (Italy and Spain) and the other group containing the accessions from West-central Europe (Northern France, Germany and Poland). The grass pea plants produced from the seeds obtained from West-central Europe appeared to be about 10 cm taller than the Mediterranean accessions and had predominantly white flowers. Their seeds were more than two times smaller than seeds of the accessions of Italian or Spanish origin. There were not noted any considerable differences in nutrient contents or antinutritional factors in seeds between these two groups of Lathyrus accessions. A negative correlation between b-ODAP and tannin contents (r = -0.379, P B 0.05) and a positive correlation (r = 0.843, P B 0.01) between a tannin content and flower color intensity were found. A white or crème colour was associated with a low tannin level in the seeds, while the colourful blooming accessions had higher tannin contents.