Meat quality in Podolian young bulls grazing on wood-pasture in a South Italy marginal area

In dry marginal areas, pasture plays an important role in land preservation and wildfire prevention. The aim ofthe study was to evaluate meat production and quality in autochthonous Podolian young bulls grazing onspontaneous grass and wood-pasture vegetation in South Italy marginal areas. Sixteen Podolian male calvesgrazed with their dams until they were 10 months old (± 15 days). Afterwards, two groups of calveshomogeneous for weight (310 ± 10 kg) were made. The control group (C) was kept in a loose barn with a straw-bedded resting area and an open exercise area with a total space allowance of 15 m 2 /subject. They received acommercial feed (B/82 - Bovi mix, Galtieri, Italy; 6.0 kg/day/subject) and wheat straw (2 kg/day/subject). Thesecond group grazed during the day on a spontaneous 10 ha wooded pasture (WP); at housing, in the evening,the calves received 2 kg/subject of the same commercial feed and straw ad libitum. Pasture availability andcomposition were monitored during the experiment and the nutritive value was assessed by in vitro gasproduction (IVGP). All the calves were slaughtered at 18 months of age. In WP bulls, the average daily gain (1.25vs 0.95) and final weight (520 vs 485) were lower (P<0.05) as compared with control. Grazing worsened meatcolour in terms of lightness (32.8 vs 33.9) but it increased (P<0.05) red (21.98 vs 20.87) and yellow (2.04 vs1.96) indices. Meat from the WP group showed a lower cooking loss as compared to C bulls, while tenderness(WBS) was markedly lower (P<0.05). The concentration of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in the Longissimus dorsimuscle was significantly higher in WP bulls (0.28 vs 0.18; P<0.05). Results of the consumer test showed thatalthough panellists detected differences in meat tenderness and chewiness, they recognized and tended toprefer (P<0.05) meat from the WP bulls for its taste and flavour.