of pigs, if a significant amount of the phytate P could
be made available. A microbial phytase was reported
by Nelson et al. ( 19 7 1) to improve the availability of
P in corn and soybean meal for the chick, but only
limited research has been conducted with pigs. The
purpose of this research was to evaluate the efficacy of
dietary phytase as a potential means of improving the
bioavailability of P in corn and soybean meal, thereby
reducing or perhaps even eliminating the need for
additions of inorganic P to pig diets.