For the purpose of the morphometric characterization and differentiation of local sheep breeds that belong to the group of breeds called Pramenka or Zackel, two Slovenian (Bela Krajina and Istrian Pramenka) and four Montenegrin sheep breeds (Bardoka, Sjenička, Pivska Pramenka, and Zeta Žuja) were studied. The variation of morphometric measures and nine morphometric indices were analysed. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied in order to provide an easier description of body size and shape. Regarding body size, the Sjenička breed was one of the largest breeds (body weight 76.4 kg, wither height 72.7 cm, chest circumference 100.3 cm), while Zeta Žuja had the smallest body size (37.1 kg, 64.8, and 81.9 cm). On the other hand, Slovenian Istrian Pramenka had the largest body length, chest depth, chest width, and rump width among all included breeds (79.4, 33.6, 22.7, and 21.2 cm). Bela Krajina, Istrian Pramenka, and the Sjenička breed, according to the index of body frame (IBF) value (107–114), have a rectangular body frame, Bardoka and Pivska Pramenka have a square body frame (99.3–100), and Zeta Žuja has a short body frame (91.8). The PCA of all morphometric parameters extracted three components accounting for 96.6 % of the cumulative variance. An unweighted pair–group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) cluster analysis by Euclidian distance shows diversity among the studied breeds, through it grouped Pivska Pramenka with Sjenička and Istrian with Bela Krajina Pramenka in two clusters, while Bardoka and Zeta Žuja were clustered separately.

The fatty acid content is a very important feature of the milk that affects the health of consumers. The aim of this study was to estimate cow's milk fatty acid composition in early vegetative, late vegetative and reproductive phase, with the simultaneous determination of the pasture biomass chemical and botanical composition. The research was conducted on Agrostis castellana semi-natural dry grassland in the vicinity of Podgorica, Montenegro. Cows were put to grazing during the whole experimental period. This pasture was assessed as moderate to good quality and botanically diversified. The chemical composition of the grassland biomass changed with the maturity phase. A significant increase in the content of DM, crude fiber, fat and a decrease in crude protein content were determined throughout three phenological phases (p < 0.05). The content of total milk fat did not show significant variability during first two phases, but it did in the third phase. The content of milk fat and protein was high in all phases, although it is a dry pasture with a poor quality of biomass in the third phase. The content of majority saturated fatty acids (SFAs) increased with grass maturity, while total content of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) decreased. The polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) content kept the same level up to the reproductive phase. The phenological phase significantly influenced the content of fatty acids in the third phase (p < 0.05). A notable number of SFAs, MUFAs end PUFAs had the highest content in the second phase.

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Natural pastures in Montenegro, together with natural meadows, are the most important forage source and comprise 95% of the used agricultural area (UAA). The aim of this study was to estimate the changes in grassland biomass, chemical and floristic composition and fatty acid composition in milk of cows grazed on Agrostis stolonifera semi-natural wet grassland in the Central region of Montenegro. Investigation was conducted during three phenological phases: early vegetative, optimal vegetative and full reproductive phase. The chemical composition of the grassland biomass was changed through the phenological phases. A significant increase during the experimental period in the content of dry matter and crude fibers and a decrease in crude protein content were determined. The pasture community consisted of 52 species, belonging to 19 families. The total amount of plant species classified as excellent, very good and good quality was 7.69%, while medium quality plants amounted to 13.46%, low quality plants to 19.23%, valueless plants to 34.62% and toxic plants to 25%. The total quality index was 4.166. The highest quality index of this community was in the second phenological phase, then in the third phase the lowest quality was in the first phenological phase. According to the floristic composition and biomass quality, this lowland pasture can be qualified as being of moderate to good quality. The content of milk fat, protein and solid non-fat (SNF) was increased from the first to the third vegetation phase, but the differences between the phases were not significant (p > 0.05). The content of a majority of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) also increased, while the total content of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) was high in the second phase and decreased significantly in the third phase. The content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) was constant in the first two phases, while it significantly decreased in the third phase. The highest content of most of MUFAs and PUFAs was obtained in the second phenological phase. The content of fatty acids in the third phase significantly affected (p < 0.05) by the phenological phase. This research contributes to the improvements in the grazing management of wet grasslands as well as the animal performances (milk yield and quality of milk).

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