Pedigree and field test data -collected between 1994-2005 -were analyzed in a group of 132,548 Hungarian Landrace pigs. The analysed traits were average daily gain (ADG) and lean meat percentage (LMP). In the present study inbreeding coefficients, pedigree completeness (complete generation equivalents) and inbreeding depression for ADG and LMP were estimated. Increasing the number of generations that were considered in the pedigree the estimated inbreeding coefficients did not change after the 5 th generation, but pedigree completeness was continuously increased. The estimated inbreeding depression for ADG and LMP were different applying 40 different models but the magnitude of the differences was small. The model comparison showed that the models containing litter and year-month effects had the best fit (smallest mean squared error). Increasing the inbreeding coefficient by 10 % decreased ADG by 4.01 g and practically did not affect LMP (0.003 %). It can be concluded that the estimated inbreeding depression was small and substantial depression can not be expected in the near future. However, the low level of inbreeding of the studied population can partly be explained by the short pedigrees. This suggests that Hungarian pig breeders may often import breeding animals or carry out herd replacements rather than applying continuous within group selection.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of rectal temperature (RT) as well as artificial insemination (AI) technique on pregnancy rates in Holstein cows and artificial insemination or embryo transfer (ET) techniques in Holstein heifers during summer. The experiments were conducted on five dairy farms in Hungary, where 1 631 data were examined. The RT was measured immediately before reproductive techniques using a digital thermometer. The effects of animal group and month on RT were analysed. The enhancement of RT until September can be seen in heifers, but the highest RT of cows occurred during July. In line with the enhancement of RT the pregnancy rate decreased in all groups; the lowest (cows) and the highest (heifers) value was observed in July. Moderate to high negative coefficients of correlation were detected between rectal temperature and pregnancy rate for particular groups (r = −0.3 – −0.7). More than 92% of ET, 48% and 16% of inseminated heifers and cows were pregnant up to the category of 39.1°C of RT, above this it did not change considerably in the inseminated groups. In inseminated animals with RT higher than 39.1 °C significantly higher services per conception could be observed contrary to ET heifers. ET may become a more effective strategy to improve pregnancy success in heifers compared to AI during summer.

Authors analysed the days of fattening in relation to the station test for Hungarian Large White and Hungarian Landrace pig populations using, survival analysis. Survival and hazard functions were calculated in both groups separately for castrates and females. The log-rank test was applied to determine the significance of the differences across the groups. Authors established that within the breeds the functions of the castrates and females were significantly different, namely the castrates reached final weight sooner or, in cases where final weight was not reached by a certain period, castrates reached this weight during the next time unit with a higher probability than the females.