Breeding for reproduction traits in context of multiplication herds efficiency in swine

Abstract

HUMPOLÍČEK PETR, TVRDOŇ ZDENĚK, URBAN TOMÁŠ: Breeding for reproduction traits in context of multiplication herds effi ciency in swine. Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, 2013, LXI, No. 3, pp. 647-650 Presented study is a follow-up to the studies focused on eff ect of diff erent selection pressure applied on two subpopulations of purebred Czech Large White sows on performance in multiplication herds. Higher selection pressure particularly on litter size and number of function nipples, while lower pressure on growth performance was applied in one population. About 1214 farrows of 393 F1 Czech Large White sows were included into statistical evaluation. The mixed linear models using the procedure REML in SAS for Windows 9.1.2. was used. The hypothesis that progeny of sows from hyper-prolifi c subpopulation breed in multiplier herds have diff erent performance was not confi rmed which is in contrast to previous studies. This non-homogeneity can be related to non-additive genetic eff ects which are caused by crossbreeding while selection methods are based on additive models. selection, crossbreeding, reproductionIn swine, the selection criteria and breeding methods are mainly focused on the purebred populations in breeding herds but the focus on economic effi ciency of multiplier herds are insuffi cient if we consider profi t in swine industry.

The Effect of the Size of the Litter in Which the Sow Was Born on Her Lifetime Productivity

“…Humpoliček et al [ 18 ], Ptak [ 19 ], and Rekiel et al [ 24 ] determined the effect of various dam effects on the reproductive performance of the sows. It appears that when improving reproductive traits, the size of the litter [ 19 , 23 ] and predominant sex of the litter in which the sow was born should be taken into account [ 22 , 23 ].…”

“…Moreover, it was established that selection based on phenotypic traits does not imply that breeding progress is made. Therefore, in an effort to improve reproductive traits in pigs, other available sources of information, notably dam effects, began to be used [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ].…”

“…Jarczyk et al [ 17 ] demonstrated that daughter fertility was positively affected by dam fertility, in particular by the weight of litter in which the dam was born. Inconsistent results were obtained in the studies of dam effects that accounted for the effect of size of the litter of origin and/or predominant sex of the litter in which the sow was born on reproductive traits [ 18 , 19 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ], which suggests the need for further research. The analyses performed in the 1980s by Jarczyk and van der Steen [ 26 ] show that the best reproductive performance is achieved by the sows from litters of intermediate size (about 10.5), while the low birth weight of the piglets and high fertility of mothers reduces fertility in the daughters.…”