Partition of genetic trend for daily gain by sex in Landrace, Large White, Pietrain, and Duroc pigs

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyse the efficienncy of genetic improvement of pigs for average daily gain (ADG) in a conventional pig breeding programme in Croatia for Landrace (L), Large White (LW), Pietrain (P), and Duroc (D) breeds. Phenotype data was available for 30 210 L pigs, 11 657 LW pigs, 3653 P pigs, and 549 D pigs born between 1998 and 2017. Pedigree information contained information about sex of each animal. This information was used to partition genetic trends by sex. Breeding values were estimated using animal model. The estimated genetic trends in L and P breeds were favourable and different from zero at the end of the analysed period. The genetic trend did not show remarkable improvement in analysed period in LW and D breeds. The relative contribution of male animals was 57% in L, 51% in LW, 70% in P, and 50% in D breed. The analyses suggest that breeding activities and selection decisions involving the choice of the animals should be re-evaluated in LW and D breeds

Keywords

• average daily gain
• genetic trend
• partition
• pigs
• sex