Genetic, Phenotypic and Environmental Trends for Production and Reproduction Traits in Kashmir Merino Sheep

Abstract

Kashmir Merino is a major synthetic breed of sheep developed in the state of Jammu and Kashmir through crossing cross breeding between 1942-1964 for apparel wool, better growth and adaptability. The aim of the present study was to estimate genetic, phenotypic and environmental trends for the Kashmir Merino sheep for nine performance traits viz: birth weight (BWT), 6 months body weight (6-MWT), yearling body weight (12-MWT), greasy fleece yield of first clip (GFY-1), greasy fleece yield of second clip (GFY-2), fiber diameter (FD), staple length (SL), age at first lambing (AFL) and Inter-lambing period (ILP) so as have an insight into performance of the breed over years. The data on 6300 birth records spread over twenty-one years of Kashmir Merino sheep maintained at Government Sheep Breeding Farm Kralapathri and Government Sheep Breeding Farm Goabal Kashmir was considered for the present study. The BLUP values for BWT, 6-MWT, 12-MWT, GFY-1, GFY-2, FD, SL, AFL and ILP were 3.33±0.07 kg, 18.82±0.18 kg, 21.20±0.27 kg, 0.75±0.01 kg, 0.85±0.02 kg, 21.20±0.21µ, 4.40±0.05 cms, 1098.68±6.28 days and 395.46±7.71 respectively. The genetic trends for BWT, 6-MWT, 12-MWT, GFY-1, GFY-2, FD, SL, AFL and ILP were -0.012 kg/ period, -0.024 kg/ period, 0.190 kg/ period, 0.001 kg/ period, -0.003 kg/ period, 0.024 µ/ period, -0.045 cms/ period, -12.411 days/ period and 2.383 days/ period respectively.. The phenotypic trends were negative for BWT, GFY-2, FD, SL and AFL and 6-MWT, 12MWT, GFY-1 and ILP.