Estimation of genetic parameters for fertility traits in Chinese Holstein of south China

Abstract

Introduction: Chinese Holstein in South China suffer heat stress for a long period, which leads to evolutionary differences from Chinese Holstein in North China. The aim of this study was to estimate the genetic parameters of fertility traits for Chinese Holstein in South China.Methods: A total of 167,840 Chinese Holstein heifers and cows from Guangming Animal Husbandry Co., LTD farms were used in this study. The fertility traits analyzed were calving interval (CI), days open (DO), age of first service (AFS), age of first calving (AFC), calving to first insemination (CTFS), first insemination to conception (FSTC), gestation length (GL), non-return rate to 56 days (NRR), and number of services (NS).Results: The descriptive statistics revealed that the same trait in heifers performed better than in cows, which was consistent with the other studies. The heritabilities of fertility traits in this study ranged from close to 0 (for NS of cows) to 0.2474 (for AFC of heifers). The genetic correlation of NRR between heifers and cows was 0.9993, which indicates that the NRR for heifers and cows could be treated as one trait in this population.Conclusion: The heritabilities of fertility traits in Chinese Holstein in south China were quite different from the heritabilities of fertility traits in North China. NRR56, NS, AFC, and CI were suggested to be included into the selection index to improve fertility performance of Chinsese Holstein of south China. The results of this study could provide genetic parameters for the animal breeding program of Chinese Holstein in the south of China.