Genetic evaluation of reproductive traits in Holstein cows of Mahdasht Milk and Meat Company in Mazandaran province

Document Type : Full Research Paper

Authors

1 Faculty of Animal Science and Fisheries, Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University, Sari, Iran

2 Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Animal Science and Fisheries, Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University, Sari, Iran

Abstract

The aim of this study was to estimate the (Co) variance components and genetic correlations of reproductive traits in Holstein cows in Mazandaran province. For this purpose, records related to the age at first calving(AFC), calving interval (CI), dry period (DP), open days (OD) and number of days between calving and first insemination (DFS) were collected. Pedigree data were edited using CFC software and variance-covariance components and genetic parameters of reproductive traits were estimated in the form of univariate animal model with restricted maximum likelihood method using wombat software. Heritabilities of reproductive trait were calculated in this study as 0.18, 0.17, 0.16, 0.08 and 0.12 for AFC, CI, OD, DFS and DP, respectively. Phenotypic and genotypic correlations were estimated positive between all reproductive traits. Genetic correlation between reproductive traits ranged from 0.62 (calving to first insemination length - dry period) to 0.94 (open days - calving interval).The low heritability of these traits indicates that phenotypic selection will not lead to an optimal response to selection and the use of breeding values and genetic evaluation using pedigree information is recommended for animal genetic evaluation.

Keywords


1- Abe, H., Masuda, Y., Suzuki, M. (2009). Relationships between reproductive traits of heifers and cows and yield traits for Holsteins in Japan. Journal of Dairy Science, 92(8): 4055-4062.
2- Bayram, B., Yanar, M., Akbulut, O. (2009). The effect of average daily gain and age at first calving on reproductive and milk production traits of Brown Swiss and Holstein Friesian cattle. Bulgarian journal of agricultural science, 15(5): 453-462.
3- Campos, M.S., Wilcox, C.J., Becerril, C.M., Diz, A. (1994). Genetic Parameters for Yield and Reproductive Traits of Holstein and Jersey Cattle in Florida1. Journal of Dairy Science, 77(3): 867-873.
4- Campos, M.S., Wilcox, C.J., Becerril, C.M., Diz, A. (1994). Genetic Parameters for Yield and Reproductive Traits of Holstein and Jersey Cattle In Florida1. Journal of Dairy Science, 77(3): 867-873.
5- Chawala, A.R., Banos, G., Komwihangilo, D.M., Peters, A., Chagunda, M.G.G. (2017). Phenotypic and genetic parameters for selected production and reproduction traits of Mpwapwa cattle in low-input production systems. South African Journal of Animal Science, 47(3): 307-319.
6- Cole, J. B.,  Null, D. J. (2010). Age at first calving in Holstein cattle in the United States. Journal of dairy science, 93, 594.
7- De Vries, A. (2006). Determinants of the cost of days open in dairy cattle. In proceedings of the 11th international symposium on veterinary epidemiology and economics (pp. 19-20).
8- Dematawewa, C.M.B., Berger, P. J. (1998). Genetic and Phenotypic Parameters for 305-Day Yield, Fertility, and Survival in Holsteins1. Journal of dairy science, 81(10): 2700-2709.
9- Duplessis, M., Cue, R.I., Santschi, D.E., Lefebvre, D.M.,  Lacroix, R. (2015). Weight, height, and relative-reliability indicators as a management tool for reducing age at first breeding and calving of dairy heifers. Journal of dairy science, 98(3): 2063-2073.
10- Eastham, N.T., Coates, A., Cripps, P., Richardson, H., Smith, R., Oikonomou, G. (2018). Associations between age at first calving and subsequent lactation performance in UK Holstein and Holstein-Friesian dairy cows. PLoS One. 13(6): e0197764
11- Faraji‐Arough, H., Aslaminejad, A. A.,  Farhangfar, H. (2011). Estimation of genetic parameters and trends for age at first calving and calving interval in Iranian Holstein cows. Journal of Research in Agricultural Science, 7(1): 79–87.
12- Gara, A. B., Rekik, B., Bouallègue, M. (2006). Genetic parameters and evaluation of the Tunisian dairy cattle population for milk yield by Bayesian and BLUP analyses. Livestock Science, 100(2-3): 142-149.
13- Hare, E.H.D.N., Norman, H.D., Wright, J.R. (2006). Trends in calving ages and calving intervals for dairy cattle breeds in the United States. Journal of dairy science, 89(1), 365-370.
14- Haworth, G.M., Tranter, W.P., Chuck, J.N., Cheng, Z., Wathes, D.C. (2008). Relationships between age at first calving and first lactation milk yield, and lifetime productivity and longevity in dairy cows. Veterinary Record, 162(20): 643-647.
15- Heise, J., Stock, K.F., Reinhardt, F., Ha, N.T., Simianer, H. (2018). Phenotypic and genetic relationships between age at first calving, its component traits, and survival of heifers up to second calving. Journal of dairy science, 101(1): 425-432.
16- Hermiz, H.N., Juma, K.H., Saadi, S.K., Aldoori, T.S. (2005). Genetic parameters of production, reproduction and growth traits of Holstein cows. Dirasat Agricultural Sciences 2005; 32:157–62.
17- Jordan, E.R., (2000). Intraction Genetics and Reproduction. West virginiaUniversity. Dairy in targeted productive management.
18- Krpalkova, L., Cabrera, V.E., Vacek, M., Štipkova, M., Stadnik, L., Crump, P. (2014). Effect of prepubertal and postpubertal growth and age at first calving on production and reproduction traits during the first 3 lactations in Holstein dairy cattle. Journal of dairy science, 97(5): 3017-3027.
19- Meyer, K., 2007. WOMBAT: A tool for mixed model analyses in quantitative genetics by REML. Journal of Zhejiang University Science, B 8: 815–821.
20- Moore, R.K., Kennedy, B.W., Schaeffer, L. R., Moxley, J.E. (1990). Relationships between reproduction traits, age and body weight at calving, and days dry in first lactation Ayrshires and Holsteins. Journal of dairy science, 73(3): 835-842.
21- Nafez, M., Zerehdaran , S., Hassani, H., Samiei, R. (2012). Genetic Evaluation of Productive and Reproductive Traits of Holstein Dairy Cows in the North of Iran. Iranian Journal of Animal Science Research. 4: 69-77. (in Farsi)
22- Nilforooshan, M. A., Edriss, M.A. (2004). Effect of age at first calving on some productive and longevity traits in Iranian Holsteins of the Isfahan Province. Journal of dairy science, 87(7): 2130-2135.
23- Nosrati, M., Tahmorespour, M. (2011). Genetic And Trend Evaluation Of Productive And Reproductive Traits Of Dairy Cattle In Razavi Khorasan Province By Using Multivariate Analysis. Iranian Journal of Animal Science Research, 3(3): 280-286. 
24- Ojango, J. M., Pollott, G. E. (2001). Genetics of milk yield and fertility traits in Holstein-Friesian cattle on large-scale Kenyan farms. Journal of Animal Science, 79(7), 1742-1750.
25- Roche, J. R., Friggens, N. C., Kay, J. K., Fisher, M. W., Stafford, K. J., Berry, D. P. (2009). Invited review: Body condition score and its association with dairy cow productivity, health, and welfare. Journal of dairy science, 92(12): 5769-5801
26- Şahin, A., Ulutaş, Z., Adkinson, A.Y., Adkinson, R.W. (2014). Genetic parameters of first lactation milk yield and fertility traits in Brown Swiss cattle. Annals of animal science, 14(3): 545-557
27- Salem, M., Esmail, H., Sadek, R. and Nigm, A. 2006. Phenptyipic and genetic parameters of milk production and reproductive performance of Holestein cattle under the intensive production system in Egypt. Egyptian Journal of Animal Production, 43: 1-10.
28- Sargolzaei, M., Iwaisaki, H., Colleau, J.J. (2006): CFC: a tool for monitoring genetic diversity. In: Proc. 8th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 27–28.
29- Sas Institute Inc (2004) ‘SAS Propriety Software Release 9.1 of the SAS System for Microsoft Windows’ (SAS Institute Inc: Cary, USA).
30- Schmidt, P.I., Campos, G.S., Lobo, R.B., Souza, F.R.P., Brauner, C.C., Boligon, A.A. (2018). Genetic analysis of age at first calving, accumulated productivity, stayability and mature weight of Nellore females. Theriogenology, 108: 81-87.
31- Shahdadi, A., Hassani, S., Saghi, D., Ahani Azari, M., Eghbal, A., Rahimi, A. (2014). Estimation of Genetic Parameters Of First Lactation Production and Reproduction Traits In Iranian Holstein Dairy Cows. Journal of Ruminant Research, 1(4): 109-126
32- Zavadilova, L., Štípkova, M. (2013). Effect of age at first calving on longevity and fertility traits for Holstein cattle. Czech Journal of Animal Science, 58(2): 47-57.