Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-m8qmq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-20T05:27:38.124Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Comparison of Duroc and British Landrace pigs and the estimation of genetic and phenotypic parameters for growth and carcass traits

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

N. D. Cameron
Affiliation:
AFRC Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics Research, Edinburgh Research Station, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JQ
Get access

Abstract

Duroc and halothane negative British Landrace boars and gilts were performance tested on ad libitum or restricted feeding regimes, with like-sexed non-littermate groups of one, two, three or four pigs per pen. There was a total of 320 pigs with 20 litter groups per breed with four boars and four gilts per litter group. Within each feeding regime, a boar and a gilt from each litter were tested on one of two diets in 1986, for each of the four combinations, and pigs were tested similarly for two other diets in 1987. Carcass composition was determined by half-carcass dissection of 160 pigs allocated between treatments.

There was a breed × sex interaction for growth and performance traits for pigs fed ad libitum. Duroc boars were faster growing and more efficient than Landrace boars, but Duroc gilts grew more slowly and were less efficient than Landrace gilts. On restricted feeding, Duroc pigs were more efficient than Landrace pigs.

At constant slaughter weight, Duroc pigs had less subcutaneous fat but more intermuscular fat. Although they had less separable fat in the carcass, Duroc pigs were not leaner as weights of bone, skin, head, feet and tail were heavier than for Landrace pigs.

Group penning and group feeding of pigs may have enhanced competition effects resulting in positive genetic and phenotypic correlations between growth rate and backfat depths on both feeding regimes.

The positive genetic correlation between growth rate and fat deposition resulted in a negative genetic correlation between growth rate and carcass lean content and a lower genetic correlation with lean tissue growth rate than in other studies.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Barton-gade, P. A. 1988. The effect of breed on meat quality characteristics in pigs. 34th International Congress of Meat Science and Technology, Brisbane, Australia, pp. 568570.Google Scholar
Brascamp, E. W., Cöp, W. A. G. and Buiting, G. A. J. 1979. Evaluation of six lines of pigs for crossing. 1. Reproduction and fattening in pure breeding. Zietschrift fur Tierzüchtung und Züchtungsbiologie 96: 160169.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cameron, N. D., Curran, M. K. and Thompson, R. 1988. Estimation of sire with feeding regime interaction in pigs. Animal Production 46: 8795.Google Scholar
Cuthbertson, A. 1968. PIDA dissection techniques. Proceeding of the Symposium on Methods of Carcass Evaluation, European Association for Animal Production, Dublin.Google Scholar
Diestre, A. and Kempster, A. J. 1985. The estimation of pig carcass composition from different measurements with special reference to classification and grading. Animal Production 41: 383391.Google Scholar
Edwards, S. A., Wood, J. D., Moncrieff, C. B., Porter, S. J. and Whitehouse, J. M. 1988. The effect of breed and diet on pig carcass quality. Animal Production 46: 503 (Abstr.).Google Scholar
Essien, J. W. K. 1987. Studies on the genetics of behaviour and performance traits in pigs. M.Phil.Thesis, University of Edinburgh.Google Scholar
Evans, D. G. and Kempster, A. J. 1979. A comparison of different predictors of the lean content of pig carcasses. 2. Predictors for use in population studies and experiments. Animal Production 28: 97108.Google Scholar
Falconer, D. S. 1981. Introduction to Quantitative Genetics. 2nd ed.Longman, London.Google Scholar
Fowler, V. R., Bichard, M. and Pease, A. 1976. Objectives in pig breeding. Animal Production 23: 365387.Google Scholar
Johansson, K., Andersson, K. and Lundeheim, N. 1987. Evaluation of station testing of pigs. 1. Genetic parameters for feed measurements and selection effects on voluntary food intake. Ada Agriculturae Scandinavica 37: 93107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kempster, A. J., Dilworth, A. W., Evans, D. G. and Fisher, K. D. 1986. The effects of fat thickness and sex on pig meat quality with special reference to the problems associated with overleanness. 1. Butcher and consumer panel results. Animal Production 43: 517533.Google Scholar
Lundeheim, N., Johansson, K. and Andersson, K. 1980. Estimated phenotypic and genetic parameters based on data from Swedish pig progeny testing stations. Ada Agriculturae Scandinavica 30: 183188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lundstrom, K. 1975. Genetic parameters estimated on data from the Swedish pig progeny testing with special emphasis on meat colour. Swedish Journal of Agricultural Research 5: 209221.Google Scholar
McGloughlin, P., Allen, P., Tarrant, P. V., Joseph, R. L., Lynch, P. B. and Hanrahan, T. J. 1988. Growth and carcass quality of crossbred pigs sired by Duroc, Landrace and Large White boars. Livestock Production Science 18: 275288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McPhee, C. P., Rathmell, G. A., Daniels, L. J. and Cameron, N. D. 1988. Selection in pigs for increased lean growth rate on a time-based feeding scale. Animal Production 47: 149156.Google Scholar
Merks, J. W. M. 1986. Genotype × environment interactions in pig breeding programmes. 1. Central test. Livestock Production Science 14: 365381.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer, K. 1985. Maximum likelihood estimation of variance components for a multivariate mixed model with equal design matrices. Biometrics 41: 153165.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Quaas, R. L. and Pollak, E. J. 1980. Mixed model methodology for farm and ranch beef cattle testing programs. Journal of Animal Science 51: 12771287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, D. J. and Curran, M. K. 1981. A comparison of ‘on-farm’ and station testing in pigs. Animal Production 33: 291297.Google Scholar
Simpson, S. P., Webb, A. J. and Dick, S. 1987. Evaluation of Large White and Duroc boars as terminal sires under two different feeding regimes. Animal Production 45: 111116.Google Scholar
Simpson, S. P., Webb, A. J. and Wilmut, I. 1986. Performance of British Landrace pigs selected for high and low incidence of halothane sensitivity. 1. Reproduction. Animal Production 43: 485492.Google Scholar
Smith, C., King, J. W. B. and Gilbert, N. 1962. Genetic parameters of British Large White bacon pigs. Animal Production 4: 128143.Google Scholar
Smith, W. C. and Pearson, G. 1986. Comparative voluntary feed intakes, growth performance, carcass composition, and meat quality of Large White, Landrace and Duroc pigs. New Zealand Journal of Experimental Agriculture 14: 4350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Standal, N. 1977. Studies on breeding and selection schemes in pigs. VI. Correlation between breeding values estimated from station test and on-farm-test data. Ada Agriculturae Scandinavica 27: 138144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webb, A. J., Carden, A. E., Smith, C. and Imlah, P. 1982. Porcine stress syndrome in pig breeding. Proceeding of the 2nd World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production, Madrid, Vol. 5, pp. 588608. Editorial Garsi, Madrid.Google Scholar
Webb, A. J. and Simpson, S. P. 1986. Performance of British Landrace pigs selected for high and low incidence of halothane sensitivity. 2. Growth and carcass traits. Animal Production 43: 493503.Google Scholar
Webster, J. F. 1977. Selection for leanness and the energetic efficiency of growth in meat animals. Proceeding of the Nutrition Society 36: 5359.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wood, J. D., Jones, R. C. D., Francombe, M. A. and Whelehan, O. P. 1986. The effects of fat thickness and sex on pig meat quality with special reference to the problems associated with overleanness. 2. Laboratory and trained taste panel results. Animal Production 43: 535544.Google Scholar
Wood, J. D., Kempster, A. J., David, P. J. and Bovey, M. 1987. Observations on carcass and meat quality in Duroc, Landrace and Duroc × Landrace pigs. Animal Production 44: 488 (Abstr.).Google Scholar