Abstract

CARDONA-CIFUENTES, Daniel; LONDONO-GIL, Marisol  and  ECHEVERRI-ZULUAGA, José Julián. Comparative evaluation of productive parameters Blanco-Orejinegro x Holstein cattle crosses. Corpoica cienc. tecnol. agropecu. [online]. 2017, vol.18, n.3, pp.513-527. ISSN 0122-8706.  https://doi.org/10.21930/rcta.vol18_num3_art:741.

In dairy cattle systems of the high tropics in the department of Antioquia, Colombia, the use of the Holstein breed has allowed to obtain higher milk yields. But the implementation of crosses with creole breeds appears as an option to introduce genes that provide adaptability to herd animals. The aim of this study was to compare productive parameters between Holstein and their crosses with the Blanco- Orejinegro creole breed in different proportions of both races. Hundred and twenty-five lactations of 48 cows from a herd in Antioquia were used.

Mixed models of repeated measures were adjusted including fixed effects of birth number, genetic group and contemporary group. Linear regression models were used to evaluate the effect of the percentage of the creole race on production parameters. The genetic group had a significant effect on peak production, total production and production at day 150. Pure Holstein showed a higher performance than crossed animals in milk production (x=6,853.48 L), in peak production (x=34.65 L) and in day 150 production (x= 19.97 L). The linear regression analysis showed a slight tendency for productivity to decrease as the pro- portion of Blanco-Orejinegro increases. Although the use of crossbred animals in specialized dairy systems can reduce productive parameters in the herd, it can also allow the introduction of genes that contribute to adaptation to the environment and to diseases resistance.

Keywords : Adaptability; Dairy cattle; Milk production; Crossbreeding; Milk performance; Land races.

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