Dissecting the relationship between artificial insemination success and bull semen quality in the arid region of Tiaret (Algeria)

Abstract

Despite being subject to prior assortment, frozen bull sperms commercialized for artificial insemination may present certain morphological defects. The present study aims (i) to assess the artificial insemination success of the most common cattle breeds in Algeria and (ii) to evaluate the possible effects of commercialized bull’s semen quality on this operation. Artificial insemination was assessed through four years of field monitoring by inseminating different cattle breeds of normal fertility. However, semen quality was evaluated using light microscopy by measuring viability, motility, and morphological abnormalities of spermatozoa. Field study revealed a high percentage of normal calving in red and white Holstein breed (44.83 %) against the high percentage of embryonic mortality (46.43 %) and calving with a malformation (10.71 %) in Montbéliarde breed. Semen quality assessment revealed that sperm viability and motility were higher in Holstein breeds than in Montbéliarde. Furthermore, significant differences between semen bulls were found in the proportion of abnormal spermatozoa; a higher rate of sperms with the abnormal head was observed in the black and white Holstein breed (69.3±10.98 %). However, the percentage of abnormal sperms with tail defects was higher in the Montbéliarde breed (67.5±10.74 %). The lousy quality of the selected semen and/or the poor handling and storage of frozen semen constitute a determinant factor that hinders the success of artificial insemination in the arid region of Tiaret (Algeria).