Abstract
Background: Understanding genetic and non-genetic factors that influence the quality and quantity of semen production plays a crucial role in determining the reproductive efficiency and genetic progress within the Sahiwal breed. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of genetic and non-genetic factors on the semen production potential of Sahiwal bulls. Methods: Semen ejaculate data, including volume (VOL), sperm concentration per milliliter (CONC), total sperm count per ejaculate (TS), initial motility (INIT) and post-thaw motility (PT), as well as semen quality traits such as hypo-osmotic swelling test (HOST) and acrosome integrity of frozen semen (AIFS), were obtained from 52 Sahiwal bulls. The data spanned from January 2011 to December 2018 and were collected at BAIF’s frozen semen station in Jind, Haryana, India. To ensure data reliability, observations beyond the mean±4 standard deviations (S.D.) were identified as outliers and subsequently excluded from the study. Two key factors, namely the season of semen collection (winter, summer and monsoon) and the age of bulls at collection (categorized into 12-month intervals ranging from less than 36 months to 156 months), were considered influential factors affecting semen characteristics. To investigate the correlation between bulls (genetic + permanent environmental correlation) and semen parameters, a repeatability animal model was employed, treating the bull as a random effect. The statistical analysis was conducted using WOMBAT software. Result: The findings revealed that the season of semen collection had a highly significant effect (P less than 0.01) on VOL, CONC, TS and PT. However, INIT, HOST and AIFS were not influenced (P greater than 0.05) by the season of collection. Furthermore, age at semen collection significantly affected all semen characteristics. VOL and TS exhibited an increasing trend until 72 to 84 months, followed by a decline until 96 to 108 months.
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