Genetic evaluation of wool traits of Kashmir Merino sheep in organized farms

Abstract

The present study was carried on 4174 records of Kashmir Merino breed maintained at Government Sheep Breeding Farms; Kralapathri and Gowbal, Kashmir from 1997 to 2017. The mixed linear model was used for analysis with sire as a random effect and period, gender, farm, type of birth and parity as fixed effects. The averages were 0.77 ± 0.01 kg, 0.83 ± 0.01 kg, 20.41 ± 0.01 μ and 3.96 ± 0.02 cm for greasy fleece yield of first clip (GFY-1), greasy fleece yield of second clip (GFY-2), fiber diameter (FD) and staple length (SL). Highest and lowest CVs (%) were observed for GFY-2 (33.73%) and FD (2.26%), respectively. The least-squares means were 0.82 ± 0.05 kg, 0.80 ± 0.05 kg, and 3.86 ± 0.14 cm and 20.33 ± 0.05 μ for GFY-1, GFY-2, SL and FD, respectively. The sire and period of birth had significant effects while effect of birth type and dam’s parity was non-significant for all traits. The effects of sex and farm were significant on wool quality and yield traits, respectively. Heritability estimates were 0.61 ± 0.08, 0.47 ± 0.04, 0.23 ± 0.04, and 0.66 ± 0.10 for GFY-1, GFY-2, FD and SL, respectively. The results indicate that there is adequate genetic variability within the breed which can be used for further improvement of this breed.