GENETIC AND PHENOTYPIC PARAMETERS OF ON-FARM PERFORMANCE TESTING OF LANDRACE AND LARGE WHITE PIGS FROM A LOCAL BREEDING FARM IN THE PHILIPPINES

Abstract

Restricted maximum likelihood (REML) was used to analyze 6500 on-farm performance test records obtained from a local swine breeding farm from 2014 and 2016, consisting of 2651 Landrace (759 boars; 1912 gilts) and 3829 Large White (1145 boars; 2684 gilts). The high heritability estimates based on paternal half sib correlation for average daily gain, ADG (0.65-0.85 in boars, 0.26-0.37 in gilts), feed conversion ratio, FCR (0.26-0.28), weight at end of test, WtEOT (0.60-0.87 in boars, 0.35-0.43 in gilts), backfat thickness - from shoulder, BFT1 (0.52-0.58 in boars, 0.30-0.51 in gilts), midback, BFT2 (0.450.76 in boars, 0.14-0.38 in gilts), ham, BFT3 (0.32-0.61 in boars, 0.36 for gilts), and their average, AveBFT (0.62-0.77 for boars, 0.36-0.42 for gilts) suggest that local selection for performance test traits in Landrace and Large White pigs may lead to substantial response to selection while the significant genetic correlations among them is expected to bring correlated responses in the other traits. Significant phenotypic correlations among performance test traits (except FCR) were positively correlated with each other, ranging from 0.39 to 0.96. FCR was negatively correlated to other boar performance test traits, ranging from -0.32 to -0.83. Significant genetic correlations varied considerably among performance test traits.