Assessment of Danish Landrace and Yorkshire breed pigs introduced to the Kaluga region

Pig breeding is a modern promising industry capable of ensuring food security of Russia. However, many domestic breeds do not have good productive qualities. This is due to the fact that many pig breeds were bred in a short period of time from 1935 to 1957 in Russia. To solve the problem of improving meat quality, introduced pig breeds have become widely used recently. The article presents the results of the evaluation of Danish Landrace and Yorkshire breeds that have been introduced to the Kaluga Region. Estimated breeding values in the herd, their genetic determination by the estimated breeding values of mothers and fathers were evaluated. The estimated breeding values were determined using the BLUP method in Denmark. It was found that the largest number of pigs had an index from 106 to 110 (σ = 7.56) and the average value of the trait was 104.3 in the entire herd evaluated. The distribution according to estimated breeding value (EBV), which we can call normal, was observed in the sow mothers group and ranged from 70 to 136 (σ = 14.50). 97.7% of pigs of the entire herd fell within the range of ± 3σ. The index distribution among fathers was unstable. The largest number of pigs had a difference in the estimated breeding value of fathers and mothers which ranged from 0 to +20 (n = 182). Yorkshire pigs had a high prolificacy (an average of 17.6 piglets per far-row). It was concluded that Landrace and Yorkshire breed pigs can be bred both as straightbred animals and for producing F1 hybrid pig.