Genetic parameters and litter trait trends of Danish pigs in South Vietnam

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to estimate the genetic parameters and various litter trait trends of Danish pigs in South Vietnam, including the number born alive (NBA), number weaned (NW), and litter weight at the 21st day (LW21). METHODS: Records of 936 Yorkshire sows with 3361 litters and 973 Landrace sows with 3161 litters were used to estimate the variance components, genetic parameters, and trends of NBA, NW, and LW21. The restricted maximum likelihood method was applied using VCE6 software to obtain the variance components and genetic parameters. Thereafter, the best linear unbiased prediction procedure with an animal model was applied using PEST software to estimate the breeding values of the studied traits. RESULTS: The heritability estimates were low, ranging from 0.12 to 0.21 for NBA, 0.03 to 0.04 for NW, and from 0.11 to 0.13 for LW21. The genetic correlation between the NBA and NW was relatively strong in both breeds, at 0.77 and 0.60 for Yorkshire and Landrace, respectively. Similarly, the genetic correlation between the NW and LW21 was considerably stronger in Landrace pigs (0.71) than in Yorkshire pigs (0.48). The estimates of annual genetic progress were 0.0431, 0.0233, and 0.0461 for NBA, NW, and LW21 in Landrace pigs and 0434, 0.0202, and 0.0667 for NBA, NW, and LW21 in Yorkshire pigs, respectively. CONCLUSION: The positive genetic trends estimated for the additive genetic values of the selected traits indicated that the current breeding system has achieved favorable results.