Abstract

The aim of this experiment is to investigate the effect of crossbreeding pure breeds on reproductive traits and the effective costs in pigs. The study was conducted on 21,431 records concerning the reproductive traits of 4 pure breeds Large Yorkshire (LY), Swedish Landrace (SL), Duroc (D), and Hampshire (H) and their reciprocal F₁ crosses. Data processing method was by the least squares for testing in animal. The improvement of reproductive traits by crossing pure breeds was shown in the results. The improvements were more pronounced in the Three ways crossing and Back way crossing. By using the crossing breeds, the number of live births and weaned piglets increased while the number of stillborn piglets decreased compared to pure breeds. It can be seen that, there are differences in terms of fertility between pure breeds which can be successfully used by crossing selected (specialized) or breed lines. Heterosis effect was manifested in reproductive traits, depending on the choice of crossing scheme involving one of 3 types of heterosis and breed selection for cross.

Key words: Pigs, sows, litter size, heterosis.