THE EFFECT OF SEASON ON SEMEN PARAMETERS IN POLISH LANDRACE AND POLISH LARGE WHITE BOARS AND PHENOTYPIC CORRELATIONS BETWEEN SEMEN CHARACTERISTICS IN DIFFERENT SEASONS

A. Apostolov, B. Szostak, Ł. Przykaza

Abstract: The study evaluated ejaculates of Polish Landrace and Polish Large White boars and the effect of the season of the year on the qualitative and quantitative parameters of the semen of these boars. Phenotypic correlations between semen characteristics in different seasons were estimated as well. The analysis included 2028 ejaculates collected manually from 2-year-old boars at intervals of 3-4 days. The following traits were analysed: ejaculate volume (ml), sperm concentration (1000/mm3), live sperm count (in billions) and the number of insemination doses obtained per ejaculate. No significant differences between
breeds were observed in the semen traits of the Polish Landrace and Polish Large White boars, but the season of the year had a significant impact in both breeds. The greatest volume was noted for the ejaculates collected in the spring in the case of the Polish Large White boars, and in the winter in the Polish Landrace boars. The highest live sperm count was recorded in the ejaculates collected in the autumn and winter. In the summer the ejaculate volume decreased substantially, and with it the sperm count, which adversely affected the number of insemination doses obtained per ejaculate. The phenotypic correlations between sperm traits were not significantly influenced by season, with the exception of ejaculate volume and sperm concentration, which were most strongly correlated in the winter and least in the spring.

Keywords: boars; correlations; ejaculates; seasons

Date published: 2017-09-20