Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXII, Issue 1
Written by Vasile MACIUC, Răzvan Mihail RADU-RUSU, Cristian Eugen POPESCU, Gherasim NACU, Gabriel Vasile HOHA
This paper aimed to assess the improvement of beef production using industrial crossbreeding. The research was conducted on 101 individuals allotted in four groups, L1-Romanian Spotted cattle (RS) – control 1; L2 Limousine (L) x Romanian Spotted cattle; L3-Romania Black and White cattle (RBW) – control 2 and L4-Limousine x Romanian Black and White cattle. Body development of half-bloods from experimental groups was higher than the maternal breeds, showing pronounced aptitudes for beef production, especially in L x RS cross, which performed a body weight by 18 months old of 689.37 kg (+14.36% compared to maternal breed). An obvious improvement of beef yield was registered also in L x RBW group (603.13 kg live weight at 18 months old, +15.38% vs. the maternal breed). BS x L half-bloods had an average daily gain above 975 g, fitting into the beef morphological type. In the study, we found a good ability of body development for half-bloods and a pronounced heterosis effect compared to maternal races.
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