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UDC 636.4.082

Received: May 12, 2026

Revised: May 20, 2026

Published: May 29, 2026

This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license

 

The paper presents the results of studies on the reproductive performance of French-line Large White sows using novel index selection methods. The research was conducted at the pedigree breeding farm for Large White pigs of LLC “Agroprime Holding” (Odesa Region, Ukraine) and at the Laboratory of Pig Breeding and Selection of the Institute of Pig Breeding and Agro-Industrial Production of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine during 2024–2025.

It was established that French-line Large White sows are characterized by high reproductive performance. The litter size averaged 12.4 piglets (CV = 13.71%), the number of piglets at weaning at 28 days of age was 11.6 piglets (CV = 8.58%), litter weight at weaning at 28 days of age was 89.8 kg (CV = 10.55%), litter weight at weaning at 60 days of age was 237.6 kg (CV = 10.35%), and piglet survival rate to weaning at 28 days of age was 92.1 ± 0.45%. The Yu. D. Shatalina Index (I) was 74.83 points (CV = 9.89%), while the Selection Index of Reproductive Qualities of Sows (SIRQS) was 103.38 points (CV = 12.46%).

A significant difference among animals of different intrabreed differentiation groups according to the Yu. D. Shatalina Index (I) and the Selection Index of Reproductive Qualities of Sows (SIRQS) (Groups I, II, and III) was found for litter size, the number of piglets at weaning at 28 days of age, and litter weight at weaning at 28 and 60 days of age. The difference between animals of the specified groups according to the Yu. D. Shatalina Index amounted to 8.94 (td = 8.67) and 18.21 points (td = 15.97). In contrast, according to the Selection Index of Reproductive Qualities of Sows (SIRQS) it was 14.51 (td = 7.75) and 31.78 points (td = 14.577), respectively.

The pairwise correlation coefficients between the Yu. D. Shatalina Index, the Selection Index of Reproductive Qualities of Sows (SIRQS), and reproductive traits in French-line Large White sows were highly significant. They ranged from –0.805 (tr = 14.45) to +0.992 (tr = 393.41).

The criterion for selecting highly productive sows within the monitored population is a Yu. D. Shatalina Index value ranging from 80.02 to 89.84 points, while for the Selection Index of Reproductive Qualities of Sows (SIRQS), the corresponding range is 112.16 to 129.63 points.

 

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