Analysis of the Correlation Between Phenotypic and Seminal Characteristics in Bos indicus Breeding Bulls

In the cattle context of Casanare, where access to technologies to evaluate seminal quality is limited, it would be beneficial to anticipate the seminal characteristics of bulls based on their physical attributes without resorting to specific and costly methodologies would be beneficial. This could improve herd reproductive efficiency, resulting in increased pregnancy rates and annual calf production. In an experimental study with 238 bulls, we measured various physical and seminal characteristics. We used Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to analyze the relationships between these characteristics. Our findings indicate that 57.1 % of the bulls were classified as very good, while 7.6 % were considered poor quality. The bulls had an average age of 5.5 years. Their semen motility and vitality were both 76% on average, and their average sperm concentration was 610 million. Strong negative correlations were found between libido, erection, protrusion, ejaculation and ejaculation type with seminal characteristics such as volume, lumps, motility, vitality and sperm concentration. Furthermore, there is a positive correlation between sperm concentration and scrotal circumference (SC), suggesting that an increase in SC may lead to an increase in sperm concentration. These correlations provide valuable information for selecting breeders and improving reproductive programs on livestock farms in Colombia, particularly in the case of cattle breeding.

• Fecha de publicación: 2023
• Institución: Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia
• Repositorio: RiUPTC: Repositorio Institucional UPTC
• Idioma: spa
• OAI Identifier: oai:repositorio.uptc.edu.co:001/10717
• Acceso en línea: https://revistas.uptc.edu.co/index.php/ciencia_agricultura/article/view/16776; https://repositorio.uptc.edu.co/handle/001/10717
• Palabra clave: sperm quality; reproductive efficiency; potential fertility; breeder; calidad espermática; eficiencia reproductiva; fertilidad potencial; reproductor
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0