HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Foote, R. H. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Foote, R. H.

Estimation of Total Solids in Bull Seminal Plasma by Refractometry^1,2,

Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

Abstract

About 0.05 ml of semen was required to fill a microhematocrit tube and obtain enough seminal plasma to estimate total solids by refractometry. Repeatability of the method, based on duplicate subsamples from 140 ejaculates, was 0.999. The correlation between refractometer readings and dry matter determinations on 21 samples was 0.997. Bull differences were highly significant (P<.005), and pairs of first and pairs of second ejaculates from 19 bulls were highly correlated, r=0.71 and 0.73, respectively. Total solids in seminal plasma from 112 Holstein bulls less than 6 years of age was higher than for 34 older bulls (P<.005). Overall averages for 206, 4, 27, 11 and 20 semen samples collected with an artificial vagina from Holstein, Guernsey, Jersey, Brown Swiss and Angus bulls, respectively were 9.6, 9.5, 8.8, 10.0 and 9.6 g of solids per 100 g of plasma. Semen obtained by electroejaculation was consistently lower in solids.

¹ Department of Animal Science.

² The author is grateful to Eastern Artificial Insemination Cooperative, Inc. for a grant and for the supply of semen, to the American Optical Company for the use of the TS meter, and to Mrs. Jean Ames, Mrs. Esther MacKay and G. Seidel, Jr. for technical assistance.