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Periodic Rotational Crosses. II. Optimizing Breed and Heterosis Use

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Clay Center, NE 68933

Abstract

Choice of the optimal number and sequence of breeds in a periodic cross was determined by comparing the trade-off between increased utilization of breed differences and decreased utilization of heterosis. It was shown that the change in mean efficiency resulting from adding the next best breed to the best conventional n-breed rotation is always less than the change in efficiency predicted from the increase in heterosis. Periodic rotations were generally optimized by decreasing the proportion of poorer performing breeds in the rotation. However, efficiency of periodic rotations can exceed that of the better breed even when the difference in additive breed effects for efficiency is almost twice the effect of heterosis on efficiency. The periodic rotation that was optimal also tended to have the lowest inter-generational variance. It was suggested that inter-generational variances of component traits, which are not necessarily minimized when crosses are selected on a combined efficiency trait, can be considered by including inter-generational variance in an index or by introducing maximum thresholds.

¹ Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Anim. Res. Center, ARS, USDA, Clay Center, NE.