Heritabilites, genetic and phenotypic correlations were estimated for carcass and primal cut quality traits in 1118 commercial crossbred pigs (498 females and 620 males). A total of 22 traits, including loin, shoulder, ham and belly traits, were evaluated. Heritability estimates (±SE) for carcass traits ranged from 0.46 ± 0.09 for butt fat % to 0.55 ± 0.08 for belly fat. Heritability estimates for primal cut quality traits ranged from 0.22 ± 0.07 for belly seam to 0.55 ± 0.07 for iodine value (IV) and saturated fat % (SFA). Generally, moderate to strong high genetic correlations were found among carcass traits (from 0.44 ± 0.11 between backfat depth and intramuscular fat to 0.96 ± 0.01 between butt fat and total fat). The genetic correlations estimated between primal quality traits were low to high (from -0.10 ± 0.35 between belly seam and belly subcutaneous thickness to -0.96 ± 0.01 for SFA and IV). The results from this study show potential for significant improvement of primal quality traits through conventional breeding methods and genomic selection, further enhancing breeding programs and product quality.
Keywords: Belly; Correlation; Ham; Heritability; Loin; Shoulder; Swine.
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