B. SZOSTAK1 and A. APOSTOLOV2
1 University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Faculty of Agricultural Science, 22-400 Zamość, Poland
2 Agricultural Institute, BG - 9700 Shumen, Bulgaria
SZOSTAK, B. and A. APOSTOLOV, 2014. Morphometric characteristics of the ovaries of gilts depending on their growth rate and body weight at slaughter. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 20: 699-702
The aim of the study was to determine the effect of lifetime daily weight gain and body weight at slaughter on the size of ovaries in gilts. The study was carried out on 105 gilts that were crossbred from Polish White Landrace sows and Polish Large White boars and raised on breeding farms. The gilts were divided into three groups according to their growth rate: I – gilts with lifetime daily weight gain of 400-500 g; II – 501-600 g; and III – 601-700 g. To determine the effect of body weight at slaughter on the condition of the ovaries and on the number of corpora lutea on the ovaries, the gilts were divided into four groups: I – 80-90 kg; II – 91-100 kg; III – 101-110 kg; and IV – 111-120 kg. The growth rate of the gilts, measured as lifetime daily weight gain, was found to significantly affect the development of the ovaries (dimensions and weight). The largest parameters were noted for the ovaries of gilts with daily weight gain in the 400-500 g range. The weight of the gilt at slaughter significantly influenced the weight of the ovaries. The greatest ovary weight was observed in the gilts from the 111-120 kg weight group.