EFFECT OF SELECTION PRESSURE ON FIXING THE QUALITATIVE FEATURES OF LAMB PELTS OF KARAKUL TYPE

This paper describes comparative aspects of the qualitative features of lamb pelts in two populations of lambs belonging to two farm types of Karakul sheep: elite farm within the R-DSSGB and private farm within the SGBA "MOLDOOVIS" Botosani. The qualitative analysis of lamb pelts by the complex (multifactorial) estimation method revealed the morphological and production superiority of individuals from elite farm compared to those from private farm concerning their distribution in zootechnical (breeding) classes. In the elite farm three quarters of lambs are in Record class and a quarter of them belong to Elite class; the presence of individuals in I-st class is sporadic. In contrast, in the private farm, half of individuals fall within the Elite class and only a third of them are in the Record class; the lambs belonging to Ist class have a relatively high frequency. Differences between the two farms regarding the lamb pelt quality have statistical assurance validated by high value of the test χ 2 (253.39***). The differences between the two types of farms, in this respect, would be caused by the accuracy of selection system and of reproduction process. In the elite farm the selection pressure is more intense and the activities of selection and mating matching are made with a higher accuracy than in the private farm. Also, in private farm the selection was focused on immediate commercial characters (shape and size of curls) whereas in the elite farm the selection works took into account the setting of some finer characteristics (such as lustre and quality of hair fibre). However, due to the fact that in both populations the zootechnical classes IInd and IIIrd are missing shows that in both kinds of farms the animal selection is made accurately, with rigor distinctions between them.