INVESTIGATIONS ON WOOL YIELD AND TYPE IN RAMS FROM BULGARIAN FINE-WOOL ELITE HERDS

Dimitar Panayotov, Darina Pamukova

Abstract: The investigation was conducted with 86 rams at the age of 18 months from five fine wool sheep breeds: Ascanian, Caucasian, Northeast Bulgarian Merino, Trakia Merino and Karnobat Merino. On the basis of animal goodness data and the results from laboratory tests of individual wool samples, an integrated assessment of wool yield and type was performed using the following selection traits and parameters: fleece yield, wool yield, clean wool yield, wool fineness, natural staple length, staple impurity, number of crimps, wool grease colour and wool type. Relatively low fleece and clean wool yields with high variations among the herds have been established ranging between 7.25–12.89 kg and 3.782–6.585 kg, respectively. Wool yields also varied considerably (app. 14%), but in most farms, average yields were over 50%. Wool fineness in most studied farms corresponded to grade 64s (from 21.20 to 22.75 μm), and thigh wool – to grade 60s (23.11–25.03 μm). Natural staple length also varied within a very broad range – from 8.56 to 10.92 cm, with lowest values in Caucasian and Ascanian rams and highest – in Karnobat Merino and Northeast Bulgarian Merino rams reared in CES Targovishte. In all studied farms, dirty wool exceeded substantially the merino wool standards (1.5 cm) with and accounted for 26.52% tо 41.70% of staple length in average. The average number of crimps per 1 cm varied among farms: from 5.17 to 5.71. Rams from Briag and the Agricultural Institute, Karnobat, exhibited relatively fewer crimps. The prevailing wool grease colours of studied wools were light creamy and creamy, with only single cases of white and yellow coloured grease. Merino wool was the predominant wool type in studied farms. The most standardised wool was that of Caucasian, Ascanian and Northeast Bulgarian Merino rams reared in General Toshevo, whereas in rams from Briag and the Agricultural Institute, Karnobat, all three wool types were encountered.

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Date published: 2023-03-06