Short communication: Effect of heat stress on nonreturn rate of Italian Holstein cows.
The data set consisted of 1,016,856 inseminations of 191,012 first, second, and third parity Holstein cows from 484 farms. Data were collected from year 2001 through 2007 and included meteorological data from 35 weather stations. Nonreturn rate at 56 d after first insemination (NR56) was considered. A logit model was used to estimate the effect of temperature-humidity index (THI) on reproduction across parities. Then, least squares means were used to detect the THI breakpoints using a 2-phase linear regression procedure. Finally, a multiple-trait threshold model was used to estimate variance components for NR56 in first and second parity cows. A dummy regression variable (t) was used to estimate NR56 decline due to heat stress. The NR56, both for first and second parity cows, was significantly (unfavorable) affected by THI from 4 d before 5 d after the insemination date. Additive genetic variances for NR56 increased from first to second parity both for general and heat stress effect. Genetic correlations between general and heat stress effects were -0.31 for first parity and -0.45 for second parity cows.
Istituto di Biologia e Biotecnologia Agraria (IBBA), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Via Einstein - Località Cascina Codazza, 26900 Lodi, Italy.
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Biffani
Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali (DAFNE), Università degli Studi della Tuscia-Viterbo, 01100, Viterbo, Italy.
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Bernabucci
Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali (DAFNE), Università degli Studi della Tuscia-Viterbo, 01100, Viterbo, Italy.
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Vitali
Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali (DAFNE), Università degli Studi della Tuscia-Viterbo, 01100, Viterbo, Italy.
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Lacetera
Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali (DAFNE), Università degli Studi della Tuscia-Viterbo, 01100, Viterbo, Italy. Electronic address: nardone@unitus.it.
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Nardone
D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D018882:Heat Stress Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D007558:Italy; D012098:Reproduction
dairy cow; heat stress; heritability; reproduction trait; temperature-humidity index breaking point