Genetic and non-genetic factors affecting conception rate of frozen semen in small holder dairy farmer system of rural India

Fertility traits are as important as production traits in crossbred bovine population. Assessment of the fertility of bull in any frozen semen production program and evaluation of the conception rate under actual field conditions provide valuable information. The objective of this retrospective study was to estimate the effect of genetic and non-genetic influence on conception rate of frozen semen bulls maintained at Bharatiya Agro-Industries Foundation (BAIF) Pune based on the conception rate in cattle population of small holder dairy farmer system. The data comprising of 1,08,238 insemination records pertaining to 83 Holstein Friesian pure and crossbred bulls available at BAIF Pune were used to analyze conception rate. The fixed effect solutions and covariance components were estimated by linear mixed model using the restricted maximum likelihood method in WOMBAT software. The genetic correlations were estimated using bivariate analysis between post thaw motility and conception rate. The study was based on fertility related information from cows maintained in different villages of India and thus reflects the actual fertility of frozen semen used. The study was suggestive of influence of very small fraction of genetic effect and higher impact of management effect on conception rate. Fertility-related information available from this study is an invaluable asset in decision making process of breeding policies.