Sheep meat production in the Brazilian semi-arid region: crossing between indigenous breeds

Investigations in the Brazilian semi-arid region evaluating the performance and carcass traits of sheep of indigenous breeds and their crossings have been performed; however, these studies use exotic breeds which produce precocious lambs with heavier carcasses, but not adapted to climatic conditions and the extensive production system, jeopardizing the sustainability of the sheep production system. We crossed between three indigenous breeds: Morada Nova (MN - maternal breed); Rabo Largo (RL - paternal breed), and Santa Inês (SI - paternal breed) with the objective of evaluating the effect of genotype and sex on the performance and carcass traits of purebred and crossbred animals. A total of 30 lambs, males and females, reared in a semi-intensive system were evaluated. Birth and weaning weights were 2.26 ± 0.53 and 7.31 ± 1.85, respectively. All lambs were slaughtered at 10 months of age. A completely randomized design in a 3 × 2 factorial scheme (three genotypes and two sexes) was used. Multivariate techniques were also performed to reduce group and discriminate variables. Birth and weaning weight were similar (P > 0.05) among genetic groups and sexes. The weight gain, carcass and morphometric trait characteristics, and the main commercial cuts were higher in crossbred lambs (P < 0.05). All indicators have discriminatory power between genotypes and sexes, but the carcass traits have a higher discriminatory power (P < 0.001). All genotypes, regardless of sex, have particular characteristics, i.e. MN × SI was characterized by greater forelimb and ham perimeters (P < 0.001), and the MN × RL by higher hot carcass weight and finish (P = 0.001). The cluster analysis and the heatmap plot revealed associations between SI and the size of cuts and RL with the cut commercial yield and the reduction in weight loss due to cooling. Our findings confirm the hypothesis that crossing between indigenous breeds represents an adequate alternative in sheep meat production systems in semi-arid regions. Finally, we encourage the use of indigenous breeds for sheep meat production with breed identity in order to favor the conservation of genetic resources and the sustainability of the production system.