Minhazul Abedin Sun, Sarder Safiqul Islam, Nayema Akter, Sanjana Karim, Md. Shafiqul Islam, S. M. Abdullah Al Mamun and Md. Mustajabur Rahman
Agrotechnology Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna-9208, Bangladesh
Sun, M. A., Islam, S. S., Akter, N., Karim, S., Islam, M. S., Al Mamun, S. M. A. & Rahman, M. M. (2025). Exploring genetic variability and selection of Garole × Indigenous crossbred sheep (F1) for various traits under semi-intensive systems in the southwestern coastal areas of Bangladesh. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 31(6), 1209–1219
The research aimed to assess the genetic diversity among Garole × Indigenous crossbred sheep (F1) for various quantitative traits, to enhance the selection process to improve their productivity and reproductive capabilities. Additionally, the study sought to pinpoint the top-performing sheep genotypes for potential commercialization. Twenty nondescript indigenous ewes were mated with two pure-line Garole rams under semi-intensive rearing conditions. Among the traits, gain between the birth and weaning period and weaning weight were highly and positively correlated (r = 0.984). In contrast, the weight at maturity and growth between the first lambing and maturity exhibited higher but hostile relations (-0.460) with each other. Principal component analysis (PCA) extracted four principal components, which explained 81.84% of the total variation. The first principal component accounted for 30.46% of the total variation. The cluster analysis revealed the presence of wide genetic variations among the sheep genotypes, grouping them into four distinct clusters. Cluster III contained the genotypes with the best response to most of the traits under study, and the maximum cluster distance was found between Cluster II and Cluster IV. The selection of genotypes from Cluster III for commercial purposes may enhance the economic return of sheep farmers. In contrast, selecting parents from distant clusters (II and IV) for hybridization may harness hybrid vigor to produce the best-performing sheep breeds. The study provided new and valuable insights into the genetic diversity of crossbred sheep, identifying the best-performing genotypes for both breeding purposes and commercial applications.