2. GENETIC RESOURCES

2.1 Sheep

Almost all the reported data are from experiment stations and government farms; very few have been collected on producers' farms or in villages, and comparative data on crossbred and native contemporaries within the same flock or herd, run together in the villages, are rare. Such data should be collected in a planned manner, to encompass lifetime performance in relation to production, reproduction, survival and resistance to disease, so that valid comparisons can be made between native breeds, or between natives and crossbreds, run under the same field conditions.

Even the recorded information available from experiment stations is far from complete; there are few records of lifetime performance.

Table 3 gives a summary of general information on sheep breeds in various countries, while Tables 4-6 present production data, Table 4 for India and Tables 5-6 for some other Asian countries.

2.1.1 India

Several authors have published extensive reviews of available data on Indian sheep breeds, including Bhat et al., (1980 and 1981), Acharya (1982), Acharya and Bhat (1984), and full details can be obtained from these. India is divided into four ecological zones, each with its own main product and different breeds - carpet wool in the Northwestern, meat in the Southern Peninsula and Eastern, apparel wool in the Northern Temperate.

One apparel wool breed not in Table 3, the Hissardale, occurs in the Northwestern Region, but it consists now of only one flock at Haryana University.

2.1.2 Afghanistan

Yalçin (1979) defines 8 breeds in Afghanistan, the Karakul, bred for lamb pelts, being predominant. In general, white breeds occur in the eastern, southern and western parts of the country, and pigmented breeds in the central and northern regions.

2.1.3 Iraq

There is large diversity in the available sheep genetic resources, but the Awassi is the predominant breed. All grow carpet wool and meat, some also producing milk.

2.1.4 Iran

Various authors have identified different numbers of Iranian sheep breeds; Sohraby (1937) named 14, Ardelan (1938), 12, Jones (1964), 16 and Yalçin (1979), 16. Data in Table 3 are based mainly on Yalçin (1979).

2.1.5 Turkey

Turkey has 11 sheep breeds, 5 with fat tails, 1 with semi-fat, 1 with fat rump, and 4 with thin tails. The most numerous breed is the White Karaman. Two distinct strains of Turkish Merino have been developed over the last 5 decades, the Anatolian and the Karacabey, accounting now for 3 percent of the total sheep population.

Table 3 SHEEP GENETIC RESOURCES IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES

General reference - Ponting (1980).

Table 4 BETWEEN-BREED RANGES OF IMPORTANT ECONOMIC TRAITS FOR INDIAN SHEEP BREEDS
(Acharya and Bhat, 1984)

Table 5 PRODUCTION PERFORMANCE OF SHEEP OF THE ASIAN COUNTRIES
(Acharya, 1985)

Table 6a BODY AND FLEECE WEIGHTS (KG), MILK PRODUCTION (KG), FERTILITY
AND LAMBING PERCENTAGE IN VARIOUS IRAQI BREEDS OF SHEEP
(Bhat, 1985)

Table 6b FIBRE DIAMETER (MICRONS), MEDULLATION PERCENTAGE AND KEMP PERCENTAGE IN WOOL SAMPLES

2.1.6 Pakistan

Hasnain (1985) described altogether 28 sheep breeds in Pakistan, grown mainly for carpet wool and meat; some are also milked, and one (Kail) produces apparel wool. About half have fat tails.

2.1.7 China

Cheng (1985) described 12 native breeds, grown for carpet wool, lamb pelts and meat. Three new Merino types have been developed.

2.1.8 Indonesia

Sheep breeds found in Java are of two main types, the Thin-tailed sheep (JTT) prevalent in the West and the Fat-tailed wool sheep (FTJ) found mostly in East Java (Hardjosubroto, 1980). Both types grow coarse, highly medullated fleeces which are not used; in fact, the FTJ are kept closely clipped. The JTT are pigmented and FTJ mostly white. Both are known to be highly fecund, but of low mature liveweight. Lamb mortality tends to be high, partly on account to low birth weights and partly because of unpredictable multiple births.

These sheep are known to be very prolific, with litters of 3 and 4 occurring with relatively high frequency, and litters of 5 and 6 on rare occasions (Sitorus and Subandriyo, 1982). However, they also show a much higher incidence of single births than expected for sheep which have 3 or more lambs at the frequencies observed, and are unusually variable in litter size. Mortality is very high in the larger litters. The overall mean number of lambs born in 131 lambings was 1.98, identifying the breed as above average but not of exceptional prolificacy. However, 11% of parturitions contained 4 or more lambs, a most unusual result for a group with a mean of 2 or less.

Documentation of the extreme variability in litter size indicates potential for very high production from the Javanese Thin-tail ewes, but also major management problems. Mortality rates of 16.7, 18.4, 35.5, 42.9 and 60.0% for lambs born in litters of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively have been recorded. Applying these to the proportions of ewes producing the different litter sizes reported for JTT gives a mean of 133 lambs weaned per 100 ewes lambing, not a very outstanding record compared to other breeds of the region.

2.1.9 Sri Lanka

According to Goonewardena et al. (1984) the native sheep are mostly concentrated in the northern and eastern regions of the island. The climate in these regions is hot and humid throughout the year. The native sheep are hairy and small in size. The mean heights at withers of adult rams and ewes are 52 and 49 cm respectively, and the mean adult body weights 24 and 19 kg. Ewes are capable of breeding all the year round, but management aims at a peak between the months of November and January.

It is believed the sheep were brought from South India several hundred years ago. The native flocks are generally closed, with some between-flock movement of rams.

The native sheep of Sri Lanka are a product of natural selection in a semi-arid environment, resulting in poor growth rate, later maturity and poor reproduction rate. They are impressive, however, in their ability to survive and reproduce in the harsh environment.

2.1.10 Malaysia

There is only one breed of sheep in Malaysia. Lee et al. (1978), Vanselow (1978) and Mukherjee (1980), have described some production figures of this breed, which is only available in small numbers. The wool is not used. Current interest in these sheep has grown due to their capacity for harvesting weeds from the plantations.

2.2 Goats

2.2.1 India

The origin of the Indian goat breeds is not clearly known. They are believed to have been derived from wild goats which inhabited the Asian mountains in antiquity, and to have been domesticated around the 7th century BC, much earlier than cattle (Allchin, 1969). There are at present 20 distinct goat breeds in India, of which several are economically useful, with distinct characteristics of productivity and adapted to the various agro-climatic regions. Eleven are in the Northwestern Region, 4 in the Southern Peninsular, 2 in the Eastern and 3 in the Northern Temperate.

The Jamnapari breed of the Chambal Ravines in Etah district (UP) has been extensively used for improvement of native breeds in several countries. The famous Anglo-Nubian breed is based on a cross of the Jamnapari. The dwarf goat breeds,such as Black Bengal, Barbari, Malabari and Assam Hill, are famous for high prolificacy (multiple births), early sexual maturity and generally give two kid crops in a period of 14 months. The Pashmina goats of Ladakh produce the finest quality of pashmina fibre (cashmere) in the world.

Many excellent reviews are available on the genetic resources of goats in India (Bhat et al., 1980; Acharya, 1982; Acharya and Bhat, 1984). Large inter- and intra-breed variability is indicated (Table 7) but most of the data reported are from experimental stations and Government farms. Very few reports are available from producers' flocks under village conditions. Comparative data on crossbreds and native contemporaries within the same flocks under village conditions are not available.

2.2.2 Afghanistan

There are four goat breeds in Afghanistan. The Vatani and Asmari produce pashmina fibre from their undercoats. Generally information on them is scanty and evaluations are not available. The Asmari is generally used as a pack animal and for meat. Its long hair is used for making ropes and tents.

2.2.3 Iraq

Iraq has a number of goat breeds. These are small triple-purpose animals. The Khurdi, found in the northern provinces, is similar to the Central Asiatic Pashmina. In the Dohak region Angora goats are found, which produce mohair in common with the Angoras of Turkey. Many colours are found in Angoras. The Iraqi is another important breed, which is' generally black, but other colour types are known. This breed is the most numerous, and is found in all three agro-climatic zones; it is used generally for meat.

2.2.4 Iran

Iran has a numer of breeds, the most common being the Khurdi of northern Iran. The Nejdi is dual-purpose (milk and fleece), and the Lori is an Iranian milk goat. Morghose, Raini and Khurdi are pashmina-producing.

2.2.5 Turkey

There are 6 breeds of goats. One fourth of the entire goat population, however, consists of Angoras and other fibre-producing breeds.

2.2.6 Pakistan

Hasnain (1985) lists 25 breeds of goats, which are maintained for meat, milk, fibre and skins. Some of these are also used as pet animals. Four are able to produce fibre like pashmina. There are 3 breeds in Baluchistan, 3 in N.W. Frontier Province, 4 in Punjab, 4 in Sind, 4 in the Northern Areas and 7 in Azad Kashmir.

Table 7 BETWEEN BREED RANGES OF IMPORTANT ECONOMIC TRAITS FOR INDIAN GOAT BREEDS
(Acharrya, 1982; Acharya and Bhat, 1984; Acharya, 1985)

2.2.7 China

Several authors have described Chinese goat breeds (Epstein, 1969, Devendra and Burns, 1970; Cheng 1985). Cheng lists 16, with 3 in the pastoral, 1 in the mixed agricultural-pastoral and 12 in the agricultural areas. They are ued for meat, skins and pelts, with 8 producing cashmere; of these, the Liaoning Cashmere, in the agricultural areas, has the highest production.

2.2.8 Indonesia

The Katjant goat is the indigenous type and Katjan Etawah crosses are also common. The Etawah is actually a cross between the Jamnapari imported from India and better local Javanese goat varieties. Though essentially a milking goat, the Etawah is rarely used for milk in Indonesia. Both the Etawah and the Katjang types are valued almost exclusively for their meat. The Gambrong breed of East Bali is larger than the Indonesian Katjang, and has a special purpose in that the long coarse hair of the male is used to make fishing lures.

2.2.9 Malaysia

The Katjan breed has been described in a number of reviews (Devendra and Burns, 1970; Devendra and Nozawa, 1976; Mukherjee, 1980). This breed is supposed to have given rise to a large number of sub-types which are available throughout the South-Asian region, particularly in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Mason (1969) considers the Sarawak breed of Malaysia and the Metiga of Indonesia small varieties of Katjan. The Philippines native goats are also of the same type, but with coarse hair. In both Malaysia and Indonesia these breeds have been crossed with the Jamnapari of India and crossbreeding has resulted in a breed called Peranankan Etawah in Indonesia.

2.2.10 Korea

Korea has a medium-sized black goat which is not generally described as a breed type. It has been suggested that these goats are related to Chekiang and Kiangsu goats of Eastern China.

2.2.11 Japan

The native Japanese goat, called Tokara, is generally found in Southern Tynkyu Island. It is believed to be an introduction from Taiwan around the 15th century AD. The Okinawa meat goat has been described by Shinjo et al., (1978). Nozawa et al., (1978) have suggested that 13% of the genes in this breed have been derived from the Saanen breed; their suggestion is based on blood protein polymorphism.