COMPARAÇÃO DA INSEMINAÇÃO CONVENCIONAL E PÓS-CERVICAL SOBRE A EFICIÊNCIA REPRODUTIVA DE SUÍNOS

Abstract

The objective of this study was to compare the effect of conventional and post cervical artificial insemination (AI) on the reproductive efficiency of swines, evaluating pregnancy rate, occurrence of reproductive failures and piglet indexes. The study was conducted in a commercial farm, where data from 364 matrices were randomly distributed into three groups: Conventional (n = 153) - conventional AI 12 and 24 hours after the detection of estrus; PC24

(n = 77) - post cervical IA 12 and 36 hours after oestrus detection; and PC12 (n = 134) post- cervical IA 12 and 24 hours after oestrus detection. Occurrence of reproductive failures was

observed and recorded such as: abortion, micro-abortion and heat repetition. Gestations and deliveries were followed and the piglets born were evaluated. Data were recorded in specialized software (AGRINESS S2 version 5.5.6). Percentages of observed reproductive failures and data were submitted to statistical analysis by the Kruskal-Wallis test (SAS, 2008), at a significance level of 5%. The observed abortion and estrus rates were low and did not differ significantly between treatment groups (p<0.05). Micro-abortion rate was low in the PC12 group and non-existent in the PC24 group, both inseminated by the post-cervical technique. However, the micro-abortion rate of the CV group was significantly higher than the others (p>0.05), showing a higher rate of micro-abortion in swine matings submitted to conventional AI. No dead piglets were observed at birth during the study period. Number of stillbirths, mummified and the average weight of the piglets did not differ significantly between the evaluated groups (p<0.05). Number of live-born piglets and litter weight were significantly higher in the PC12 group (p>0.05) compared to the others. It was concluded that post-cervical AI with a 12 hour interval is the one that most contributed to the reproductive efficiency of swine matrices.