Selection of Simmental Bulls (Bos taurus) Based on MPPA for Sperm Quality Traits

Abstract

Simmental cattle (Bos indicus) are the famous beef cattle in Indonesia. Presently, the straws of Simmental bull were produced in many artificial insemination centers (AIC) of Indonesia. This study was aimed to evaluate the Simmental bulls at AIC Tuah Sakato of West Sumatra - Indonesia based on most probable producing ability (MPPA) value. Total 20 Simmental bulls with 456 data records of sperm quality traits (sperm volume, sperm motility, sperm concentration) were used for the investigation. Research showed that the repeatability (r) value of sperm volume (SV) and sperm motility (SM) traits were classified in low category (<0.10). While, the r value in sperm concentration (SC) trait was showed in moderate category (0.10-0.30). In additon, the highest MPPA value of SV, SM and SC traits were 0.268 (Bull ID: 61962), 9.494 (Bull ID: 62168) and 1018.923 (Bull ID: 61343), respectively. It can be concluded that the high variation of sperm quality traits in animals under study can be caused by many environmental factors such as: air temperature, nutrition, season and health status. Hence, annual management sysytem evaluation is important to optimize the productivity of bulls.