Development of fibre and follicle characteristics related to
wool bulk in hoggets of genotypes used to develop GrowBulk sheep
R.M.W. Sumner
AgResearch, Ruakura Research Centre, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton,
New Zealand.
Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production. 1999, 59: 39-42
Wool fibre and follicle development was monitored in 40 hoggets
born in 1996 comprising sex-balanced groups of Romney (R), Dorset x
Romney (DR), Texel x Romney (TR) and DR x TR and TR x DR (DTR) sheep
between 3 and 12 months of age. There was a significant curvilinear
pattern of development for fibre curvature and follicle curvature for
the DR, TR and DTR groups whereas values for the R group did not change
significantly with time. Fibre diameter was not significantly different
between the groups. A combination of fibre curvature and fibre diameter
explained approximately 70% of the variation in core bulk within all
genotypes at hogget shearing for samples taken at points in time during
growth of the fleece. The combination of fibre curvature and fibre
diameter is a useful predictor of adult wool bulk to assist breeders of
GrowBulk sheep.
Keywords: NZSAPAB;
wool bulk; development; fibre curvature; Romney; Dorset; Texel.
Last Updated 06-08-1999
