CORRELATIONS BETWEEN THE MAIN WOOL CHARACTERISTICS OF KYRGYZ MOUNTAIN MERINO SHEEP

Abstract
The article presents the results of the analysis of the correlation links between the main wool
features of the Kyrgyz mountain merino sheep breed, taking into account the intra-breed type and
age-sex characteristics of the animals. The research material was based on the data from the bonitation
of 24 months-old ewes, as well as young ewes and sheep 16 months-old rams, raised in two stud
farms in the Kyrgyz Republic: the State Breeding Farm named after M. N. Lushchikhin and the State
Breeding Farm “Orgochor”.

It has been established that the structure of correlations between fleece weight, staple length
and fiber fineness varies substantially depending on the intra-breed type and age of animals. In ewes,
the correlations are weak or non-existent, indicating a stabilization of the morphological
characteristics of the coat in adult animals. On the other hand, the correlation structure is more
pronounced and characterized by typological dependencies between quantity and quality of hair
in young sheep. For talassic-type rams r=0.744fleece weight-staple length, while for issyk-kul-type rams r=0.462 fleece weight-fiber fineness.

It is shown that for young ewes and rams various combinations of correlations between fleece
weight, staple length and fiber fineness are found, which reflects alternative mechanisms of the wool
productivity formation within the breed. The obtained results confirm the typological heterogeneity
of the correlation structure of the wool features of the Kyrgyz mountain merino sheep and justify
the need for the differentiated selection approach in improving wool productivity.

Keywords: Kyrgyz mountain merino, wool productivity, correlation analysis, greasy fleece
weight, staple length, fiber diameter, intra-breed types, age-sex groups, breeding evaluation, finewool sheep breeding