CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MAIN PHYSICAL AND TECHNICAL PROPER-TIES OF STUD RAMS` WOOL FROM BREEDING FARMS IN THE ROSTOV RE-GION

Abstract

The competitiveness of Merino wool in the global and domestic markets is determined by the degree of the basic physical and technical properties and their compliance with the requirements of the processing industry. Knowing and consideration of the parameters of the produced wool are necessary for the balanced operation of all parts of the wool complex, and it is important that information about the properties of wool is obtained on the basis of instrumental assessment. In this regard, the goal of the work was to obtain information about the fineness, length and crimp of the wool of stud rams in the Rostov Region, as important breeding characteristics of wool, which are also important in the technology of its processing. The presence of such information is important for the development of selection and breeding programs in flocks of sheep breeds of the region, and its analysis will provide information about the phenotypic diversity of the most important traits of fine wool, as well as the advisability of correcting such diversity in any way. Experimental studies were carried out on sheep of the Volgograd and Soviet Merino breeds in 2022 at the “Mir”, “Podgornoe”, “Pervomaiskii” and “Elita” farms of the Remontnensky District, as well as Rostov Grain Company “Resurs” of the Milyutinsky District of the Rostov Region. It was established that the length of the rams` wool met or exceeded the requirements of the breed standard. A peculiarity of the population was the absence of lines of long-wool animals. A high level of variability in wool crimp was noted, which varied widely. The variability of wool diameter was recorded in Soviet Merino breed in the range from 16,7 to 29,7 microns, and in rams of the Volgograd breed – from 21,0 to 30,4 microns. It was concluded that there was priority selection for meat productivity while maintaining compliance of producers with the classification requirements for wool productivity of breeds.