Progeny Testing is a test of the value for
selective breeding
Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant mal ...
of an individual's
genotype
The genotype of an organism is its complete set of genetic material. Genotype can also be used to refer to the alleles or variants an individual carries in a particular gene or genetic location. The number of alleles an individual can have in a ...
by looking at the
progeny produced by different matings.
Progeny Testing
It is used in the
breeding
Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant.
Breeding may refer to:
* Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...
of both
plant
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...
s and
animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...
s, but is most commercially important in
animal breeding
Animal breeding is a branch of animal science that addresses the evaluation (using best linear unbiased prediction and other methods) of the genetic value (estimated breeding value, EBV) of livestock. Selecting for breeding animals with superior EB ...
to determine the true breeding value of an animal (especially males) which are used extensively for propagation of best germplasm. The extensive use of artificial insemination in domestic animals has helped in increasing the selection intensity on male animals. This selection tool is usually used for characters that are sex-limited, expressed after death (meat characteristics) and usually with low heritability, for example, milk or egg production in females. A bull, for example, cannot be assessed for milk production, however, the performance of its female offspring can be used to determine the use of the animal for future crosses.
A progeny test is performed by mating the male with a number of females to produce many progenies in a different environment and over a long time period involving different seasons to nullify the impact of season, management and environment in breeding value estimation. The average performance of the offspring is then found, giving a measure of the male's respective value to the breeder.
In animals, the progeny testing could be conducted in a large herd or involving associated herds or in the field in farmers place. The field-based progeny testing is highly required when the selected bulls are to be distributed in a large area to many farmers in different environments. Conducting a field-based progeny testing, especially in
smallholder
A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...
production systems of Asia and Africa, require huge resources both financial and infrastructural - a large AI network, robust and dynamic data collection and analysis system. Usually, the breeding companies conduct progeny testing of their bulls so that they can be commercially promoted. But when the breeding organisations are Government controlled (e.g. India), the onus of conducting the testing also lies with them if required genetic improvement is to be achieved.
References
External links
Breedplan and bull buying
Agriculture
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