Semen quality of Italian local pig breeds

From 1996 to 1999 a conservation programme was carried out within the framework of EC contract "European gene banking project for the pig genetic resources" (Ollivier et al., 2001) in the Italian local pig breeds. The aims of the program included the primary characterization of the breeds, i.e. information on the organization in charge of the breed, breeding population numbers, breed description and qualifications, and field trials on productive and reproductive performances. In this context the "Semen Bank of Italian local pig breeds" was built. A total of 30,835 straws of four Italian local pig breeds (Cinta Senese, Casertana, Mora Romagnola and Nero Siciliano), collected from 42 sires, have been stored. In this work semen quality traits, lipid composition and freezability of the four Italian local pig breeds are reported. Semen quality of the local breeds was similar to commercial breeds. Nero Siciliano seems to show a good semen quality and the best attitude to freezing semen, followed by Cinta Senese and Casertana. Mora Romagnola was represented only by two sires therefore only preliminary comparison can be done. PL fatty acid composition resulted different among breeds. It is interesting to note the high value of DHA in Cinta Senese.