The Relationship between Sperm Motility of Boars and the Farrowing Rate and Average Litter Size of Sows of the Same Breed
Abstract：To study the effect of boar sperm motility (sperm motility before semen dilution) on sow farrowing rate and average litter size, this study selected 1,457 breeding boars from a boar station in East China from 2016 to 2024, as well as 56,560 litters of purebred sows from a core breeding farm. The sperm motility of the breeding boars was tested, and the boars of three breeds (Duroc, Landrace, and Large White) were divided into three groups based on their sperm motility. At the same time, the pregnancy check and farrowing records of all sows bred during the same period were statistically analyzed. The results showed that for the three breeds, the average farrowing rate of sows in group 1 (sperm motility < 0.7) was lower than that of sows in group 2 (sperm motility 0.7–0.8), and the average farrowing rate of sows in group 2 was lower than that of sows in group 3 (sperm motility > 0.8). The Pearson correlation coefficients between the sperm motility of the three breeds of boars and the farrowing rate were 0.15 (for Duroc), 0.26 (for Landrace), and 0.20 (for Large White), indicating a weak positive correlation. The average litter size of sows corresponding to the three groups of the three breeds also showed the same trend.
Keywords：Sperm motilityFarrowing rateAverage litter sizeBoar
Publication Date：2025-08-30
Online Publishing Date：2025-09-12(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：3( 1-3 )