Progeny testing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article does not cite any references or sources. (February 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
Progeny Testing is a test of the value for selective breeding of an individual's genotype by looking at the progeny produced by different matings.[1]
[edit] Progeny Testing
It is used in the breeding of both plants and animals, but is most commercially important in animal breeding to determine the value of an animal in terms of the sex-limited characters of its offspring, 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, provided of course the character has a high heritability. A progeny test is performed by mating the male with a number of females with proven performance. The average performance of the offspring is then found, giving a measure of the male's respective value to the breeder.