Development Status and Strategies of Xieka Cattle

Yi SHI, Donghui FANG, Fang HE, Fuqiu WU, Jia GAN, Yueda AGUO, Xiaodong DENG, Jun YI, Maozhong FU, Qi CAO, Wei WANG*

1.Sichuan Animal Husbandry Research Institute, Chengdu 610066, China; 2.Jiulong County Bureau of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Rural Areas and Science and Technology, Jiulong 616200, China

Abstract In this paper, the present situation of Xieka cattle was investigated, and the body size of Xieka cattle was measured.It was found that there were some problems in Xieka cattle, such as backward feeding and management, and degradation of breeds.The corresponding strategies were put forward in order to promote the resource protection, development and utilization of Xieka cattle.

Key words Xieka cattle, Development status, Strategies

1 Introduction

Xieka cattle have strong adaptability and developed heart and lungs.It can adapt to the anoxic environment at high altitude, withstand hunger and cold, has a very strong feeding ability, and generally rarely suffer from the disease.It is docile, easy to manage, and difficult labor rarely occurs in cow breeding, and it is an important means of production, means of livelihood and farming tool for the local people.

2 Population structure and distribution

About 14 782 Xieka cattle were surveyed in 2021, including 1 749 stock bulls and 6 055 cows.The population is mainly distributed in Wanba, Gaer, Sanyanlong, Xuewalong Town and other townships and towns.Detailed data are shown in Table 1.

3 Production performance

The body measurement of 56 adult Xieka yellow cows and 52 adult Xieka yellow bulls was carried out in 2021.It was found that the body height, body length, chest circumference and cannon circumference of adult bulls were 116.33, 136.33, 175.00 and 19.33 cm respectively, and the body height, body length, chest circumference and cannon circumference of adult cows were 107.11, 126.11, 153.44 and 16.00 cm, respectively(Table 2).

Table 1 Distribution of Xieka yellow cattle

Table 2 Determination of body size of adult Xieka cattle cm

4 Mode of production

Xieka cattle graze all the year round, and there is no grazing at night in summer and autumn.Crop straw and a small amount of concentrate are added during busy farming and winter and spring seasons.Calves suck with the cow grazing without supplementary feeding, and are weaned at the first year.Corn straw, highland barley straw and hay are the main forage grass in winter and spring.However, according to the survey, it is found that with the development of economy and the popularization of feeding technology, the mode of "grazing+supplementary feeding" occupies a certain proportion in raising Xieka cattle, and the proportion of no grazing is getting less and less.There is also a "semi-grazing+semi-feeding" model in sporadic places, but the house feeding model has not appeared yet.

5 Problems

5.1 Backward feeding and management and lack of forageCattle farming mode in Sichuan agricultural areas is gradually turning into a large-scale and intensive mode.In recent years, 1 000-cattle farms have appeared one after another in Sichuan agricultural areas, and the models of breeding cooperatives and breeding cooperative societies have also taken shape.Some large enterprises have begun to explore the integrated and professional development of planting-breeding-slaughtering, processing-marketing.Due to the special geographical environment, the breeding of Xieka cattle in Jiulong County is still dominated by traditional grazing.In a few areas, the mode of grazing+supplementary feeding appeared, but the mode of house feeding has not appeared.The advantage of the grazing model is to reduce manpower and save costs, but the most difficult problem of the grazing model is forage supply, especially in the higher altitude areas of Jiulong County, where forage is extremely scarce in winter and spring.In winter and spring, the fat condition of Xieka cattle is the worst, and the morbidity and mortality are significantly higher than those in other seasons.

5.2 Slight decrease in the amount of livestock on handAccording to the statistics of Jiulong County Bureau of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Rural Areas and Science and Technology, 16 000 cattle were raised in 2005, and the population structure was as follows: 5 933 bulls, accounting for 35.8%, 10 640 cows, accounting for 64.2%, and the ratio of male to female cattle was 1∶1.8.There were 442 bulls for breeding, accounting for 2.67% of the whole herd, 7 321 cows for breeding, accounting for 44.17% of the whole herd, and the ratio of male to female cattle for breeding is 1∶16.5.The stock of Xieka cattle in 2021 decreased by 7.50% compared with 2006, and the stock of fertile cows decreased by 17.29%.The reasons for the decline in the stock of Xieka cattle: First, with the further improvement of agricultural mechanization in China, the draught yellow cattle are gradually withdrawing from the historical stage, and draught yellow cattle are gradually converted to beef and milk cattle, which is an important reason for the decline in the stock of Xieka cattle.Second, the impact of exotic breeds is also a reason that can not be ignored.The benefits of raising exotic or hybrid cattle are significantly higher than those of native breeds, so people tend to raise exotic breeds or hybrid cattle.Jiulong County is located in the southeast edge of Songpan geosyncline, with undulating terrain and great height difference.Xieka cattle mainly live in semi-alpine scrub and shrub grassland at an altitude of 2 000-4 000 m, which is especially suitable for the geographical environment of Jiulong County.At present, the grazing model is still dominant in raising cattle in Jiulong County, while exotic breeds or hybrid cattle can not adapt to the grazing mode, so this is an important reason why the stock of Xieka cattle has only slightly decreased.However, with the change from traditional grazing mode to house feeding mode, Xieka cattle will be seriously impacted by exotic cattle breeds in the future.According to the investigation, it is found that the hybrid individuals of Jersey cattle×Xieka cattle and Simmental×Xieka cattle have appeared in the areas with better natural environment.

5.3 Signs of breed degradationBy comparing the body size data of Xieka cattle measured in 2021 with the body size data recorded in 2007, we found that Xieka cattle began to show signs of breed degradation.The body height, body length and cannon circumference of the bulls in 2021 decreased by 0.15%, 1.14% and 4.30%, respectively, compared with 2007.The body height, body length, chest and cannon circumference of the cows in 2021 decreased by 0.64%, 0.39%, 3.01% and 1.84%, respectively, compared with 2007.The change of body size of Xieka cattle is shown in Table 3, and the body size index of Xieka cattle is shown in Table 4.The degradation of body size data of Xieka cattle may be due to extensive feeding management, lack of forage and lack of nutrition.Xieka cattle mainly live in semi-alpine thickets and shrub grasslands at the altitude of 2 000-4 000 m, and there is an extreme shortage of forage in winter and spring.It may also be due to the degradation of breeds caused by inbreeding.In the course of investigation, it is found that the grazing areas for Xieka cattle are generally designated based on the head of household.The cattle of one family are grazed in a specific area, and the genes of breeding bulls can not be exchanged.With the increase of time, the inbreeding coefficient of cattle gradually increases, resulting in breed degradation.

Table 3 Determination of body size of adult Xieka cattle in different years cm

Table 4 Body size index of adult Xieka cattle in different years %

5.4 Insufficient attention and lack of scientific researchAt present, the whole genome selective breeding technique has been successfully applied to dairy cow breeding, and good results have been achieved.Scientific research on different nutritional requirements and stage-by-stage feeding of different breeds of cattle is also carried out and successfully applied to production practice.However, the scientific research for Xieka cattle is still in a blank state, and there is no scientific research project specifically for Xieka cattle.

6 Recommendations

Improved breeds of livestock and poultry are the "chip" of animal husbandry, the core factor that determines the development of animal husbandry, and the focus of scientific and technological competition in animal husbandry in various countries.For a long time, people have been pursuing efficient and fast economic interests, and a large number of specialized cattle breeds have been introduced, resulting in a single breed, ignoring the excellent genes of local breeds.Local cattle have strong adaptability and tolerance to rough feeding, and carry a large number of excellent and mutable genes.With the development of social economy, people’s consumption habits and ideas are constantly changing, and the ever-changing market determines the diversification of livestock and poultry breeds.Limited to the current science and technology and cognition, we have not yet fully developed the excellent characters of local livestock and poultry resources, but we are sure that local varieties will shine in the future animal husbandry.Therefore, it is of great strategic significance to strengthen the protection of local resources.

6.1 Strengthening publicity and policy guidance and increasing capital investmentIt is necessary to carry out popular science activities to publicize the importance of protecting livestock and poultry resources and make local people understand the necessity and urgency of protecting Xieka cattle resources.The economic benefit of raising local breeds is lower than that of other breeds, which determines that the conservation work needs the financial support of the government and the formulation of sound policies, otherwise it will be difficult to maintain the number of Xieka cattle.

6.2 Strengthening scientific and technological training and gradually changing the feeding modeIn order to change the traditional grazing mode, we must change the traditional farming concept that has been going on for a long time.

The government should strengthen the publicity of scientific and technological knowledge, and regularly organize farmers to carry out professional training so as to improve the level of local farming, through various channels,such as join hands with scientific research institutes and universities.It is advocated to carry out forage planting in some places to solve the forage shortage in winter and spring.The local feeding mode based on grazing should be changed to the mode of grazing+supplementary feeding.

6.3 Delimiting a protected area and establishing Xieka cattle breeding farmAt present, thanks to the unique geographical environment, Xieka cattle are less affected by exotic breeds, and the population has not decreased on a large scale.However, the raising profit of local cattle is less than that of exotic breeds, and with the increase of environmental protection pressure and the development of modern animal husbandry, it can be predicted that exotic breeds of cattle will have a great impact on Xieka cattle in the future.At present, cattle breeds in other parts of China are facing the impact of exotic cattle breeds, the situation is very severe, and some local cattle breeds are even in danger of extinction.Therefore, before exotic cattle breeds pose a threat to the Xieka cattle population, a protected area should be designated in advance to prohibit any form of improved hybridization in the reserve to prevent genetic pollution.It is necessary to establish Xieka cattle conservation farm, avoid easily eliminating any individual in the farm, and ensure genetic diversity.

6.4 Adhering to the simultaneous development of breed selection and crossbreedingThe determination of production performance should be carried out in protected areas and conservation farms, and excellent stock bulls should be selected and added to cattle herds outside the protected areas, so that the genes of excellent bulls can grow rapidly.Outside the protected areas and conservation farms, it is recommended to implement the rotation system of stock bulls, which rotates bulls in different groups every three years, so as to reduce the probability of inbreeding.The purpose of breed conservation is not only to protect the breed from extinction, but also to fully explore the dominant characters of the protected breed, and to carry out economic hybridization to continuously improve the quantity and quality of meat and milk production.However, at present, the dominant gene mining of Xieka cattle is still in a blank state, and the traits of beef and milk are not clear, so the hybridization improvement work has not been fully carried out.

6.5 Carrying out scientific research to provide continuous scientific and technological support for the development of Xieka cattleIn the past, there was no scientific research on Xieka cattle, which led the feeding and management technology and production level of Xieka cattle far lower than other breeds of cattle.Therefore, it is suggested that the local government should cooperate with scientific research institutes and universities to jointly carry out scientific research, change the extensive feeding mode of Xieka cattle, explore the dominant genes and traits of Xieka cattle, determine the dominant hybrid combinations, and carry out economic hybridization.

7 Conclusion

Livestock and poultry breed resources are an important part of biodiversity, the basis of human survival and development, and an important gene pool for the unforeseeable future.For a long time, many developed countries have pursued the cultivation of "specialized breeds" and simply pursued economic benefits while neglecting the protection of breed resources, resulting in a single breed and genetic diseases caused by excessive gene purification, which has seriously hindered the sustainable development of animal hus-bandry.Xieka cattle, as a part of the local breed resources in Sichuan, is an important means of production and livelihood for the local people.Its protection, development and utilization are of great significance to the protection of livestock and poultry resources in China.At the same time, through the development of Xieka cattle, it will help to promote the utilization of local straw resources, effectively increase the income level of the people, and help the revitalization of the countryside.