Resistance and susceptibility of a crossbred dairy cows to the cattle tick Boophilus microplus

Authors

  • Cecília José Veríssimo Secretaria de Agricultura e Abastecimento do Estado de São Paulo, Agência Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegócios, Instituto de Zootecnia, Nova Odessa, SP
  • Roberto Gomes da Silva Universidade Estadual Paulista, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Departamento de Melhoramento Genético, Jaboticabal, SP
  • Antonio Álvaro Duarte de Oliveira Secretaria de Agricultura e Abastecimento do Estado de São Paulo, Agência Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegócios, Instituto de Zootecnia, Nova Odessa, SP
  • Wander Ramos Ribeiro Secretaria de Agricultura e Abastecimento do Estado de São Paulo, Agência Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegócios, Instituto de Zootecnia, Nova Odessa, SP
  • Uriel Franco Rocha Universidade de São Paulo, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Departamento de Parasitologia, São Paulo, SP

Keywords:

Boophilus microplus, cows, crossbred, heritability, resistance, tick

Abstract

Counts of the cattle tick Boophilus microplus were made on crossbred dairy cows raised at the €œEstação Experimental de Zootecnia de Colina€, north of São Paulo State, Brazil, in the middle of each season, along 2 years. The objective of the study was to assess for some genetic and environmental effects that might be affecting tick resistance on the cows. Counts of female ticks more than 4,5 mm in length were analyzed by least squares method, (n=l,565), using counts (x) transformed to ln 2 (x+1). The results showed that the number of ticks was affected by sire, season, pasture, kind of grass (P<0.0l) and lactation stage (P<0.05), but not by age or gestation stage. Natural infestation levels increased in summer and decreased in winter, with a peak in the fall. Four strategic dippings performed at 21 days interval, just after the spring count, reduced tick infestation in the following summer. Animals grazing on newly-formed or spelling pastures had lower tick infestation than those on continuously grazed pastures. Overall means of tick counts and heritability were 9 and 0.091 ± 0.050, respectively.

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Published

2013-12-05

Issue

Section

ANIMAL BREEDING

How to Cite

Resistance and susceptibility of a crossbred dairy cows to the cattle tick Boophilus microplus. (2013). Bulletin of Animal Husbandry, 54(2), 11-17. http://35.198.24.243/index.php/bia/article/view/957

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