Biological and chemical features of Poltava Meat breed pigs bacon depending on genotype

The researchgoal is to carry out comprehensive studies to define the biological and chemical characteristics of the young Poltava Meat Breed boars’ bacon for further work with existing genotypes and creating new ones.Materials and methods.The research was carried out on bacon samples taken from Poltava Meat Breed boars of different genotypes during the «control slaughter» at the age of reaching the live weight of 100 kg. Purebred Poltava Meat Breed boars were divided into two groups according to the principle of paired analogs: the group I (control) contained animals of «clean» breeding lines (16 heads), and the group II (experimental) contained animals with 12,5% of the Finnish Landrace blood (14 heads). The thickness of the bacon, its morphological structure and its chemical features were studied. All the results obtained were then processed by statistical methods.Results.It was found that Poltava Meat Breed boars, regardless of the genotype, had bacon thickness values below the Poltava Meat Breed target standard after reaching the live weight of 100 kg, with very low variability of the indicator (1,05–1,69%). However, there was no significant difference between the groups. During the morphological study of the samples, qualitative differences in the bacon of animals from different groups were noted. In the first group, the subcutaneous tissue (bacon) is subject to more pronounced destructive changes due to the intensified process of fatty degeneration. The fat cells of animals with Finnish Landrace blood were slightly smaller, but no significant difference between the area of fat cells in boars of different genotypes was found. The variability of morphological parameters in both groups was average (23,91% and 16,23%). The infusion of Finnish Landrace blood to the Poltava Meat Breed boars led to a change in the chemical composition of bacon, such as: an increase in the amount of moisture by 8,58% (p≤0,01), protein by 3,62% (p≤0,01), a decrease in the amount of fat by 9,25% (p≤0,01), to a decrease in the saponification number by 8,36% (p≤0,01) and the iodine number by 10,48% (p≤0,01).Conclusion.The bacon of Poltava Meat Breed boars is characterized by biological and chemical features due to both species and genotype. The established features of the bacon of Poltava Meat Breed boars indicate a significant decrease in its quality in the case of Finnish Landrace blood infusion. Intensive selection for meat content of Poltava Meat Breed pigs leads to a significant decrease in the thickness of the bacon and excessive selection pressure.