Efeito do genótipo sobre as características quantitativas e qualitativas da carcaça de caprinos terminados em pastagem nativa.

Abstract

This work was carried out in EMEPA (Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecuária da Paraíba SA) owned “Pendência Experimental Station”, in Soledade, PB. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of genotype on qualitative and quantitative carcass characteristics of goats under rangeland conditions. Twenty one (21) goats of different genotypes, with an average age of 280 days and 32 kg of live body weight, were used. Treatments were assigned to the animals according to a completely random design with three treatments (not well defined - SRD, ½ Boer, and ¾ Boer genotypes) and seven replications. It was observed an equal carcass yield (true, commercial and biological) among the three genotypes. The following commercial cuts, leg, loin, ribs, palettte, and neck, showed no variation in relation to the half-carcass (P>0.05). The muscle-to-bone ratio and the muscularity index presented no significant differences (P>0.05) among genotypes. However, a significant difference was observed (P<0.05) in the loin eye area among the treatments: the averages of 8.22 and 8.30 cm2 of SRD and ½ Boer genotypes, respectively, were lower than the average of 10.33 cm2 of the ¾ Boer genotype. The ¾ and ½ Boer animals presented a better carcass conformation than the SRD animals (P<0.05). Meat marbling was similar to all genotypes (P>0.05), so that the expected superiority of the ½ and ¾ Boer genotypes was not confirmed in this study (P>0.05) and the values observed for the intramuscular fatness were 1.87, 1.71, and 1.83 to the SRD, ½ Boer and ¾ Boer genotypes, respectively. The meat from SRD animals presented a darker coloration (2.87) than the meat from ½ and ¾ Boer genotype animals (2.14 and 2.00, respectively), suggesting a better quality of the meat from these last two genotypes. Based on the carcass qualitative evaluation, it was verified that the ½ and ¾ Boer genotypes present a carcass with a higher content of lean meat, denoted by a better carcass conformation, which is the main indicator of muscular performance; and a better lean meat, demonstrated by the lighter muscle coloration, one of the main meat tenderness indicators.