ESTIMATES OF PHENOTYPIC AND GENETIC PARAMETERS FOR WEANING AND YEARLING WEIGHTS IN BALI BEEF CATTLE

Records on weaning (3803) and yearling weight (2990) of beef cattle (Bibos banteng) from the Bali Cattle Improvement Project were examined. A mixed model analysis involving all main non-genetic effects (village, year of birth, season of birth, age of dam, sex of calf, all significant interactions and age at weighing as a covariate) as fixed effects and sire nested within village as a random effect was undertaken. Variance components were estimated by Henderson's Method III. Paternal half-sib components of variance and covariance were used to estimate heritabilities of weaning and yearling weights, as well as their genetic and phenotypic correlations. Heritability estimates ($\pm$ standard error) obtained by Henderson's Method III for weaning and yearling weights were $.11{\pm}.03$ and $.13{\pm}.04$, respectively while the phenotypic and genetic correlations were estimated as .32 and $.64{\pm}.10$, respectively. The parameters estimated in this study were at the lower end of the range of reported values from various breeds. It is concluded that further information should be gathered to assist in estimating genetic parameters for other economic traits of Bali beef cattle and to provide more accurate estimates for weaning and yearling weights. These parameters should then be used to formulate a selection program to enable the genetic improvement of Bali Beef cattle.