BOOROOLA MERINO SHEEP AND ITS POSSIBILITI ES OF UTILIZATION IN HUNGARY

Large family of Merinos grew richer by a new breed variant - called Bo oroola - in Australia. Its large reproductive capacity is attributed t o the Fec(B) major gene that is hereditary monofactorially. Hungary pu rchased Booroola merinos first in Europe in 1980. In 1992, 2800 Fec(B) gene transporting ewes - crossed with Hungarian Merinos - were under herd book control and were registered as a new breed variant upon thei r production under the name of ,,Prolific Merino''. The flock was more convenient for frequent lambing than the Hungarian Merino ewes (Figs 3 and 4) and the service period was also shorter (Fig. 5). Frequent la mbing also slowed down the economically non-required occurrence of lit ters with 4 to 5 lambs and losses of lambs (Tables 1 and 2). The autho rs wish further improve the competitiveness of Booroola by increasing the genetic disposition due to frequent lambing. The breed variant see ms to be very suitable for direct Booroola useful animal-production cr ossing with suffolk or for indirect one starting with Hungarian Merino and ending with suffolk.