Body Morphometric Characterization in Conjunction with Reproductive Performance of Bali and Bali Cross Cattle in Indonesia

Crossbreeding between Bali Cattle (Bos javanicus) with Bos taurus is applied to improve productivity, however, it may impact the body morphometric characteristics and reproductive performance. This paper aimed to investigate body morphometric characterization in conjunction with the reproductive performance of Bali and Bali Cross Cattle in Indonesia. A total of 110 cattle consisting of 59 Bali, 27 Limousin × Bali (Limbal) and 24 Simmental × Bali (Simbal) were measured for body morphometric data collection. Reproductive performance data were collected based on information from farmers. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance followed by Duncan’s Multiple Range Test, Pearson’s correlation, principal component analysis (PCA), canonical discriminant analysis (CDA), and canonical correlation analysis (CCA). Results showed that Bali Cross (Limbal and Simbal) have higher body morphometric(P<0.05) but lower reproductive performance (P<0.05) compared to Bali Cattle. The first three principal components were able to explain 66.36%, 67.45%, and 78.97% variance of body morphometric on Bali, Limbal and Simbal, respectively. Body length, head length, wither height, rump width, and chest depth were selected as discriminant variables. Based on those variables, 98.30% of Bali cattle were predicted as members of its origin. However, Simbal cattleare classified as Simbal (62.50%) and Limbal (33.30%) while Limbal are classified as Limbal (66.70%) and Simbal (29.60%). The set of body morphometric and reproductive performance variables on Bali Cross have a high canonical correlation. It is concluded that Simbal and Limbal have a high similarity in body morphometrics and a high correlation to reproductive performances.