Costa Annamaria, Buoio Eleonora, Pallaoro Margherita, Mainardi Edda, Mirra Giorgio, Di Giancamillo Alessia, Mazzola Silvia Michela, Rossi Raffaella
Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (DIVAS), University of Milan (UNIMI), Via dell'Università, 6, 26900 Lodi, LO, Italy.
Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health (SCIBIS), University of Milan (UNIMI), Via Mangiagalli, 31, 20133 Milano, MI, Italy.
Animals (Basel). 2025 Sep 10;15(18):2655. doi: 10.3390/ani15182655.
The Nero di Lomellina (NL) pig, a newly established breed from the cross of the Poland China with the Berkshire breed, which was created to reconstitute a local breed called Nero di Cavour, was recognized by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture in 2020 (DM 12222/2020). The objective of this study is to investigate, for the first time, the zootechnical performance and environmental response of the NL breed in comparison with a commercial crossbreed (CH; Large White × Duroc). An evaluation was conducted of a traditional closed-cycle farming system rearing NL and CH mixed in the same units. Pigs were observed for two cycles of 10 months each, one with piglets born in winter and the other in summer, to evaluate the productive performance and stress response through hair cortisol (HCC) levels of the pigs according to environmental conditions. For this purpose, the temperature-humidity index (THI) was calculated for each phase of the two cycles, and the values were compared with the comfort zone values indicated by the Italian Classyfarm values. The NL pigs showed slower growth performance in the first phase, with a high THI ( < 0.05). In the R2 phase, the backfat thickness was higher in the NL than CH pigs ( < 0.001). The CH had consistently higher HCC compared with the NL pigs across the production phases, showing a potential higher response to chronic stress. It is worth noting that the NL weaners and growers seemed to better face a cold environment, referring to their growth performance in comparison with the commercial breed, although the local breeds usually show a slower growth rate and hair cortisol levels during the second cycle, which was characterized by prolonged low temperatures far from the comfort zones. More studies are needed to deepen the influence of the environment, as well as consider the outdoor conditions on the physiological status, productivity, and meat quality of this new breed.
内罗迪洛梅利纳（NL）猪是通过波兰中国猪与伯克夏猪杂交新培育出的品种，旨在重现名为内罗迪卡武尔的当地品种，于2020年被意大利农业部认可（DM 12222/2020）。本研究的目的是首次调查NL品种与商业杂交品种（CH；大白猪×杜洛克猪）相比的畜牧学性能和环境响应。对在同一单元中混养NL和CH的传统封闭式循环养殖系统进行了评估。对猪观察了两个周期，每个周期10个月，一个周期仔猪在冬季出生，另一个在夏季出生，以根据环境条件通过猪的毛发皮质醇（HCC）水平评估生产性能和应激反应。为此，计算了两个周期各阶段的温度湿度指数（THI），并将这些值与意大利Classyfarm值所示的舒适区值进行比较。NL猪在第一阶段生长性能较慢，THI较高（<0.05）。在R2阶段，NL猪的背膘厚度高于CH猪（<0.001）。在整个生产阶段，CH猪的HCC始终高于NL猪，表明其对慢性应激的潜在反应更高。值得注意的是，NL断奶仔猪和生长猪似乎能更好地应对寒冷环境，从其与商业品种相比的生长性能来看，尽管当地品种在第二个周期通常生长速度较慢且毛发皮质醇水平较高，该周期的特点是长时间处于远离舒适区的低温环境。需要更多研究来深入了解环境的影响，并考虑户外条件对这个新品种的生理状态、生产力和肉质的影响。
