Eficiência reprodutiva de matrizes aneloradas e cruzadas em diferentes manejos reprodutivos em uma propriedade do Sudoeste do Paraná

Abstract

Beef cattle farming plays a significant role in the Brazilian economy, improving productive efficiency and genetic enhancement. Reproductive management practices, such as Fixed-Time Artificial Insemination (FTAI) and natural mating, increase conception rates and allow for strict reproductive control, optimizing genetics and pregnancy rates. This study evaluated the reproductive efficiency of polled and crossbred cattle under different reproductive management strategies on a farm in southwestern Paraná. Data from 434 females were analyzed, distributed across the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 breeding seasons. In the first season, two FTAI protocols were used, followed by natural mating, resulting in a final pregnancy rate of 92.8%. In the 2022/2023 season, only natural mating was used, with pregnancy rates ranging from 74.57% to 94.52%. Statistical analysis, using the chi-square test, did not reveal significant differences between the reproductive management strategies (p > 0.05), indicating that both methods were effective in promoting high conception rates. Crossbreeding between Zebu and taurine breeds, such as polled cattle and Angus, demonstrated greater reproductive efficiency, suggesting the benefits of hybrid vigor. It is concluded that the combination of reproductive management with adequate nutrition and strategic genetic crossbreeding is effective in maximizing pregnancy rates and productivity in beef cattle systems.