What pig breeds have been developed in China?

  More than 20 breeds have been developed in China, including Sanjiang White pig, Hubei White pig, Yunong White pig lines I and II, Harbin White pig, Shanghai White pig, Yili White pig, Ganzhou White pig, Hanzhong White pig, Beijing Black pig, Shanxi Black pig, Northeast Spotted pig, Fannong Spotted pig, Beijing Spotted pig, etc.

  (1) Sanjiang White pig

  1. Origin and distribution: Originally from the Dongjiang region of Heilongjiang Province, distributed in areas along the Heilongjiang, Ussuri and Songhua rivers.

  2. Constitution and appearance: Light head with a straight snout, ears drooping or slightly tilted forward, the whole body covered with white bristles, straight back and loin, relatively long middle body, small belly circumference, full hindquarters, sturdy limbs. Solid hooves, about 7 pairs of teats.

  3. Production performance: Relatively prolific, with 9-10 piglets for first-parity sows and 11-12 for multiparous sows. It is a lean-meat type breed, with characteristics such as fast growth, relatively high litter size, high lean-meat percentage, good meat quality and tolerance to cold climate.

  4. Crossbreeding utilization: This pig breed has good combining ability when crossed with Duroc, Hampshire and Landrace pigs, and the effect is especially notable when crossed with Duroc pigs.

  (2) Hubei White pig

  1. Origin and distribution: Produced in the Central China region, in the area of Wuchang and Hankou in Hubei Province.

  2. Constitution and appearance: The Hubei Guang White pig has an all-white coat, a slightly light head that is straight and long, ears tilted forward or slightly drooping, straight back and loin, relatively long middle body, small belly, full legs and hindquarters, sturdy limbs and hooves, and more than 6 pairs of functional teats.

  3. Production performance: This breed has characteristics such as high lean-meat percentage, good meat quality, fast growth and development, and excellent reproductive performance. At 6 months of age, boars reach a body weight of 90 kg, and 90 kg body weight is reached at 180 days of age. Litter size is 9.5-10.5 piglets for first-parity sows and more than 12 for multiparous sows.

  4. Crossbreeding utilization: Using the Hubei White pig as the dam and crossing it with Duroc and Hampshire pigs both show good combining ability, and the effect is especially obvious when crossed with Duroc pigs. For the first filial generation of Duroc x Hubei White crossbred fattening pigs, during the 20-90 kg body weight stage, the daily gain is 0.65-0.75 kg.

  (3) Yunong White pig lines I and II. The breeding of Yunong White pig line II was based on line I, crossing with introduced Large Yorkshire and intercrossing, using the method of population subline selection, and was completed over 6 years.

  1. Origin and distribution: Produced in Henan Province and the central region, with Zhengzhou as the center of the production area, and widely distributed along railway lines in Henan, Hebei, Shandong and Shanxi.

  2. Constitution and appearance: Yunong White pig line II is relatively large in body size, with an all-white coat, medium-sized head, erect ears, and a slightly concave face. Straight back and loin, slightly large belly but not drooping, full legs and hindquarters, sturdy limbs, and a solid constitution. More than 6 pairs of teats.

  3. Production performance: First-parity sows have a litter size of 10.5 piglets and 9.7 live-born piglets; multiparous sows have a litter size of 11.5 piglets and 10.4 live-born piglets; average individual weaning weight at 60 days is 19.4 kg. In the fourth generation, during the 25-90 kg fattening period, daily gain is 763.90 g, feed-to-meat ratio is 2.72:1, live backfat thickness is 8.47 cm, carcass lean-meat percentage reaches 66.1%, ham and rump ratio is 33.45%, and loin eye area is 44.03 sq cm.

  4. Crossbreeding utilization: When Yunong White pig line II is used as the dam and crossed with Large Yorkshire and Duroc boars, commercial pigs have a daily gain of 815.48 g during the fattening period, a feed-to-meat ratio of 2.68:1, and a lean-meat percentage of 67.71%.

  (4) Harbin White pig

  1. Origin and distribution: Produced in the southern and central parts of Heilongjiang Province, with Harbin and its surrounding counties as the center of the production area.

  2. Constitution and appearance: Relatively large in body size, with an all-white coat, medium-sized head, erect ears, and a slightly concave face. Straight back and loin, slightly large belly but not drooping, full legs and hindquarters, sturdy limbs, and a solid constitution. More than 7 pairs of teats.

  3. Production performance: Average daily gain is 587 g, with 3.7 kg of compound feed and 0.6 kg of green feed consumed per kg of gain. Slaughter rate is 74%, backfat thickness is 5 cm, loin eye area is 30.8 sq cm, ham and rump ratio is 26.5%, and carcass lean-meat percentage at 90 kg slaughter is more than 45%.

  4. Crossbreeding utilization: When Landrace boars are crossed with Harbin White sows, litter size increases by 1.2 piglets compared with Harbin White pigs, weaning litter weight increases by 23.3 kg, and daily gain during the fattening period increases by 38 g. Through crossbreeding and breeding, the Harbin White pig has excellent characteristics such as relatively fast fattening speed, high piglet birth weight and high weaning weight.