Meat quality characteristics if hybrid fatteners obtained from three- and four-way crossings with contribution of Pietrain boars or crosses of Pietrain with Duroc and line 990

Meat quality was examined in 120 fatteners in 5 experimental groups. The analysis included meat quality traits of hybrid pigs, which had been obtained from crossing Polish Large White × Polish Landrace sows with boars of the following breeds and crosses: Pietrain (P), L.990 × Pietrain (LP), Pietrain × L.990 (PL), Duroc × Pietrain (DP), Pietrain × Duroc (PD). The studies demonstrated that the fatteners sired by Pietrain boars (P) were characterised by the highest meatiness, though attained worse meat quality in relation to those from hybrid sires that had 25% of Pietrain blood. It was also demonstrated that the combining ability in reciprocal crossing had no significant influence on the difference in meat quality between the groups LP and PL, as well as DP and PD. In the whole studied material, the meat of barrows had higher intramuscular fat content and brighter colour compared to that of gilts.