53. Wool production performance of Harnai sheep from Asgharavalley, Sinjavi, District Ziarat
Abstract
The study was designed to investigate the wool production performance of Harnai sheep of Asghara valley, Sinjavi, District Ziarat. In this study data from 3524 sheep regarding their wool production was collected and analyzed. The animals included in this study were kept by 26 different sheep farmers of Asghara, Marati, Arbosi and Kharawa areas of District Ziarat.. The wool samples were collected from 165 (4.682%) male, 1438 (40.806%) female, 771 (21.879%) male young stock and 1150 (32.633%) female young stock. The average wool sheared from adult male was highest (1.90 kg), followed by adult female (1.80 kg) and male young stock (1.60 kg); while the lowest (1.55 kg) was sheared from female young stock. The overall mean yield of white and mixed wool from an adult sheep was 1.75 and 0.10 kg from young sheep was 1.58 and 0.10 kg respectively. Most of the sheared wool from sheep (70%) was marketed; while 30% was reported to be consumed locally for multiple purposes. At farmers’ level, the price of one kg wool was Rs. 24/-, while the price of white and mix wool was Rs. 28.50 and 19.75 at retail level and Rs. 31.25 and 23.75/kg at wholesale level. This study concludes that wool quality and quantity may be maximized by adopting modern scientific technologies
Keywords: Fleece production; Shearing techniques; Harnai sheep; Marketing; Season of shearing
