'How quickly they can breed sheep less susceptible to flystrike, how effective it is and what impact it has on other production traits is unknown, especially over a range of environments,' Dr Greeff said.
'Differences in the incidence of breech strike, wool production and the cost of production will be evaluated for both the resistant and control lines at each site. Additional traits such as fertility, growth rate, survival rate and ease of shearing will also be assessed.'
CSIRO Livestock Industries research scientist Dr Andrew Swan said each flock would comprise three mobs including one control mob and two selected for breech strike resistance, with half the lambs from each mob mulesed and the other half not mulesed.
'In addition to recording flystrike incidence and the impact on production traits, the project's five year span should also enable us to record any seasonal variations in the incidence of breech strike,' Dr Swan said.
Individual producers across Australia have previously looked to breed sheep less susceptible to breech strike and selected sheep genetics from these flocks may be included in the trials.
Australian Wool Innovation Limited
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