Investigation of the applicability of embryo transfer in dairy cows in field conditions.

The applicability of embryo transfer not routinely performed in dairy cows in Turkey was investigated in field conditions in this study. The study was performed on five dairy farms in four districts of Konya. In the study, thirty Holstein cows were used as embryo donors, and all donors were treated with the same superovulation protocol. A progesterone-releasing device was placed inside the vagina to of the donor cows on random day of the estrous cycle (day 0). FSH treatment was started on day 7 after insertion of progesterone device. A total dose of 400 mg of NIH-FSH-P1 were was administered with a decreasing dosage regimen for four days 12 hours apart. On day 9, PGF2α was in-jected at in the morning (at on the time of the 5th FSH injection) and progesterone device was removed 12 h later. Do-nors showing estrus were inseminated twice every with other 12 hours apart. Recipient cows (n=45) and heifers (n=49) were synchronized with a double dose PGF2α (on the -3 and the 8 th days) protocol. Embryos recovered non-surgically on day 7 after first insemination. After microscopic evaluation, transferable available embryos were transferred to sui-table recipients. Pregnancy was diagnosed by ultrasonography on day 35 after embryo transfer. Embryo recovery was done on 23 of 30 donor cows, and 158 CL on ovaries of these donors were detected. In all flushings, 85 embryos were recovered and 24 of them were transferred to recipients. On Thirty five days after embryo transfer, pregnancy rate was 62.5%. In conclusion; embryo transfer can be applied in enterprises in Konya.