CARCASS TRAITS EVALUATION ON A CATTLE POPULATION NELLORE AND EUROPEAN RACES X NELLORE BY MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES

Records of 137 animals of a cattle population Nello re (86 males) and of a generation F1 bovine coming from the crossbreding of female Nellore with different Europ ean races (51 males), were used to evaluate the ass ociation among performance, carcass and meat quality traits using the principal components method. The traits evaluated were: carcass weight (PC), valuation of shape (VS), upper thigh fattening state (FS), pH (pH)) and Cu ota Hilton (CH). The statistical study was carried out using the programme JMP, SAS (1998). Multivariate analyses, showed significant differences among mean vectors of traits. The first and second principal components explained 45% and 55% of the total variation in bot h populations. The characters of more weight inside this component as the fattening state and mainly valuati on of shape is a good approach for the framing of t he carcass inside the quota Hilton.