Utility function to split a given pedigree string and retrieve the pedigrees of the direct parents (female and male). The function handles different formats of cross representations, such as single slashes (/), double slashes (//), or numbered crosses (e.g., /3/). It extracts the highest cross order when available and returns the sub-pedigree for the immediate parents.
Value
A vector of two items representing the direct female and male parents. If parent information is unavailable or unknown, `NA` is returned for the respective parent.
Author
Khaled Al-Shamaa, k.el-shamaa@cgiar.org