Genetic evaluation of some first lactation traits in Murrah buffaloes

Abstract

A study was conducted for studying the inheritance pattern of some first lactation traits in Murrah buffaloes. Data on 577 Murrah buffaloes maintained at the farms - Firozpur, Ambala, Jallandhar, Jhansi, Lucknow, Bareilly, Agra and Pantnagar spread over 34 years was used. The traits considered were age at first calving (AFC), first calving interval (FCI), first lactation milk yield (FLMY), first lactation period (FLP), weight at first calving (FCI) and first service period (FSP). The heritability estimates (h2±S.E) for AFC, FCI, FLMY, FLP, WFC and FSP traits were found to be 0.40±0.15, 0.14±0.10, 0.31±0.14, 0.23±0.12, 0.36±0.13 and 0.06±0.0, respectively. The genetic and phenotypic correlations revealed that selection for lower age at first calving and higher lactation milk yield can be used as a selection criterion for the genetic improvement in Murrah buffaloes.

Comparative assessment of sire evaluation by incorporating auxiliary traits for estimation of breeding values of first lactation traits in Tharparkar cattle

“…The majority of genetic improvement comes through sires because of favorable differential and higher selection intensity. Therefore, the success of any breeding strategy depends on the identification of genetically superior sires and their maximum utilization (Tewari, 2007) [7] . The breeding value of the sires for milk yield depends on the phenotypic value of its progeny's milk yield as well as other correlated traits (Narain, 1985) [4] .…”