Impact of external influences on reproductive and lactational performance metrics in crossbred Murrah buffaloes, Nepal
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53555/jaz.v46i1.5076Keywords:
Crossbred Murrah Buffalo, External influences, Reproduction traits, Lactational parametersAbstract
Buffaloes are an essential part of rural households with a big impact on the socioeconomic well-being of communities in Nepal. Buffalo farming efficiency could be increased by employing strategic breeding programs and efficient management techniques, whereas such practices are not scientifically done in the rural communities. There are ways to determine whether crossbred Murrah buffaloes are superior, by assessing reproductive and lactational performance matrix. Parity, season, and location all are considered major external influences, which aid in identifying buffaloes with superior genetic makeup. This research was conducted in the Terai and mid-hill districts over three consecutive years during 2017 to 2020. The study included 16,912 pregnant and milking buffaloes, with 10,987 from Terai- Dhanusha district and 5,925 from Mid-hill- Kaski district. Data on desired traits were collected from the Veterinary Hospital Livestock Specialties Center's Artificial Insemination record book and the livestock service section from the Rural Municipality using a set of questionnaires. The data were analyzed by using the mixed technique of the Harvey model.The findings revealed that the overall least squares mean of age at conception (AC), age at first calving (AFC), calving interval (CI), lactation length (LL), lactation milk yield (LMY), standard milk yield (SMY), daily milk yield (DMY), and peak milk yield (PMY) were 35.10±0.56 kg, 975.14±10.54 days, 1287.88±10.50 days, 420.00 ±3.60 days, 276.66±2.32 days, 2097.64±39.88 liters, 2310.59±37.29 liters, 7.5±0.012 liters, and 9.76±0.015 liters, respectively. Age at conception, age at first calving, and calving interval were strongly impacted (p<0.001) by location, period, season, and parity. The research findings evident that external influences significantly impact to the reproductive and lactational performance of crossbred Murrah buffaloes. This emphasizes the need to opt improved breeding management along with selection of superior buffaloes to achieve higher milk yield and shorter calving intervals.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Deo Nandan Sah, Mohan Prasad Sharma, Naba Raj Devkota, Nirajan Bhattarai
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