Seasonal Variation of Calving in Murrah Buffalo in different Agro Climatic Zones of Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

The estimate of world buffalo population is approximately 185.29 million dispersed in 42countries, out of which 97% (179.75 million) are found only in Asia. According to 19th Livestock Census 2012 it has reached upto 108.7 millions India has approximately 57% (108.7 million) of the total world buffalo population. The water buffalo contributes immensely to the agricultural economy through milk, meat, hides and draught power. Share of buffalo milk occupies the highest position in Indian dairy industry, contributing about 56% of total milk (110MT) produced by its varied population which is less than half that of the cattle population. Population size of Murrah is 20.49 million which constitutes 19.45% of the total buffalo population of India. Murrah buffalo is the most efficient milk producer and has better adaptability throughout India. The biggest limiting factor influencing the productivity of the buffaloes is the seasonality in displaying oestrus, conception rate and calving rate (Shah et al., 1989; Singh and Lal, 1994; Srivastava and Sahni, 1999). This may be the cause of the prolonged intercalving period International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 8 Number 05 (2019) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com