Genetic and Phenotypic Trends along with Genetic Parameters of Production Traits in Murrah Buffalo

Aim: This study investigates the genetic parameters and trends in production traits of Murrah buffaloes over a 24-year period (1996-2019) at a farm in Hisar, Haryana. Data on key production traits including 305 days milk yield (305DMY), peak yield (PY), lactation length (LL), dry period (DP), lactation milk yield (LMY), and wet average (WA) were collected from 614 Murrah buffaloes.

Methodology: Utilizing a univariate animal model, the average estimated breeding values for the production traits were computed: 2148.05 kg for 305DMY, 10.74 kg/day for PY, 319.19 days for LL, 117.88 days for DP, 2288.80 kg for LMY, and 7.12 kg/day for WA.

Results: The study revealed a minimum genetic correlation of -0.81 and a phenotypic correlation of -0.32 between LL and WA. Heritability estimates for 305DMY, PY, LL, DP, LMY, and WA ranged from 0.13 to 0.48, while repeatability estimates varied from 0.35 to 0.54. The genetic trends were positive for all production traits except LL and DP, while phenotypic trends had positive values for all traits except DP.

Conclusion: From this study, it can be inferred that selecting based on peak yield as a benchmark would be more fit for achieving correlated improvements in other production traits.