Genetic parameters of Cholistani Cattle in Pakistan

Abstract

The cattle population of Pakistan is 47.8 million. The cattle are a major dairy animal contributing more than 35% of the total annual milk production in Paksitan. Predominantly, the cattle are scrub type which doesn’t fall in a specific breed and they produce lesser quantities of milk however, Pakistan is home to some famous milk producing breeds. Amongst those, the Cholistani cattle is a unique breed having fair quantity of milk bearing the harsh climatic conditions of the Cholistan desert and adjoining areas of the country. They also bear the challenges posed by hardships of parasitic infestations and diseases of the warm regions while also meeting the production demands and dairying needs of the region. In order to assess the genetic parameters of this important dairy cattle breed, Data on 1473 lactation records of 306 Cholistani cows kept at Government Livestock Farm, Jugait Peer, District Bahawalpur were utilized to estimate the genetic parameters of heritability, repeatability and genetic correlations of different productive and reproductive traits.