Comparative Evaluation of Productive and Reproductive Performances of Indigenous and Crossbred Buffaloes at Bagerhat Buffalo Breeding and Development Farm

Abstract

This study compared the growth, productive, and reproductive performance of Indigenous, Murrah x Indigenous, and Nili-Ravi x Indigenous buffaloes maintained at the Buffalo Breeding and Development Farm, Bagerhat, Bangladesh. A total of 300 farm records were evaluated for three genetic groups, with unequal numbers of animals among groups. Growth traits included birth weight, weight at six months, and adult body weight for both sexes; productive traits included daily milk yield, lactation milk yield, and lactation length; and reproductive traits included age at sexual maturity, age at first calving, calving interval, and services per conception. The available data were analysed using the t-test. Male adult body weight was highest in Murrah x Indigenous buffaloes (560.52±1.06 kg), followed by Nili-Ravi x Indigenous (503.86±1.11 kg) and Indigenous buffaloes (455.16±1.13 kg). The corresponding female adult body weights were 451.8±1.04, 409.22±1.08, and 355.92±0.95 kg, respectively. Daily milk yield was highest in Murrah x Indigenous buffaloes (2.66±0.06 litres). Lactation milk yield was 888.44±21.83 litres in Murrah x Indigenous, 878.2±17.25 litres in Nili-Ravi x Indigenous, and 784.44±28.33 litres in Indigenous buffaloes. Lactation length was greatest in Nili-Ravi x Indigenous buffaloes (351.06±7.31 days). Age at first calving and services per conception did not differ significantly among genetic groups. Overall, the crossbred groups showed higher growth and productive performance than Indigenous buffaloes, whereas reproductive performance was broadly comparable under the farm conditions studied.