Pantnagar Journal of Research

Abstract

India has about 48.12 million indigenous cattle out of total 190.90 million (37.28%) cattle population as per the all India livestock census, 2012. The trend in livestock population over decades showed that the composition of cattle population is in favor of crossbred/exotic cattle (increased by 20.18%) than the indigenous cattle (decreased by 8.94%). Thus improving the indigenous stock by proper selection is the need of the hour. Selection is mostly based on the milk production of the animal which is affected by various genetic and non-genetic factors. Sire, season of calving, period of calving, parity of animals, age group of animals etc affect the milk production. Adjustment of significant effect of non-genetic factors on milk production helps in accurate estimation of genetic parameters. The production traits reviewed in the article were monthly test day milk yield (MTDMY), 305 days milk yield (305MY) and lifetime milk yield (LTMY). Understanding the factors affecting milk production in Sahiwal cattle is essential to enhance the selection process and thus the productivity of indigenous cattle.