Factors affecting first lactation cumulative monthlymilk yields in Frieswal cattle

Abstract

A study was conducted to analyse the effect of various factors on cumulative monthly milk yields in Frieswal cows at Military Dairy Farm, Meerut, over a period of eight years (2006-2013). A total of 441 part lactation records of cows born to 30 Frieswal sires were analyzed using the SAS (2002) software. The least squares’ model developed for the cumulative 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210, 240, 270 and 300 days yields accounted for 13.5, 13.5, 12.8, 12.0, 11.5, 11.6, 11.3, 10.3, 13.7 and 13.7 per cent of the total variation, respectively. The overall least squares’ averages for the cumulative 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210, 240, 270 and 300 days of first lactation yields were estimated as 313.29, 660.83, 998.19, 1321.58, 1627.06, 1916.78, 2201.26, 2445.01, 2741.04 and 2972.64 kg, respectively. The effects of sire, season and period of calving were found to be statistically non-significant on any of the cumulative monthly part lactation yields while the regression of monthly part yields on AFC was found to be highly significant (P<0.01). Based on the results it was concluded that the AFC was the most significant factor which alters the cumulative part lactation yields in Frieswal cattle while the other factors like sire of cows, season and period of calving did not alter the part yields significantly. The cows calved during rainy season produce comparatively higher yield followed by summer and winter calvers. It may also be concluded that the genetic selection programme implemented in the Frieswal project resulted in increasing the milk production over the years of study.