Genetic analysis of skin measurements and its relation with milk production in Murrah buffaloes reared under tropical conditions of Chhattisgarh plains.

Abstract

The experiment was conducted at ABIS Buffalo Dairy Farm, Rajnandgaon, on 300 milking Murrah buffaloes. In buffaloes, the information on body measurements, skin thickness, and their associations with milk yield and interrelationship among them is scanty. Hence, the present study was designed to establish the relationship of skin thickness with milk production in Murrah buffaloes. The data was statistically analyzed using R statistical software. The average skin thickness of the neck, chest, abdomen, rump, hind quarter, udder, and flank regions were 6.27 ± 0.11, 6.13 ± 0.13, 7.28 ± 0.14, 9.78 ± 0.15, 8.00 ± 0.12, 4.14 ± 0.09, and 8.53 ± 0.12mm, respectively. In this study, the skinfold thickness of the neck and chest regions had a highly significant effect (P < 0.01) on the total lactation milk yield of Murrah buffaloes whereas skin thickness of other regions under study had no significant effect on total lactation milk yield. The results of the study revealed that parity and stage of lactation had a significant effect (P < 0.05) on the skinfold thickness of all the seven regions of Murrah buffalo under investigation. The study indicated that except for the udder region the correlation of all skin thickness with TMY was found to be negative and significant. The genetic correlations between milk yield and skin thickness of the neck, abdomen, and udder were low to medium. The heritability estimate for different skinfold thicknesses and milk yield in this study was low to medium. These results could facilitate further exploration in the use of skinfold thickness for management precision and can be useful in the selection of better animals under field conditions.