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• 1. Bhadawari breeding tract Agra, Etawah, Jaluan, Aurriya, Jhansi and Lalitpur in U.P.& Bhind,Morena and Gwalior dist. Of M.P. The Bhadawari Tehsil of Agra, Chakar Nagar and Barhpura blockof EtawahBhadawari buffaloes are high fat content in their milk, goes as high as 14 %. Zachariah (1941) had firstdescribed this breed as Bhadawan buffalo the best breed of buffaloes in U.P. The popularity of this breedwas known to the world by the detailed description given by Kaura (1950, 1961). Bhadawari found inthe ravines of Yamuna and Chambal rivers spread over U.P. & M.P.. The Bhadawari buffaloes have adaptedto climatic stress and draught conditions. They are said to be resistant to many tropical bovine diseases. Thebuffaloes are low milk yield but the fat content as high as 13 % (Singh and Desai 1962). The male arebest for ploughing the marshy paddy fields and the mortality rate in the calves is quite low as compared to otherbreeds.The animals can easily tolerate the extreme weather conditions & maximum temperature goes up to 48oC.Unlike Murrah buffaloes they do not demand frequent bath and wallowing, but enjoy it if given a chance.Bhadawari are regular breeder giving a calf per year in the field condition. They have low milk yield butsweet milk with high fat and flavor. So also used to this breed is highly suited for ghee making,which is the common village industry.TARAIOrigin and Breeding tract Tarai buffalo breed is the mainly breed of Uttarakhand. This breed is foundmainly in Ram Nagar, Sitarganj, Khatima, Nanakmatta areas of Kumaon of Uttarakhand. This breed isalso found in Philibhit and Bareilly districts of Uttar Pradesh.Population As per 18th livestock census 2007, the total number of animals of this breed was recorded as27,757 and total population of buffaloes in the state was recorded as 12-19 lacs. Tarai breed of buffalois less known breed being maintained by farmers in Tarai part of Uttarakhand and U.P. State.Physical Characteristics Some of the important characteristics is described as follows: - Body Grayish brown to black coat colour on black colorskin. Eyelids, hooves, nose ridge, face andpastern joint are mostly black in 89 to 95%cases. HornsOrientation of horns is mostly backward (76%)and black in color. Shape of horn is slightlycurved to sickle shape (76%) measuring 44 cm

2. with tip projecting mostly upward (72%). Horns are smaller in females (32 cm) than males (44 cm.).MarkingEyeTail Slightly lower than hock joint measuring 89 to 99 cm. Switch of the tail is mostly white.Body Medium, compact with small, straight and shining hair.Navel is tight and sheath is non pendulous.Head Short in length, convex (60%) or flat (35%) in shapeFaceNeck Strong neck of 63 to 66 cm long in female and 70 to 71 cm long in males.EarOrientation of ear is backward and comparatively small in size.LimbsSkinUdderShape of udder is mostly round (56%) and rarely pendulous. Fore udder is either flat (31%) or projected (45%) when filled with milk. Rear udder is small.Teats46% of teats are small with pointed tips.Morphological CharacteristicsHeart girth of adult animals is 201 cm, while paunch girth is 227 cm, height of the animals is 156 cm.Navel is tight and sheath is non pendulous. Temperament of female is docile, however, that of male isaggressive as usual.Performance RecordFat per cent of milk was recorded from records of the primary milk collection society where farmer wassupplying the milk.(a) Monthly milk yield: first month of first lactation was 127.074.18kg. while during secondlactation it was 125.863.39 kg. Milk yield progressively decline from third month to 12th monthof lactation.(b) Lactation milk yield: 1054kg.(c) Fat%: 6.58%.(d) SNF%:8.57(e) Lactation length :291days..Reproduction Performance.(a) Service Period: 197days.(b) Dry Period: 186days.(c) Calving interval: 470daysManagement PracticesIn the breeding tract of this breed, farmers rear Tarai buffaloes with other species of animals. Majorityof the farmers tied their animals at night few farmers tied animals throughout the day and night.Buffaloes are allowed to graze in forest/community land during the day time while they are kept nearthe residence during night hours. The Van Gujjars of Uttarakhand maintained their buffaloes mainly on 3. grazing in the forest area.Housing SystemMostly farmers keep the animals in houses which is a part of farmers residence. Animals are housedboth in kachha (thatch) shelters and in cemented houses. During the day time animals are kept in openhouses. Animal sheds are well ventilated. The floors of most of the houses are kachha but some farmershave brick soled floors. Van Gujjar of the area keep their animals in forest area under tree or undersome thatch houses. Farmers cleaned animals shed when their animals are out of the shed for grazingafter morning milking. The dung, urine and other wastes in the sheds are cleaned daily.Feeding SystemPlenty of feed and fodders crops are available in the home tract region of Tarai buffaloes. Dry fodderconsists of wheat straw, maize, jowar and rice straw while barseem, lucerne, maize and jowar greenfodders are available as per seasonal pattern of cropping / availability. The farmers residing nearby tothe forest areas also collect leaves of different plants. Farmers use mustered cake, cooked grains ofbarley, oat and wheat for feeding to Tarai buffaloes with better production performance. Almost allfarmers provide green folder as well as dry chaffed fodder to their animals. Soaked concentrate, mixedwith dry fodder is provided to the animals mostly at the time of milking. The milking of Tarai buffaloes isdone twice - in the morning and evening.Breeding methodIn the breeding tract of Tarai buffaloes, most of the farmers are keeping one or two buffaloes and landholding is small. So it is not possible for each farmers to maintain a breeding bull. Thus, in the area, afew Tarai bulls are maintained by the farmers have to be used for breeding.Calf ManagementFarmers allowed calves to suckle their mothers throughout the lactation period. In spite of low milk yieldof Tarai buffaloes, calf suckling is encouraged for milk let down. Dehorning of calves is not in practiced.Deworming of the calves is not done by most of the farmers.Conservation of Breed(i) 10,590 doses of DFS of Tarai buffalo were prepared and supplied to NBAGR, Karnal.(ii) 28 Tarai buffalo bulls maintained under the project were transferred to U.S. Nagar Dugdha Utpadak Sahakari Sangh Ltd., Rudrapur for distribution to different milking societies for use in breeding and improvement of Tarai buffaloes.Socio-economic impactThe importance of this breed is being realized by the farmers as the animals can be maintained on lowinput system by the marginal and small land holding farmers. This breed performs very well underunfavourable conditions of Tarai climate, the males are very good for ploughing/puddling in the ricefields. Therefore, the value of the Tarai buffalo will improve.Breeding Policy for Buffalo in UttarakhandName of the ZoneBreeding Policy RemarksZone A: upto 1000 mGrading up with pure Policy universal forAltitude:Murrah semen.buffalo state wideTropical Zone: Plains, Terai,Bhavar, Shivalik & ValliesZone B: 1000 1500 mGrading up with pure Policy universal forAltitude:Murrah semen.buffalo state wideSubtropical ZoneZone C: 1500 2400 mGrading up with pure Policy universal forAltitude:Murrah semen.buffalo state wideCool Temperate ZoneZone D: Above 2400 m Grading up with pure Policy universal forAltitude:Murrah semen.buffalo state wideSub-Alpine Zone 4. contributed by CV singh and RS BarwalOrigin and breeding tractThe home tract of Nili-Ravi buffaloes range in the belt between the Sutluj and Ravi rivers of the undividedPunjab Province. Actually Nili & Ravi were two different breeds long before, but due to thepassage of time and with intensive crossbreeding, the two breeds converted into single breednamed Nili-Ravi. Nili-Ravi buffaloes are found in almost all the districts, with major concentration inAmritsar, Gurdaspur and Ferozepur districts of Indian Punjab and in Lahore, Sheikhupura, Faizabad,Okora, Sahiwal, Multan, Bohawalpur and Bahwalnagar districts of Pakistan Punjab. However, due to gooddairy characteristics of this breed in Pakistan, Nili-Ravi buffaloes are found in whole of Pakistan withmajor concentration in buffalo colony at Karachi, where large number of Nili Ravi buffaloes are procuredfrom the breeding tract for supply of fresh milk to city residents.PopulationThe estimated population of Nili-Ravi type of buffaloes in their breeding tract(Ferozepur, Amritsar andGurudaspur districts of Punjab) is around 0.2 million(vij and Tantia,2005). The three districts have almostequal number of these animals. Ferozepur district, which is otherwise considered as a breeding tract ofNili-Rvi, now have more than 50% buffaloes of Murrah type. Ferozepur and Amritsar districts have only10.8% and 8.7% of Nili-Ravi type buffaloes respectively. On the contrary, Gurudaspur district not knownearlier as major breeding tract of Nili-Ravi, has the highest proportion 14% of Nili-Ravi type buffaloes.The majority of buffaloes in the breeding tract are now found to be non-descript with 72.6% in Amritsar,68.7% in Gurudaspur and 36.1% in Ferozepur districts. 5. Buffaloes are major milk producer of the state of Punjab., India. A breed wise livestock census was firsttime conducted in Punjab in 2007 and population of different genetic groups of buffaloes is given in table.Breed / GroupMales FemalesTotal % age of totalMurrah0.938.70 9.6319.25Nili-Ravi 0.38 3.093.47 6.94Grade (non- 3.31 31.6234.9369.98descript)Others0.211.78 1.99 3.98Total 4.83 45.1950.02 --A perusal of the table reveals that Murrah is predominant buffalo breed (19.25% of total) in the state, while Nili-Ravi breedconstitute only 6.94 % of the total buffalo population of Punjab. Graded buffaloes constitute 69.98% of buffalo herd of the state. Asper the survey conducted by National Bureau of Animal genetic resources, karnal , most of the Nili-Ravi buffaloes found in Punjabare graded Nili-Ravi buffaloes and only very few are specimens of true breed. Most of the buffaloes having white marking on feet,forehead or walled in one or both eyes are considered Nili-Ravi breed but actually are grade Nili-Ravi buffaloes for which noseparate class was envisaged in the livestock census of 2007.Physical Characteristics Some of the important characteristics is described as follows: - Body The color is usually black but brown is not coloruncommon. HornsHorns are small, tightly curled but slightly lesscurled as compared to that of Murrah andcircular in cross section. MarkingWhite markings are found on hind legs, forelegs and white spots on forehead, muzzle. EyeThey are usually walled eyes. Tail Tail is thick at the base, gradually taperstowards the end and extends below hocks witha white switch. Body Nili-Ravi buffaloes are large size and havedeep and low set frames. Head The head is elongated, bulging at top and isdepressed between eyes. 6. FaceNeck Neck is long and thin in females while it is thick and powerful in the male.EarLimbsSkinUdderUdder is well shaped,capacious and extends well forward upto naval flap.TeatsTeats are long, even squarely placed.Service Period(days) 138.37 to 280.96 days.Dry Period (days) 98.20 to 202.26Calving Interval (months) 443.03 to 579.99 days.Production TraitsThe studies pertained to Military dairy farms and CIRB farm at Nabha. The field surveys done by NBAGR and GADVASU in the Nili-Ravi belt of Punjab has also been included for estimating the weighted average..Traits AverageRange in Different ReportsAverage lactation length 306 262-319(days)Average lactation milk yield 1945 1688-2317(kg)Average daily milk yield (kg)Peak milk yield (kg)9.47.2-11.8Average Fat%6.9 6.6-7.2Average SNF%.The average lactation yield was 1945 kg in Nili-Ravi buffaloes ranged between 1688 to 2317. Average fatof Nili-Ravi buffalo milk was 6.9% and was less in comparison to various reports on milk of Murrahbuffaloes.Murrah 7. Origin & Breeding TractBuffaloes, in the northwest region of India have long been selected for high milk production and curledhorns. These were named as Murrah which means curled. These buffaloes were also named asdelhi referring to the center of their origin.Its home tract stretches around the southern parts of Haryana comprising the districts of rohtak, Jind,Hisar, Jhajhar, Fatehabad, Gurgaon and the Union Territory of Delhi. However, this breed has spreadto almost all parts of the country and is being bred either in pure form or is being used as improverbreed for grading up local buffaloes. In fact, this breed has even found and important place in thelivestock industry of many developing countries like Bulgaria, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, China, 8. Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nepal, former USSR, Myanmar, Vietnam, Brazil and Shri Lanka.The Soils of the area are mostly light-textured, sandy and loamy. In some parts of the breeding tractsurface soils are light in texture but available nitrogen, and medium to high in phosphorus andnitrogen.The breeding tract has relatively hot and dry climate. Maximum temperature goes as high as 45Cduring summer. Minimum temperature may reach near freezing point in winter with frost for a fewdaysBiometryAverages of length, height and heart girth of adult males are 150, 142 and 220 cm, and of females148,133 and 202cm respectively. Average birth weight of male calves is 31.7 kg and that of femalecalves is 30kg. Adult body weight ranges from 450 to 800kg (average 567 kg) in males and from 350 to700 kg (average 516kg) in females.Physical CharacteristicsSome of the important characteristics is described as follows: - Body The color is jet black. Rarely white markings on colorface and leg extremities may be there, but arenot preferred HornsDifferent from other breeds; short, tight,turning backward and upward and finallyspirally curving inward. The horns should besomewhat flattened. As the age advances thehorns get loosened slightly but spiral curvesincrease. MarkingNil EyeEyes are Black , active and prominent infemales but slightly shrunken in males andshould not be walled i.e. cornea should nothave whiteness. Tail Long reaching upto fetlock joint with black orwhite (max. 6 inches) switch. Body Sound built, heavy and wedge shaped. 9. Head Medium Face Medium Neck Neck is long and thin in females and thick andmassive in males. EarEars are short, thin and alert. Limbs Short but strong built. Skin Soft, smooth with scanty hair as compared toother buffaloes. UdderFully developed, drooping with equallydistributed teats over the udder. TeatsTeats are long, and places uniformly wide apartbut hind teats are longer than fore teats.Production TraitsLactation Milk Yield : 1800 kg.Reproduction TraitsAverage age at first calving is 43month and dry period are 6 months in the first lactation and 154.8daysfor overall lactations. Service period averages 177.1 days in first parity and 136.3 days in overallparities.First calving interval varies from 455 to 632 days (averages 488.1days), and overall calvinginterval varies from 430 to 604 days (average 452.9 days). Number of service per conception varies from1.75 to 2.15 9 average (1.93)Origin & Breeding TractThe Nagpuri buffalo is a versatile breed of the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra State which combine themilk and drought qualities in a better proportion in adverse climatic conditions. The animals of this breed 10. are very well adapted to the harsh-semi-arid conditions of Vidarbha region and can withstand extremeclimatic conditions as high as 47 C even in respect of milk production and fertility. This breed derives itsname from Nagpur district and is popularly called Varhadi (Berari), Ellicpuri / Achalpuri, particularly inAkola, Amravati, Buldhana and Yavatmal districts .The traditional breeding tract of this breed covers an area of 41,105 sq. km. and a considerable part ofthe tract is semi-arid and suffers acute water storage. The maximum temperature ranging between 46-47C is not uncommon during the peak summer seasonThe natural breeding tract of the breed isEllichpur (Achalpur), Paratwada, Daryapur and Anjangaon-Surji tehsils of Amravati districts .Typical specimens of Nagpuri buffalo are also found in the vicinity of Arvi tehsil of Wardha district . Theseanimals in their pure form are found in Degma and Kavdas villages of Hingna tehsil; Kathlabodi andRohna villages of Katol tehsil of Nagpur district . Jamwadi, Kalamb, Chaparda, Ghoti and Jamb-bazarvillages in Yavatmal district are the main pockets of this breed. People of Nanda-gawalis and Gosavicommunities are found to own this breed. Occupying isolated hamlets in remote villages, they claim to bedescendants of cow-herd friends of Lord Krishna. Nanda-Gawalis rear only Nagpuri buffaloes .Source: A. R. Sirothia, D.S. Kale and S.B. KamblePopulationMaharashtra possesses three recognized indigenous breeds of buffaloes which belong to differentregions of state. These are Nagpuri, Pandharpuri and Marathwadi buffaloes. Many other lesser knownstrains like Purnathadi, Tambati, Gawalgan and Shinagali also exist but these have not been defined as 11. breeds yet.Out of 63.03 lakhs buffalo population (Livestock Census 2007, Govt. of M.S.) in the state, around 25.16% belong to indigenous breed like Nagpuri (2.11%), Pandharpuri (4.17%) and Marathwadi (2.90%). Itis also observed from the record that a large segment of buffalo population (about 74.84%) in the stateis considered to be non-descript because these animals do not fulfill the phenotypic attributes to anyspecific breeds. Livestock% Change/annum LivestockBreedLivestock Census (2003) Census(2007) 1997- 2003- 1997- Census(1997)200320072007 4.22 2.29 1.33 (-)(-) (-)Nagpuri(3.76) (2.11) 9.14 8.3913.69 (6.96)..Though the overall proportion of buffalo in the state is increasing at the rate of 0.75 per cent per annumduring the last 10 years (1997-2007), yet the proportions of pure breed Nagpuri, Pandharpuri andMarathwadi buffaloes are declining at the rate of (-)13.69,(-)11.24 and (-)11.38 per cents respectivelyper annum. Similar declining trend was also reported by Sirothia et. al. (2004) in the population ofNagpuri buffalo from Nagpur, Akola, Yavatmal and Amrawati districts of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.Increase in the population of Murrah in Vidarbha region and decrease in the population of Nagpuribuffalo indicates a shift towards high milk production rather than high fat producing buffaloes in thenative tact of Nagpuri breed. This trend is dangerous for existence of this precious germplasm.The major factor affecting the purity is the scarcity of pure breed Nagpuri bulls in its breeding tract.Murrah and Surti semen is generally available for breeding these animals at the A.I. centers of AnimalHusbandry Department, Govt. of Maharashtra. This has resulted in genetic erosion of the Nagpuribuffalo in terms of purity. Very recently the Maharashtra Livestock Development Board (MLDB) haspurchased 12 good quality Nagpuri bull calves from the resource farmers - Nand-gawali community ofthe breeding tract. At present these calves are being maintained at the Bull Rearing Center (BRC),Telankhedi, Nagpur, Dept of AHDS Govt. of Maharashtra and will be used for semen collection for futurebreeding programmes in the native tract of the breed.Physical Characteristics.BodyBlack(82.05%), Bhura/Brown(17.5%) withcolor White patches on face, legs and tail.Horns Long flat, wide and thick backwards in eachside of the neck upto the shoulders resemblinglike a pair of swords. Length 54-62cm.Marking White patches on face, legs and tail.TailShort tail with white patches Length 51-55.cmBodyBody Weight (kg) Male:400 and Female: 375.HeadLong,thin& cone shaped face with straight nasalbone.Depending upon the degree of whitepatches on the forehead and nasal portionthese animals are locally called as Ardh-Chandri, Chandri, Gal-Bhondi and Kapal- 12. Bhondi. Face Face is long and thin,cone shaped with straightnasal bone. Neck Long with compact and cylindrical barrel. EarEars are medium in size with pointed tips. LimbsLimbs are long and light. Skin Udder TeatsBody weight and Growth RateThe mean values of body weight at birth, 6, 9,12,18,24 months and at first calving reported by variousworkers are presented below. Stag Age at puberty (months) 45.5month(1360.33) Age at First Calving (months) 59.5month(1775.7238.83) Service Period(days)4month 115.91.08 Dry Period(days)4month 122.78 7.34 Calving Interval(days)14.5months 426.440.81 Estrous Cycle Length(days) Estrousn Duration (hrs) Gestation Length (days)Production TraitsSirothia et al. (2004) indicated average lactation yield of 1038.49 39.56 kg in Nagpuri buffaloes rearedunder village conditions of Vidarbha.Traits No. of Animals MeanS.EReferenceAverage lactation length (days) 1914303.2616.80 Sirothia et al.(2004)Average 305 day lactation milk yield (kg) 19141038.4939.56-Do-Average daily milk yield (kg) 19145.15 0.23-Do-Peak milk yield (kg) 1914 7.14 0.25-Do-Average Fat%19148.21 0.19-Do-Average SNF% --Origin & Breeding TractThe Pandharpuri buffaloes are known to have been reared for more than 150 years in the breedingtract. The local Gawli community reared these buffaloes for milk production. These buffaloes had royalpatronage from Kolhapur for supply of fresh milk to the wrestlers of Kolhapur. The breed is famous for itsbetter reproductive ability, producing a calf every 12-13 months. Under average management conditionsand hot-dry climate,these buffaloes yield 6-7 litters of milk per day. However under good managementthey are reported to yield up to 15 litters of milk in a day. 13. The main breeding tract of Pandharpuri buffalo is Solapur, Sangli and Kolhapur districts of Maharastrastate which is mostly drought prone. The soil of is black, coarse gray and reddish. In Sangli it is blacklateritic, saline, alkaline in low lying patches, while it is black, red-lateritic and black-brown in Kolhapurdistricts.The breeding tract of Pandharpuri buffalo comes under scarcity, plain and sub-mountain agro-climaticzones. Average minimum and maximum temperature is between 9C to 42C in the breeding tract. Theaverage minimum and maximum humidty is between 43 to 87 percent. The annual rainfall variesbetween 345.64mm in Sangli to 1168.96mm in Kolhapur district. The rainfall occurs between middle ofMay to end of October with most rainfall occurring during June to September.The fodder crops commonlygrown include JawPhysical CharacteristicsSome of the important characteristics is described as follows: - Body Black in 86.51% and brown in 13.14% animals. color HornsThe horns are very long, running backwards,upwards and twisted outward and touchingalmost backbone.Four types of horn orientationdescribed which are locally called as Toki(52.05%), Bharkand (34.24%), Meti (10.81%)and Ekshing meti(2.09%). In majority ofPandharpuri buffaloes (49.92%), horn tipdirected upward while in 28.23% buffaloes theyare lateral. MarkingWhite spots may be found on forehead, muzzleand pastern regions of body. Eye Tail Tail is short, white switch is common and thecolour pattern of the switch of tail comprises72.92% white and 27.08% black. Body Medium sized and compact body animal andhair colour is grey, tan and blakish. Head Forehead is convex in (92.39%) andflat in(7.61%) buffaloes. Face Long and narrow face, prominent nasal boneand comparatively narrow frontal bone. Neck Comparatively longer and thin. EarEar orientation is horizontal (60.51%) anddropping (39.49%) in animals. Limbs 14. SkinUdderTrough udder is found in 52 to 56% buffaloes followed by Bowl udder in 34 to 36%. The Pendulous udder(5.6 to 7.2%) and Round udder(8 to 10 %) is negligible in this breed.TeatsMost of the Pandharpuri buffaloes have cylindrical type of teat(47.87%) followed by funnel(36.93%) and pear shaped teats(12.40%).ar, Maize, Bajra, Oat, Lucerne, Berseem etc.Reproduction Traits1. MaleTraits ValuesAge at puberty (months)Age at first training(months) 34.28Age at first ejaculation(months)37.63Age at first mating(months) 40.81.2. FemaleTraitsValuesAge at puberty (months) 30.59Age at First Calving (months) 43.82Service Period(days)97.92Dry Period(days)Calving Interval(days)407.05Estrous Cycle Length(days)21.82Estrousn Duration (hrs) 39.67Gestation Length (days) 310.02Production TraitsTraitsMeanS.EAverage lactation length (days)255.6014.7Average lactation milk yield (kg)1207.7013.4Average daily milk yield (kg)4.900.08Peak milk yield (kg)Average Fat% 7.800.07Average SNF% 9.400.5Ulmek, (2000), Vare, (2001), Mane,(2003) and Khopade, (2009) 15. hysical CharacteristicsSome of the important characteristics is described as follows: - Body Coat colour of Surti buffaloes varies from rusty colorbrown to silver grey . HornsHorns are flat, of medium length, sickle shapedand are directed downward and backward, andthen turn upward at the tip to form a hook. Marking White markings is found on forehead, legs andswitch of tail and thesecharacteristics preferred by farmers. Eye A white streak of hair is usually seen over theeyebrows. Tail The tail is fairly long, thin having white tuft. Body Surti buffaloes are of medim size, having astraight back, small dewlap and naval flap. HeadHead is elongated, fairly broad androunded(convex) between horns. Face Neck Two or three white strips on the neck is verytypical character of the breed. EarEars are drooping with reddish surface and lowerborder with whitw hairs. Limbs Skin UdderUdder is well developed, finely shaped andsquarely placed between the hind legs. TeatsTeat are found as cylindrical/funnel/pearl shaped.