Estimate the Genetic Parameters of Major Economic Traits of Crossbred Murrah Buffalo in Nepal

Abstract

Purpose: The main objective of this research was to estimate the genetic parameters of major economic traits
of crossbred Murrah Buffalo in Nepal.
Methods: The performance records of 16912 buffaloes from the year 2017 to 2020 at mid-hill and Terai and
maintained at the Veterinary Hospital Livestock Specialties Center, Artificial Insemination records, buffalo farm
were used for analysis. We analyzed the data by using the mixed technique of the Harvey model.
Results: The analysis revealed that the heritability for age at first calving (AFC) and gestation length (GL)
was relatively low (h2= 0.06, 0.15) and moderate heritability for calving interval (CI) (h
2 = 0.36), and the lower
estimates for lactation length (LL), lactation milk yield (LMY) (h2 = 0.140.078, 0.280.159), higher estimates for
heritability of standard milk yield (SMY), daily milk yield (DMY) (h2=0.44±0.266, 0.57±0.365), and there was
lower heritability of peak milk yield (PMY) (h2 = 0.060.031). Productive traits showed positive genetic correlations, with lactation milk yield (LMY) at 0.31, standard milk yield (SMY) at 0.95, and daily milk yield (DMY)
ranging from moderate to high positive correlations of 0.35 to 0.95. Conversely, negative genetic correlations
ranged from -0.13 to -0.71. Similarly, genotypic correlations for daily milk yield were moderate to highly positive
(0.35-0.95) and negatively correlated (-0.13 to -0.71), as well as for peak milk yield (0.24-0.93) with negative
correlations (-0.19 to -0.74).
Conclusion: The research findings underscore the genetic potential for enhancing milk yield traits in crossbred
Murrah Buffalo, with positive correlations indicating opportunities for improvement. However, the negative correlations with reproductive traits suggest the need careful selection strategies to optimize both productivity and
reproductive efficiency, with further research needed to optimize genetic potential in Nepal.