Morphological and morphometrical studies on the crossbred cows under temperate climatic condition of Kashmir valley Hamadani H.1,*, Khan A.A.1, Sheikh I.U.1, Fazili M.R.1, Khan H.M.1, Haq Z.1, Saipriya G.1, Wani S.A.1 1Division of Livestock Production and Management, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shuhama, Alusteng, Srinagar-190 006, Jammu and Kashmir, India *Corresponding Author: H. Hamadani, Division of Livestock Production and Management, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shuhama, Alusteng, Srinagar-190 006, Jammu and Kashmir, India, Email: endolf123@gmail.com
Online published on 4 July, 2024. Abstract Background Kashmir Valley, one of the temperate regions of India, has experienced an exponential increase in the milk-production over the last decades. This may be mainly attributed to massive cross-breeding of ‘Local Cattle of Kashmir Valley’ with the worldclass dairy breeds like Jersey and Holstein-Friesian (HF), popularly known as Jersey-Crossbreds (JCB) and Holstein-Friesian Crossbreds (HFCB), respectively. However, no specific guidelines on their breed characteristics is available, which is crucial for their establishment, recognition and management. Precise and standardized morphological details are a primary requisite for application of advanced technologies like automation, Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics. Therefore, the present study aimed to characterize the HFCB and JCB cows. Methods Morphologic and morphometric traits of 600 and 447 cows respectively, reared in the Srinagar district of Kashmir, were studied in detatil as per the standard methods. The null-hypothesis set was that the two crossbreds do not differ from each other. Result It was observed that two crossbreds differed significantly (p<0.05) with each other in respect of the morphological and morphometrical traits like body size and weight. The study generated a baseline data on these two crossbreds, which is critical not only for their recognition, welfare and scientific management, but shall also act as a reference for global researchers to assess the results of crossbreeding superior dairy breeds in improving the genetic-merit of other breeds worldwide. Top Keywords Characterization, Crossbreds, Holstein-friesian, Jersey, Morphometry. Top |