Maharashtra Board Class 11 Animal Science And Technology Chapter 3 Buffalo Breeds PDF Download

Buffalo Breeds

The buffaloes were domesticated about 5000 years ago from the wild buffaloes still found in India in the Assam forests (Bubalus arni). There are two types of buffaloes, namely, riverine and swamp. The riverine buffaloes (2n=50) have been primarily developed for milk and secondarily for meat and draft whereas the swamp buffaloes (2n=48) have been primarily developed for draft and secondarily for meat and milk. Water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is being raised as an economic animal in about 50 countries of the world. Thus buffalo species is spread in tropical as well as temperate regions of the world. In recent years, the buffalo commonly known as an 'Asian animal' has attracted global attention. The buffalo is the dairy, draft and meat animal of Asia. The Indian sub-continent is the home tract of the world's best dairy buffaloes. Today the water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is recognized as the 'milking machine' of India. It accounts for nearly half of India's total milk production (49.2 percent).

Classification Of Breeds

There are 16 recognized breeds of buffaloes in India. There are few well defined breeds with standard qualities and with specific physical characteristics that differentiate them unmistakably from other types as may be found in various states of the country. These are all milch breeds, but number of animals belonging to these breeds is in small fraction of the total buffalo population of the country. On the basis of regions the well defined buffalo breeds are as follows:

Teacher's Note

Buffalo is the most important dairy animal in India. It is like a bank account for farmers because it gives milk every day.

Exam Trick

Remember: Buffalo = milking machine. It gives 49.2% of India's milk. That is almost half!

Points To Remember

There are 16 recognized buffalo breeds in India.
Riverine buffaloes are for milk. Swamp buffaloes are for draft work.
Buffalo is called the 'milking machine' of India.
Different breeds have different body shapes and sizes.
Buffaloes are found all over the world now.

Buffalo Breeds

Murrah

Synonym: Delhi

Origin and habitat: The home tract of Murrah is Rohtak in Haryana state. Rohtak, Hissar and Gurgaon districts of Haryana and Delhi have a large population of Murrah animals. High yielding Murrah animals are also found in the adjoining areas of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. It has now been spread in almost all the milk producing states.

Prominent characteristics

The colour is jet black and large in size with long and deep body.

The front portion of body in females is light and narrow, and the rear portion is heavy presenting a wedge shaped appearance. Females have short, fine and clear cut head.

Horns are short turning backward and upward and finally tightly curled inward in the spiral form.

Bulls are heavy and broad with prominent cushion of short and dense hair.

The forehead is broad and prominent.

The nostrils are wide apart. Eyes are bright, active and prominent in females but slightly shrunken in males.

Ears are short, thin and alert.

The udder is well developed, capacious with prominent milk veins and squarely placed large teats. Teats are long and placed uniformly wide apart. Rear teats are generally longer than fore teats.

The hocks are nearly straight in males but somewhat bent in females. Hips are broad.

The tail is generally long and flexible reaching up to the fetlocks. Tail switch is white.

Average body weight is 552 kg.

Economic importance

The average age at first calving is 46 months.

Average lactational milk yield is 1914 kg.

Average milk fat per cent is 7.66.

The average inter calving period is 454 days.

Teacher's Note

Murrah is the best dairy buffalo in India. Farmers in Delhi and Haryana keep Murrah buffaloes to get lots of milk.

Exam Trick

Remember: Murrah = curled horns. Murrah = most milk (1914 kg). Just like a spiral spring, its horns curl tight!

Points To Remember

Murrah buffalo is jet black in color.
Murrah comes from Haryana and Delhi.
It gives 1914 kg milk in one year.
Murrah has tightly curled horns like a spiral.
It is used to improve other buffalo breeds.

Surti

Synonyms: Decani, Deshi, Gujarat, Nadiad and Talabda

Origin and habitat: The home tract is in the South-Western parts of Gujarat. Best animals are found in Anand, Nadiad, Khaira and Baroda districts covering a vast area between Mahai and Sabarmati rivers.

Prominent characteristics

Surti animals are of medium size with straight back and low legs. The buffaloes are brown (bhurra) or rarely black in appearance.

The hair in several specimens appears greyish brown.

A characteristic feature is the presence of two white collars (chevrons); one around jaw from ear to ear and the other on brisket. There may be a streak of white hair above the eyes. The region below the knees and hocks has a whitish or grey tuft of hair.

The horns are sickle shaped, curling downward and backward and then inward in terminal portion. The tip of the horn forms a characteristic hook.

Tail is fairly long, thin and flexible ending in a white tuft.

The hips of Surti females are broad and flat.

The udder is well developed, it is pinkish in appearance, finely shaped and squarely placed between the hind legs.

The average body weight is 462 kg.

Economic importance

Age at first calving is 53 months.

Average lactational milk yield is 1547 kg.

The average milk fat is 8.10%.

The average inter calving period is 510 days.

Animals consume less feed.

Teacher's Note

Surti buffalo comes from Gujarat. It eats less food but still gives good milk. It is like a smart student who studies less but gets good marks!

Exam Trick

Remember: Surti has white collars like a tie. It has two white marks like a necklace around its jaw!

Points To Remember

Surti buffalo is brown or black colored.
It has two white collars on its body.
Its horns are sickle shaped with a hook at the tip.
It eats less food but gives good milk with high fat.
It comes from Gujarat state.

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