INDIAN BREEDS OF BUFFALO

INDIAN BREEDS OF BUFFALO:

The domestic or water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) belong to the family bovidae, sub-family bovinae, genus bubalis and species arni or wild Indian buffalo. Buffalo are believed to have been domesticated around 5000 years ago in the Indus Valley. The water buffalo can mainly be classified as River (Chromosome no., 2n=50) and swamp type (Chromosome no., 2n=48). The domestication of swamp buffalo took place independently in China about 1000 years later. The movement of buffalo to other countries both east and westwards has occurred from these two countries. Some of the well-known dairy breeds of buffalo found in India and Pakistan are Murrah, Nili-Ravi, Kundi, Surti, Jaffarabadi, Bhadawari, Mehsana, Godawari and Pandharpuri. Despite potential advantages, little attention has been paid to buffalo improvement programs. The buffalo is known as water buffalo. There are number of buffalo breeds in India but true to type and descriptive breeds are Murrah, Jaffrabadi, Niliravi and Mehsana. The swamp buffalo are concentrated mainly in south east China, Myanmar, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippine, and Vietnam. The skin colour is gray, dark gray to state blue. White animals occur frequently. Animals have swept back horns and are similar in appearance across the countries except the size. The horns grow laterally and horizontally in young animals and curve round in a semi circle as the animals gets older. Animals are massively built, heavy bodied with large belly. The forehead is flat; orbits are prominent with a short face and wide muzzle. They weight from 300 to 400 kg when fully grown. Swamp buffalo are primarily used as work animal in paddy cultivation, for pulling carts and hauling timber in jungles. Milk yield is 1-2 kg per day.

BREEDS: On the basis of regions the well defined buffalo breeds are:

• MURRAH GROUP
  • Murrah
  • Nilli Ravi
  • Kundi
  • Godavari
• GUJARAT GROUP
  • Surti
  • Jaffarabadi
  • Mehsana
• UTTAR PRADESH GROUP
  • Bhadawari
  • Tarai
• CENTRAL INDIA GROUP
  • Nagpuri
  • Pandhepuri
  • Manda
  • Jerangi
  • Kalhandi
  • Sambalpur
• SOUTH INDIA GROUP
  • Toda
  • South Kanara

Breed	Habitat	Population size	AFC (mnth)	Calving Interval (Days)	Average Lactation Yield (Lts)	Fat (%)	Characteristics
Murrah	Rohtak, Kamal, Hissar, Gurgaon, Punjab, Delhi, U.P	200000	42.52	334.537	1360 - 2270	6.9	Black in colour Massive and stocky animals heavy bones, horns are short and tightly curled. Placid.
Jaffarabadi	Gir forest of Kathiawar, Jaffarabad, Junagarh, Jumnanagar, Kutch (Gujarat)	60000	40 - 45	447.0	1300 - 1400	9 - 10	Black coloured coat. Massive and long-barreled confirmation. Horns are long, heavy and broad and sometimes they cover the eyes.
Bhadawari	Bhadawari estate (Agra), Gwaliar, Etawah	3000	50 -52	453.6	1100 - 1300	7 - 13	Copper coloured coat, scanty hair which is black at the roots and reddish brown at the tip. Sometimes it is completely brown. The neck presents the typical white colour ring. Tail switch is white or black and white. Horns are short and grow backwards.
Surti	Anand, Baroda & Surat (Gujarat)	50000	36 - 38	461.1	1300 - 1400	7.5	Black colour coat, skin is black or reddish. They have two white chevrons on the chest. Animals with white markings on forehead, legs and tail tips are preferred. Horns are flat, of medium length, sickle shaped and are directed downward and backward, and then turn upward at the tip to form a hook. The udder is well developed, finely shaped and squarely placed between the hind legs. The tail is fairly long, thin an flexible ending in a white tuft.
Nili Ravi	Firozpur (Punjab)	650000	40.7 - 53.2	445 - 525	2000	6.5	This breed is similar to the Murrah in almost all characteristics except for the white markings on extremities and walled eyes; horns are less curled than in the Murrah; the udder is well shaped and extend well forward up to the naval flaps. Black in colour, short horns.
Mehsana	Mehasana District (Gujarat)	40000	1287 days	16mnts	1800 - 2700	6.6 - 8.1	Characteristics are intermediate between Surti and Murrah. Jet black skin and hair are preferred. Horns are sickle-shaped but with more curve than the Surti. The udder is well developed and well set. Milk veins are prominent.
Nagpuri	Nagpur, Wardha and Berar districts of Madhya Pradesh	360000	36 - 40	-	825	7.0	Black in color, sometimes there are white markings on the face, legs and switch. Horns are 50 - 65cm long, flat - curved and carried back near to the shoulders. Nasal flap is mostly absent and even if present is very short.