Production Performance and Genetic Evaluation of Breeding Efficiency in Hariana Cattle

Abstract

The present study was designed to evaluate performance, estimation of genetic parameters for first and lifetime production and reproduction performance comprehending breeding efficiency in Hariana cattle. Development of best predictive models for estimation of lifetime production and reproduction traits from first lactation records in Hariana cattle was also envisaged. To achieve these objectives primary data on various production and reproduction traits were collected from the history sheet registers and herd inventory registers etc., on Hariana cattle maintained at State Livestock and Agriculture Farm, Babugarh, Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, India. The data of 55 years spanning from year 1965 to 2020 of 949 Hariana cattle completed at least one lactation was included. The data were entered in Google sheet to perform screening, standardization, estimation of various lifetime traits, coding, preparation of pedigree and sub data files from raw data using various inbuilt functions and formulas. To ensure the normal distribution of records, the outliers were removed. The lower and upper bound for various traits were adjusted keeping in mind physiological limits, previous studies and final measure of skewness and kurtosis to be lie between -1 to +1 in processed data. Finally, processed sub data set on 655 Hariana cattle were subjected to least squares analysis, step down multiple regression analysis using SPSS Statistics 20.0 software and genetic parameters estimation using Wombat software. Google sheet had emerged as a convenient application for screening, standardization, estimation of various lifetime traits, coding, preparation of pedigree and sub data files from raw data. The overall least square means for first lactation traits viz., AFC, FTLMYP, FSLMYP, FCI, FDP, FLL and FSP were 1580.16 ± 12.20 days, 954.66 ± 19.79 kg, 857.92 ± 14.73 kg, 523.42 ± 6.86 days, 181.09 ± 5.16 days, 343.18 ± 4.81 days and 240.79 ± 7.22 days, respectively. Period of birth had highly significant effect on AFC. The AFC groups as non-genetic factors had highly significant effect on FTLMYP and significant effects on FSLMYP, FCI, FLL and FSP. The first calving season had highly significant effect on FTLMYP, FCI, FLL and FSP. The first calving period had highly significant effects on FTLMYP, FSLMYP, FCI, FDP and FLL. The first calving period had just significant effect on FSP. The overall least square means for various lifetime traits like BET, BEW, HL, PD, PL, UPD, TLMYP, TSLMYP, TLMYP/HL, TLMYP/PD and TLMYP/PL were 79.54 ± 0.47%, 76.98 ± 0.73%, 4241.91 ± 33.19 days, 1633.53 ± 23.95 days, 2392.06 ± 30.34 days,758.53 ± 17.87 days, 5365.85 ± 113.60 kg, 5179.09 ± 97.08 kg, 1.17 ± 0.02 kg/day, 3.10 ± 0.04 kg/day and 2.16 ± 0.03 kg/day, respectively. AFC group had highly significant effect on BET and HL, whereas for rest of the lifetime production and reproduction traits its effects were non-significant. On somewhat similar trend of first calving season had highly significant effect on breeding efficiencies BET and BEW, whereas for rest of the lifetime production and reproduction traits its effects were non-significant. The effect of first calving period had highly significant effect on all the lifetime production and reproduction traits. The lactation completed groups also exerted highly significant effect on all the lifetime production and reproduction traits except for BET, where its effect was only significant. The overall least square means obtained from first lactation and lifetime traits in present study can be utilized as reference normal physiological production and reproduction potential of present Hariana cattle population to device effective breeding goals. Various non genetic factors exerting significant and highly significant effects on first lactation and lifetime production and reproduction traits can be included in statistical models beforehand analysis of selected data. The estimates of heritability for first lactation production and reproduction traits of Hariana cattle were high for AFC (0.403 ± 0.099), moderate for FTLMYP (0.308 ± 0.016), FSLMYP (0.216 ± 0.106) and low for FLL (0.101 ± 0.072) and FDP (0.121 ± 0.074) and very low for FSP (0.070 ± 0.058) and FCI (0.050 ± 0.059). The estimates of heritability for lifetime production and reproduction traits of Hariana cattle were moderate for HL (0.291 ± 1.000), PL (0.221 ± 1.000), PD (0.220 ± 0.012), UPD (0.266 ± 0.093), BET (0.373 ± 0.095), BEW (0.253 ± 0.086), TLMYP (0.241 ± 0.089), TLMYP/PL (0.298 ± 0.096), TLMYP/PD (0.267 ± 0.106) and TLMYP/HL (0.313 ± 0.095), and low for TSLMYP (0.194 ± 0.089). The heritability estimates for first lactation and lifetime production and reproduction traits can be used as baseline reference values for estimating breeding values and expected genetic gain in Hariana cattle. Accordingly, suitable bases of selection can be used based upon heritability estimates for improving first lactation production and reproduction traits in Hariana cattle. Significant (*)/ highly significant (**) positive (+) and negative (-) very high to high genetic correlations (rG≥0.70) among first lactation production and reproduction traits were observed between FTLMYP□(⇔┴(**,+) )FSLMYP, FDP□(⇔┴(**,+) )(FSP, FCI) and FSP□(⇔┴(**,+) )FCI. Similarly, phenotypic correlations (rP≥0.70) among first lactation production and reproduction traits was observed between FCI□(⇔┴(**,+) )FSP. The genetic correlations (rG≥0.70) among lifetime production and reproduction traits were observed between HL□(⇔┴(**,+) )(PL, PD, UPD, TLMYP, TSLMYP), PL□(⇔┴(**,+) )(PD, UPD, TLMYP, TSLMYP), PD□(⇔┴(**,+) )(UPD, TLMYP, TSLMYP, TLMYP/HL), UPD□(⇔┴(**,+) ) TSLMYP, TLMYP□(⇔┴(**,+) ) (TSLMYP, TLMYP/PD), TSLMYP□(⇔┴(**,+) )(TLMYP/PD, TLMYP/HL), TLMYP/PL□(⇔┴(**,+) )(TLMYP/PD, TLMYP/HL) and TLMYP/PD□(⇔┴(**,+) )TLMYP/HL. The phenotypic correlations (rP≥0.70) among lifetime production and reproduction traits were observed between HL□(⇔┴(**,+) )(PL, PD, UPD, TLMYP, TSLMYP), PL□(⇔┴(**,+) )(PD, UPD, TLMYP, TSLMYP), PD□(⇔┴(**,+) )(TLMYP, TSLMYP), TLMYP/HL□(⇔┴(**,+) ) (PL, PD, TLMYP, TSLMYP, TLMYP/PL, TLMYP/PD). The genetic correlations (rG≥0.70) between first lactation and lifetime production and reproduction traits were observed between FTLMYP□(⇔┴(**,+) )(PD, TLMYP, TSLMYP, TSLMYP/PL, TSLMYP/PD, TSLMYP/HL), FSLMYP□(⇔┴(**,+) )(TLMYP, TSLMYP/PL, TSLMYP/PD, TSLMYP/HL), FDP□(⇔┴(**,+) )UPD, FSP□(⇔┴(*,+) )(PL, PD, UPD) and FCI□(⇔┴(*,-) )BEW. None of the phenotypic correlations between first lactation and lifetime production and reproduction traits were high to very high (rP≥0.70). Significant and highly significant very high to high genotypic and phenotypic correlations (rG, rP≥0.70) identified in present study can prove beneficial for breeders dealing with correlated response to selection and multi trait selection methods. The accuracies obtained in predictive models for predicting various lifetime production traits (dependent variable) from first lactation traits (explanatory variables) had ranged from 12.2 – 57.9%. The lifetime traits BET and TLMYP/PD can be predicted from first lactation traits with 57.9 and 51.6% accuracies using equations BET= 135.507 – (0.210 × 10-1) × AFC – (0.320 × 10-1) × FCI – (0.290 × 10-2) × FTLMYP and TLMYP/PD = 2.382 + (0.720 × 10-3) × FSLMYP – (0.350 × 10-2) × FLL + (0.135 × 10-2) × FTLMYP, respectively. Accuracies for rest of the prediction models for lifetime traits from first lactation traits were less than 50%.