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A survey was conducted in 18 villages of Rudarpryag, Chamoli and Uttarkashi districts of Garhwal region to characterize hill cattle in the region. A total of 146 farmers and 451 animals of different age and sex were covered in the present study. The survey revealed that there is large number of hill cattle in the region. Animals of were reared on semi intensive system of management. Grazing was from afternoon to evening during the whole year. Animals were smaller in size with cylindrical type of body. The black body colour predominates in the region. Udder was small, touching to the body, not well developed and milk veins were not prominent. Sizes of fore and rear udder were small. The ranges of different biometric traits showed that animals are similar to Vechur and Panganaur for their size and smaller than the Hariana and Sahiwal breeds of cattle. The average age at first calving, daily milk yield, lactation length, dry period, service period and calving interval were 42 months, 1.52 kg, 285 days, 120 days, 110 days and 364 days, respectively. A pair of bullock may plough about 4-6 Nali of land in 3 to 4 hours in a day. A total of 51 blood samples of unrelated hill cattle animals were collected from Garhwal region for genetic characterization. DNA was isolated and analyzed by a panel of 21 microsatellite markers.The average observed and expected number of alleles, observed and expected heterozygocity and heterozygote deficit were 12.91 (6-12), 5.66 (2.41 to 11.39), 0.699 (0.271 to 0.938), 0.782 (0.585 to 0.912) and 0.118 ( -0.198 to 0.537), respectively. The different genetic diversity parameters showed that population is comparable with the hill cattle of Kumanu region and Hariana cattle. Different parameters showed sufficient allelic diversity in the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a survey characterizing the hill cattle, specifically the uttara cattle germplasm from Uttarakhand Region, India. The populations of hill cattle at various locations reflect uniformity on different parameters with slight variance. Its field recording estimates indicate the potentials of cows for high milk production and those that can be exploited for genetic improvement.

The article discusses a study that was aimed at evaluating genetic diversity in Hill cattle population of Garhwal region of the state of Uttarakhand in India using microsatellite markers. The within breed genetic variability was estimated using a set of 21 bovine-specific microsatellites suggested by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Society for Animal Geneticists (ISAG). It notes the absence of genetic bottleneck in the evaluated population.

The article discusses a study that explored the polymorphism of prolactin gene in crossbred cattle and its association with different economic traits. The genotype-wise means for various milk production traits and reproduction traits were estimated. The prolactin genotypes were significantly related with average daily milk yield during first lactation and first calving interval in crossbred cattle.

The article presents research on buffalo breeding and improvement strategies in India. Dairy buffalo production has been a tradition in countries like Asia and Egypt while the industry is seen as flourishing in Italy. It explores the buffalo farms of varying herd sizes in major cities in India and notes that the country's and Pakistan's dairy buffalo production is higher that any where else in the world. It mentions India's average per capita availability of milk and buffalo production activities. It further discusses the performance characteristics of different types of buffaloes such as their body weight, breeding behaviour and calving interval.

Eleven upland rice genotypes of varying growth duration and plant stature were evaluated in two cropping systems: monocrop and intercrop, with pigeon pea cv. UPAS 120, in order to study the effects of intercropping on rice grain yield and its contributing characteristics during 1990 to 1992 wet seasons. Cropping system and cropping system x genotype interaction effects were significant for yield ha-1, panicle weight, panicles m-2 and spikelet fertility suggesting the need for evaluating and selecting genotypes suitable for intercropping. Rice grain yield reduction in the intercrop ranged from 24.5 % in genotype RR 203-16 to 54.5 % in genotype Aditya. Panicle weight, total dry matter at flowering as well as at harvest, and harvest index were also reduced. Plant height and panicle weight were positively associated with yield in both systems, however, the yield was positively and significantly correlated with spikelets per panicle and spikelet fertility with the intercropping system. The correlation between cropping systems indicated the possibility of simultaneous improvement for these characteristics in monocropping and intercropping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study to characterize hill cattle's of Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand. Interviews of farmers from the eight villages of the district using a structured questionnaire was conducted to generate information on various management practices opted by the livestock owners and characterize hill cattle. Physical characters were also recorded on animals of different ages and sex. Thus providing a total evaluation of characterized cattle's in the district.

The article discusses a study on the effectiveness of single-trait and multi-trait sire evaluation methods in Sahiwal and crossbred sires. One hundred eighteen sires with 1,867 progenies of Sahiwal and crossbreds viz. Sahiwal x Holstein Friesian, Sahiwal x Jersey and Sahiwal x Red Dane were ranked for single trait first lactation milk yield through 3 different sire evaluation methods. It suggests that best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) was the most efficient sire evaluation method.

The article compares the effectiveness of three animal models of sire evaluation in selecting bulls for enhancing milk production in crossbred cattle. This was done by estimating the breeding values of 57 sires and ranking them on the basis of the milk yield of their progeny. Results from the three sire evaluation methods showed that the least squares method (LSM) was the most efficient when compared to the best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) and the derivative free restricted maximum likelihood (DFREML) methods.

The authors explore the management and physical characteristics of 173 hill cattle in the Almora district of Uttarakhand, India . Most of the cattle have cylindrical type of body with white body colour and short faces. They were farm born while livestock includes 50% of cattle, 20% goat and 30% buffalo. Most of the cattle were reared on extensive system of management which includes grazing from morning to evening.

The article presents a study on the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) within amplification products of the bovine prolactin gene exon 3 in Murrah buffaloes. The researchers selected 50 Murrah buffaloes randomly that were maintained at the Instructional Dairy Farm in Uttarakhand, India. They collected blood from the jugular vein of every buffalo in sterile polypropylene vials and then used the phenol-chloroform extraction method for DNA isolation. They also performed horizontal gel electrophoresis to check the quality of extracted DNA.

The article reports on a study on the inheritance of and phenotypic and genetic correlations between lifetime traits and first lactation in Sahiwal cattle and its crossbreds. Findings showed that first lactation traits in Sahiwal and crosses with Red Dane, Holstein Friesian and Jersey cattle are environmentally regulated. The heritability estimates for the first lactation milk yield was found to be high. Lifetime traits had high genetic base except for total lactation length and lifetime milk yield.