Seasonal and Inter-seasonal Variation for Milk Components in Marathwadi Buffaloes

Abstract

The research was undertaken during November, 2019–November, 2020 (one year) at Livestock Farming Complex, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences [MAFSU], Parbhani, Maharashtra, India to investigate the impact of seasons and the inter-seasonal period on milk components in indigenous Marathwadi buffalo (MB). For the study, six MB aged 5–8 years were randomly selected from the institution’s livestock farming complex and reared on a semi-intensive management system (daily grazing, 0900–1300 hrs). All animals were maintained as per ICAR feeding standards and had free access to water throughout the experiment. Milk collection was done fortnightly and later analysed for milk fat, lactose, SNF, protein, salt and lactometer reading. While environmental variables like dry bulb temperature (DB), wet bulb temperature (WB), wind speed (WS), temperature humidity index (THI) and solar intensity were recorded weekly, during winter, transition 1, summer, monsoon and transition 2 periods, respectively. No significant difference was observed for any milk component at any treatment, nor was any notable correlation found between environmental variables and milk components. Our results reflected the superior acclimatisation and adaptability of MB over a wide range of stressful environmental conditions, which was confirmed by the lack of variation for milk components during seasons and inter-seasonal periods. Our study concluded that the MB breed was well-suited for sustainable milk production and could provide economic support for organised dairy units and marginal farmers alike.