Livestock is an integral part for the most rural livelihoods in Nepal. A very high proportion of poor and marginalized farmers depend on livestock as main or supplemental resources for their income. Cattle and buffalo contribute to more than 70% of the livestock sector. The Lime, Parkote and Gaddi are the indigenous buffalo breeds of Nepal. The productive and reproductive performances of indigenous buffalo breeds, Lime and Parkote, were studied in Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), Lumle in Nepal. The lactation data of the indigenous buffaloes recorded by RARS livestock farm for 14 years (from 2000 to 2014) was collected and analyzed to assess the production and reproduction traits. The productive performance was 964.0±33.0 litre/lactation in Lime and 878.5±66.3 litre/lactation in Parkote, while a daily milk yield of Lime was 3.2±0.1 litre/day and that of Parkote was 2.9±0.2 litre/day. The milk constituents of Lime were 9.0% fat, 9.2% solids not fat (SNF) and 3.8% protein. The milk contents of Parkote were 8.9% fat, 9.8% SNF and 4.0% protein. The maximum mating was found in October (30%), while the minimum mating was in June (1%) in both the breeds. The calving time of Lime and Parkote was maximum in September (36%). The Lime and Parkote buffaloes are high potential milking animals in the western hills of Nepal. Furthermore, the value chain and organic production approaches would be very useful for the conservation and utilization of these indigenous buffaloes.

A study was carried out to assess dietary macro and micro-minerals status of milch buffaloes in Firozpur, Mansa and Muktsar districts, under South-West Zone of Punjab. Feeds and fodder samples were collected at random from various locations, following standard sampling procedure. The average calcium (Ca) content in straws was low (0.28%). Green fodders such as berseem (1.88%), chikori (1.26%), oat (0.45%), rye grass (0.56%) and mustard (1.34%) were found to be rich source of Ca. Concentrate feed ingredients such as mustard cake (0.68%), cottonseed cake (0.23%), rice polish (0.11%) and wheat flour (0.053%) were high to low in Ca. The phosphorus (P) content in crop residues and green fodders was 0.08 and 0.47 per cent, respectively. Concentrate feed ingredients were high (0.78%) in P. The magnesium content in roughages and concentrate feed ingredients was 0.31 and 0.41 per cent, respectively. The sodium content was low in concentrate ingredients (0.043%) and dry fodder (0.065%), but high in green fodder (0.63%). The sulphur content was adequate in green fodder (0.32%), whereas, crop residues (0.16%) and concentrate ingredients (0.18%), except mustard cake (0.33%) were deficient in sulphur; hence, its supplementation was necessary in the ration of milch animals. The cobalt was deficient in the diet of animals to the extent of 45 per cent; however, iron (average level > 500 ppm) and manganese (average level > 60 ppm) in most of the feed ingredients were adequate, with traditional feeding system. The average copper content was very low in straws (2.94 ppm) and moderate in green fodders (11.93 ppm). Concentrate ingredients were again low in copper (9.19 ppm). Zinc was deficient in most of the feedstuffs (average level<38 ppm) and needed to be supplemented for proper productive and reproductive functions. From the present study, it was apparent that the levels of certain minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, sulphur, zinc, copper and cobalt were inadequate, as per the prevailing feeding practices and requirement of buffalo yielding 10 kg milk (6% fat) per day. However, the levels of some other mineral elements such as magnesium, sodium, potassium, iron, manganese and selenium were found to be adequate in the South-West Zone of Punjab

The objective of this study was to determine the differences in blood and fatty acid (FA) profile between primiparous and multiparous Mediterranean buffaloes cows from 28 days of expected calving date until 56 days in milk. Nine multiparous (MUL) and 7 primiparous (PRI) cows were used in the present study, animals grazed in Brachiaria decumbens and supplemented with 2.0 kg of concentrate/day. Blood and milk samples were collected once a week and data were submitted to repeated measures analysis using PROC MIXED of SAS. Multiparous cows presented higher concentrations of glucose and non-esterified FA during pre- and post-partum period, higher cholesterol during post-partum when compared to PRI. Milk yield and fat content were higher for MUL (6.44 kg/d and 7.89%) when compared to PRI (5.66 kg/d and 6.75%). Palmitic and palmitoleic FA were lower and C18:0, C18:1 trans-11 and C18:1 cis-9 FAwere higher in MUL cows. Multiparous buffalo cows demonstrated higher milk yield and fat content than PRI, and milk FA profile of MUL had higher amounts of C18:0 FA. Multiparous buffalos presented higher non-esterified fatty acid, which altered milk fat content, and higher milk yield than primiparous cows. Furthermore, multiparous cows presented a higher content of FA from incomplete biohydrogenation process.

The achievement of early cyclicity and pregnancy after calving are of vital importance for sustainable buffalo farms, for which proper detection of oestrus and correct time of AI are necessary. Vaginal electrical impedance (VEI) observation using heat detector was used to identify estrus in buffalo cows during post-partum period. In the first group, 12 buffalo cows with post-partum>300 days were synchronized with OVSYNCH protocol and VEI was recorded at different stages of synchronization protocol. VEI values decreased significantly (P < 0.01) during second administration of GnRH in both pregnant and non-pregnant buffalo cows and it was indicative for the presence of oestrus. Higher VEI values were obvserved at second administration of GnRH and AI in non-pregnant group than the pregnant group. In second group, 8 buffalo cows with a post-partum period 40 to 96 days were used to record VEI daily. Lower VEI values (260-350O) were observed during oestrus and then started to increase at higher level after oestrus. The day difference between two successive lower/higher values of "VEI waves" ranged from 17-25 days, which might indicate the oestrous cycle in buffalo cows. Moreover, physical signs such as colour of vulva, mucus were less intensive in buffalo cows of second experiment. The study suggests that the measurement of vaginal impedance could serve as an indicator of the oestrus in buffalo cows and daily impedance measurements are necessary to confirm the stages of the estrous cycle

Biometrical studies were conducted on sixty four gravid uteri with estimated gestation period of 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th month of pregnancy in Kundhi buffaloes. Sixteen specimens for each month of gestation were collected from Hyderabad slaughterhouse to evaluate techniques for measurement of reproductive organs. The measurements for fetometry and morphometry of reproductive organs by ultrasound machine and manually (by measuring tape and vernier caliper) were performed and compared. The Ultrasound examinations were performed through diagnostic ultrasound machine equipped with multi-frequency 5-10MHz transrectal linear array transducer. Analysis revealed that the ovary, foetus, foetal fluid and uterus progressively increased significantly (P<0.01) in weight during 4th month of the gestation than 1st, 2nd and 3rd month of gestation period in rbST treated Kundhi buffaloes. Ovaries with CL were significantly (P<0.01) heavier than the ovary in which CL was absent. Corpus leutum was significantly lighter (P<0.01) during 1st month of pregnancy than 2nd, 3rd and 4th month of pregnancy in rbST treated Kundhi buffaloes. Gravid uterus was significantly heavier (P<0.01) during 4th month of pregnancy than 1st, 2nd and 3rd month of pregnancy in rbST treated Kundhi buffaloes. There was no significant difference between the measurements of oviduct, cervix and vagina during 1st to 4th month of pregnancy. The placenta, foetal fluid and foetus progressively increased significantly in size as gestation period progressed. The ultrasonographic fetometric and morphometric threshold of CRL, TD and UD and foetal weight was steadily increased in rbST treated Kundhi buffaloes. There was significant increase (P<0.05) in the CRL, TD, UD and foetus weight/volume at 4th month of pregnancy than 1st , 2nd and 3rd month of pregnancy in rbST treated Kundhi buffaloes. In conclusion, the overall data indicated that the examination for ultrasonographic fetometry and morphometry of reproductive organs of kundhi buffaloes for evaluation of fetal development, estimation of gestational age and formulation of fetal chart through reproductive organs were more suitable as compare to manual biometrical evaluation

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of the previous calving intervals (CI) on milk yield (MY) in the current lactation for the Italian buffalo breed population. Data for 86,585 lactation records from the Italian Buffalo Breeders Association database, were analyzed. MY BLUP-estimates were obtained by including in the Animal Model the fixed effects of age-parity, previous CI, and herd-contemporary-group. The MY solutions for the months of CI were analyzed with the linear regression model where CI in months was the explanatory variable. 59.66% of the lactation records had CI between 11 and 14 months. 37.91 % of the lactation records were distributed between 15 and 24 months. The smaller percentage of records showed CI greater than 24 months. This CI distribution may be, in part, the result of herd management strategies. Dairy producers try to shorten the CI of their herd in order to get the most profit from early conceptions of the buffalo. The regression model and its parameters were statistically significant. The coefficient of determination was equal to 0.58. The intercept was equal to 72.42 kg; and the linear coefficient (b) was equal to -3.43. The negative value of b denotes a negative effect of CI on MY. This result indicates that there is a negative linear relationship between previous CI and MY in the current lactation. Therefore, shorten the CI may increase the profits of the farm through higher MY, because it has less of a negative effect on MY than longer CI.

The research on biomarkers to detect livestock treated with recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) is still an open issue. In fact, beyond undertaking confirmation methods, there is the need to develop simple and inexpensive screening tests. In this direction, some proposals have been forwarded, mostly involving the measurement of circulating molecules, whereas the possibility of using biomarkers related to gene expression is a field under investigation. The present study was carried out on sixteen buffalos, eight of which treated with rbST. Blood samples were collected six times during the treatment to investigate on the presence of differentially expressed genes in leukocytes. Analysis with the microarray technique was performed on two sampling moments, in order to obtain a first selection of genes. Further analysis was carried out by real time RT-PCR, in order to create a discriminating linear system. A study on the variation of the error related to the number of samples included in statistics was also performed. Results showed that, including an increasing number of samples to build the discriminating algorithm, the b-error grows and tends to stabilize on 6.5%. This study clearly shows the paramount importance of including a proper number of samples to obtain reliable algorithms.