Estimation of Genetic Parameters for Milk Yield Traits in Frieswal Cattle

Background: Milk yield is very important economic trait of dairy business which directly affect the productivity and profitability of farm. Therefore, it is of utmost important to study various parameters affecting the milk yield. Considering the importance of this trait the present investigation was carried out to study various parameters affecting milk yield in Frieswal cattle. Methods: The present investigation was carried out on data of 3425 Frieswal cattle (Holstein Friesian x Sahiwal cattle) maintained at Military Farm, Pimpri, Pune, Maharashtra. Total 9094 lactation records were collected from 3425 cows born to 239 sires from 1983 to 2018. The data were normalized and analyzed using SAS9.13 software. Result: The genetic parameters were estimated for early and lifetime traits. The heritability of early traits like birth weight, first and second lactation milk yield, first and second lactation length and first dry period were 0.38±0.08, 0.33±0.07, 0.31±0.07, 0.10±0.05, 0.06±0.01 and 0.06±0.04, whereas for lifetime traits like milk yield per day of productive life up to three lactations (MYPDPL3), milk yield per day of productive life up to five lactations (MYPDPL5), milk yield per day of total life up to three lactations (MYPDTL3) and milk yield per day of total life up to five lactations (MYPDTL5) were 0.33± 0.07, 0.36±0.11, 0.43±0.07 and 0.44±0.10, respectively. The genetic correlation between birth weight and first lactation length was - 0.97±0.19 and the second lactation length was 0.51±0.26. The genetic correlation of first lactation length with lifetime traits MYPDPL3, MYPDTL3, MYPDPL5 and MYPDTL5 were 0.09±0.26, 0.18±0.24, 0.49±0.31, 0.61±0.27 while for second lactation length with lifetime traits MYPDPL3, MYPDTL3, MYPDPL5 and MYPDTL5 were 0.10±0.32, 0.28±0.30, 0.10±0.39, 0.12±0.36, respectively. The genetic correlation of first lactation milk yield with lifetime traits MYPDPL3, MYPDTL3, MYPDPL5 and MYPDTL5 was estimated as 0.92±0.05, 0.91±0.05, 0.69±0.14 and 0.69±0.12. Similarly, the genetic correlation between second lactation milk yield and lifetime traits was found to be 0.96±0.03, 0.93±0.04, 0.99±0.05 and 0.93±0.07.