Computation of Heritability for Production and Reproduction Traits in Frieswal Cattle under Field Progeny Testing

Aims: To study the genetic parameter (heritability) for production and reproduction traits in Frieswal cattle under field progeny testing programme.

Place and Duration of Study: G B Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India, between March, 2023 and March, 2024.

Methodology: The present study was conducted on 1163 Frieswal cattle comprised of five different sets maintained at six field units over a period from 2013-2021. The traits considered were age at sexual maturity (ASM), age at first calving (AFC), gestation period (GP), test day peak yield (TDPY), 305 days milk yield (305D-MY), fat percentage (FP), lactation length (LL), calving interval (CI), service period (SP), number of services per conception (NSPC), dry period (DP). The data were analyzed for the estimation of heritability by the software WOMBAT.

Results: The heritability estimates of the traits namely; ASM, AFC, GP, TDPY, 305D-MY, FP, LL, CI, SP, NSPC and DP were 0.469±0.082, 0.467±0.082, 0.259±0.067, 0.248±0.059, 0.354±0.013, 0.413±0.069, 0.389±0.071, 0.394±0.071, 0.452±0.072, 0.072±0.046 and 0.08±0.06, respectively.

Conclusion: Therefore, the heritability estimates were found to be low to high magnitude for different reproduction and production traits and further it has been concluded that, this study will aid breeders in selecting high-performing animals for future generations, taking into account the genetic factors that influence milk production and reproductive traits during early lactation.