1. 28 Breedsof Cattle Foundin India
by DK SinhaGeography
Good breedsof cattle are mostlyconfinedtocomparativelydryareassuchas Haryana, Punjab,Rajasthan,Gujarat
and Madhya Pradesh.Pasturesinthese areasmayqualitativelybe enough,buttheyare oftenscarce.
The uncertaintyof rainfall makesitobligatoryonthe partof the ownerstogrow crops,the residue of whichprovides
a good supplyof fodderforcattle.Inhumidclimate,averypoortype of cattle isfound.
Indiapossesses27acknowledgedindigenousbreedsof cattle andsevenbreedsof buffaloes.Thesewell-defined
breedsare foundinthe dry parts of the country.Othertypesof breedare nondescriptanddonot belongtoany
definedbreed.
The Indian breedsofcattle are categorisedinto the followingtypes:
1. MilchBreeds:
Femalesyieldalarge quantityof milk,while the bullocksare notof highquality,e.g.,Gir,RedSindhi,Sahiwal,
Tharparkar and Deoni.
2. Gir:
Thisis a native of Gujarat,but alsofoundinMaharashtra andadjacentRajasthan.Gir cowsare goodmilkers.The
milkyieldrangesfrom1,200 to 1,800 kg. The age at firstcalvingvariesfrom45 to 54 monthsandthe intercalving
periodfrom515 to 600 days.
3. Red Sindhi:
The home tract of thisbreedisKarachi andHyderabaddistrictsof Pakistan.However,anumberof herdsof this
breedare foundincertaincattle breedinginstitutionsinthe country.RedSindhisare small insize andare verygood
milkers.Milkproductionrangesfrom1,250 to 1,800 kg.Age at firstcalvingis39 to 50 monthsandthe calving
interval isof 425 to 540 days.
4. Sahiwal:
Thisis a native of Pakistan.The breedingtractof thisbreedwasMontgomerydistrictwhichisnow name das Sahiwal
district.Byfar it isthe bestbreedof the subcontinent.The animalsare usuallylongandfleshyandwithheavier
build.The milkyieldrangesfrom1,400 to 2,500 kg. The age of firstcalvingrangesfrom37 to 48 monthsand the
calvinginterval isfrom430 to 580 days.
5. Deoni:
Thisis an admixture of Gir,Dangi and local animals.Itsnative tractis inwesternAndhraPradesh.Theyhave high
milkproductivity.
6. Dual-purpose Breeds:
There are a numberof cattle breedsinIndiawhichare dual purpose— femalesyieldmore thananaverage quantity
of milkandthe malesare good workingbullocks.
In this group, there are two types of cattle:
(i) short- horned,white orlightgreycattle withlongcoffin- shapedskullandface slightlyconvex inprofile;viz.,
Hariana,Ongole,Gaolo,Rathi,KrishnaValley,etc.;and(ii) lyre-horned,greycattle,deepbodiedwithwideforehead,
flator dishedinprofile,andgooddraftcapacity,viz.,Tharparkarand Kankraj.
7. Hariana:
The main tract of thisbreed isthe Haryana state.The centre of originisaroundRohtak,Hisar andGurgaon districts.
Thisis the mostpopulardual-purpose breedof the Indo- Gangeticplains,andiswidelyspreadinPunjab,Haryana,
2. and Uttar Pradeshand alsoinparts of Madhya Pradesh.Theyare powerful workanimals.Goodspecimensof cows
yieldupto1,500 kg of milkperlactation.
8. Ongole:
The native tract of thisbreedisthe Guntur districtof AndhraPradesh.Thisisessentiallyalarge muscularbreed
suitable forheavydraft work.Anaverage yieldof 1,000 kg is common.Goodspecimenshave givenupto1,500 kg of
milkperlactation.Ongole breedsare knownasNellore breedinBrazil.
9. Gaolo:
ThisbreedcloselyresemblesOngole breed.These breedsare foundinMaharashtraand Madhya Pradesh.The
animalsare basicallydraftanimals.Milkyieldincowsismoderate,goodspecimensyieldingupto1,000 kg per
lactation.
10. Krishna Valley:
The home tract of thisbreedisthe black cottonsoil alongthe RiverKrishnaandthe adjoiningareasof Ghatprabha
and Malaprabhain Karnataka.Theyare alsofoundincertainparts of AndhraPradesh.The bullocksare massive and
powerful,andgoodfordraftin heavysoils.Cowsare fairlygoodmilkers.
11. Rathi:
Thisis alsoknownas Rath. Rathi breedsare mostlylocatedinAlwardistrictof Rajasthan.Theyare alsofoundinand
aroundBikanerdistrict.Theyare medium-sizeddual- purposeanimals,goodcowsyieldingupto1,200 kg of milkper
lactation.The bullocksare adoptedmoderatelyforheavyploughingandroadwork.
12. Tharparkar:
The originof thisbreedisTharparkerdistrictinthe SindProvince of Pakistan.The animalsare alsoknownasThari.
Thisbreedisalsofoundinthe adjoiningtractsof Rajasthanstate,especiallyaroundJodhpurandJaisalmer.The
malesare good draftanimals.The milkyieldincowsrangesfrom1,800 to 2,600 kg perlactation.
13. Kankrej:
The home tract of thisbreedissoutheastof Rann of Kutch inGujarat—fromthe southwestcornerof Tharparkar
district(nowinPakistan) toAhmedabadandfromDessainthe eastto Radhanpurin the west.Theyare fast and
powerful draftcattle.Cowsare average milkers,yieldingabout1,400 kg perlactationinterms andlessinvillages.
14. Draft Breeds:
A large majority of the indigenousbreedsare of drafttype,inwhichcowsare poormilkers,butbullocksare superior
inquality.Prominentdraftbreedsof cattle inIndiaare Nagauri,Bachaur,Kherigarh,Malvi,Hallikar,Khillari,
Kangayamand Amritmahal.The lastfour breedsare alsoknownasMysore breeds.Besides,PonwarandSiri are
otherimportantdraftbreeds.Theyare alsoknownas hillybreeds.
15. Nagauri:
Thisis famousfortrottingand as a draft animal.The bullocksare prizedfortheirfastroadwork.Nagauri breedsare
foundinthe districtof Jodhpurin Rajasthan.Thisbreedissupposedtohave beenevolvedfromHarianaandKankrej
breeds.
16. Bachaur:
ThisbreedisfoundinSitamarhi districtof Bihar.It has veryclose similaritytothe Harianabreed.The malesare well
knownfortheirdraft capacityand theirabilitytothrive underpoorconditionsof feeding.The femalesof thisbreed
are notgood milkers.
17. Kherigarh:
The home tract of thisbreedisthe Kheri districtof Uttar Pradesh.Lighteringeneral appearance,Kherigarhcattle are
veryactive and goodanimalsforlightdraftand trotting.
3. 18. Malvi:
These are foundinGwaliorregionof Madhya Pradeshandalsoin AndhraPradesh.Theyare of massive builtandin
some respectsresemble the Kankrej.
19. Hallikar:
Thisbreedoriginatedinthe formerprincelystate of Vijayanagaram(presentlyinKarnataka).The animalsare
compact, muscularandmedium-sized.The breedisbestknownforitsdraftcapacityand especiallyforitstrotting
ability.Itwasusedinthe war by TipuSultanfor carryingcannons.
20. Khillari:
Khillari breedcloselyresemblesthe Hallikar.Itshome tractis SholapurandSitapurdistrictsof Maharashtra. The
animalsare compact and tight.Khillari bullocksare regardedasfastand powerful draftanimals.
21. Kangayam:
Thisbreedoriginatedinthe Coimbatore districtof Tamil Nadu.The animalsare of moderate size withcompact
bodies.The maleshave blackorvery,dark colouronthe head,hump,neckandquarters.A large numberof bullocks
producedinthe northerntract are soldto cultivatorsinotherpartsfor workingonthe black coitonsoils.
22. Amritmahal:
The home tract of Amritmahal isthe formerprincelystate of Mysore.ItsbreedingtractstretchesfromKrishnabasin
to Cauerybaiin.The Amritmahal breedisprimarilyadraftanimal,butduringthe earlydays,itwas knownforits
milchqualities.Maharajasof Mysore had developedlarge farmscalledKavalsfordevelopingthisbreed.The animals
are closelyrelatedtoHallikar.
23. Ponwar:
Ponwarisfoundinthe foothillsof the Himalayas.Itissmall andcompact withfrequentwhitemarkingsonthe
forehead,dewlapandlimbs.Thisbreedismainlyrestrictedtothe Pilibhitdistrictof Uttar Pradesh.The bullocksdo
make gooddraft animals.Cowsare verypoormilkers.
24. Siri:
Thisis the mainbreedinthe hillytractaround DarjeelinginWestBengal andSikkim.Itisfoundusuallyinhigher
altitudesfrom1,000 to 4,000 m above the sea level.The breedcanwithstandruggedmountainousconditions.The
bullocksare reputedforgooddraftability.
25. Exotic Breeds:
Some of the exoticbreeds,withheavymilkyieldingcapacity,have alsobeendevelopedinIndia,especiallyinmilitary
farms.The maximummilkyieldperlactationis 6,000 kg inmilitaryfarms,while the averagemilkyieldof exotic
breedsis2,600 kg. The individual maximumdailyyieldsare above 50 kg.
Some of the important exoticbreedsare:
Jersey,Holstein-Friesian,Swiss-Brown,Gurnsey,GermanFleckvichand Ayreshire.
26. Cross-Breeds:
Karan SwissandKaran Freisare two importantcross-breedsof cattle inIndia.
27. Karan Swiss:
Evolvedoutof cross-breedingAmericanBrownSwisswithIndianSahiwal andRedSindhi—isanimportantcross-
breedof cattle.The overall inheritance of the BrownSwissis50 per centin the breed.The colourof the breedisred
dun.It resemblesSahiwal initsbodysize andgeneral appearance.The average age atfirstcalvingis32 monthsand
the lactationyieldis3,000 to 4,500 kg with4.2 to 4.4 fat percentage.The intercalvingperiodis400 to 425 days.
28. Karan Freis:
4. Thisbreedisevolvedoutof crossbreedingbetweenTharparkarandHolstein- Friesian.Thishasinheritance of 50per
centfrom the Friesian.The animalsare extremelydocile.The average age of firstcalvingis30-32 monthsandthe
milkproductionis3,700 kg perlactationwith3.8 to 4.0 per centfat. The intercalvingperiodis400-430 days.
Central Cattle BreedingFarms -atSuratgarh(Rajasthan),Dhamrod(Gujarat),Alamadhi (TamilNadu),Chiplimaand
Simliguda(Orissa),Andeshnagar(UttarPradesh),andHessarghatta(Karnataka)—are engagedinscientificcattle
breedingprogrammesandprogenytestingof selectedbreedsof indigenousaswell asexoticcattle andbuffaloes.
