• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제17권1호
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• pp.1-6
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• 2004

The 490 and 380 performance records of Karan Fries and Karan Swiss cows developed through crossbreeding followed by inter-se mating were evaluated for production, reproduction performance and disposal rate. Duration of study (1982-92) was grouped into five periods (1982-83; 1984-85; 1986-87; 1988-89; 1990-92) and each year was divided into four seasons (Winter: Dec.-Jan.; Spring: Feb.-March; Summer: April-June; Rainy: July-Sept.; Autumn: Oct.-Nov). Data were also classified according to sire and level of inbreeding. The least squares means of FLY (first lactation yield -305 days), FLL (first lactation length), FSP (first service period), FDP (first dry period), FCI (first calving interval ), MY/FLL (milk yield per day of first lactation length), MY/FCI (milk yield per day of first calving interval), EBV (expected breeding value) and EBE (expected breeding efficiency) were $3,173{\pm}82$ kg, $34611{\pm}$days, $143{\pm}11$ days, $75{\pm}6$ days, $423{\pm}11$ days, $10.6{\pm}0.2$ kg, $8.9{\pm}0.2$ kg, $3,380{\pm}26$ kg, and $88.2{\pm}1.3$% respectively in Karan Fries. Corresponding estimates in Karan Swiss cows were $2,616{\pm}82$ kg, $328{\pm}8$ days, $148{\pm}12$ days, $103{\pm}9$ days, $435{\pm}13$ days, $8.9{\pm}0.2$ kg, $7.2{\pm}0.3$ kg, $2,924{\pm38}$ kg and $86.0{\pm}3.8$% respectively. The effect of sire was significant on FLY, MY/FLL, MY/FCI and EBV in both the herd (p<0.01). The 10 and 15% sires showed superiority (FLY) over herd average of 11 and 7% in Karan Fries and 32 and 21% in Karan Swiss cattle respectively. Inbreeding has adversely and significantly (p<0.05) affected the FLY, MY/FLL, MY/FCI and survivability of Karan Fries females; FDP and disposal through culling of Karan Swiss heifers. The Karan Fries heifers with inbreeding above 12.5% performed 16% lower FLY to herd average. The effect of season of calving was significant on FLL, FSP and FCI (p<0.05) in Karan Fries. Summer calvers ($361{\pm}12$) were have higher lactation length and autumn calvers ($329{\pm}14$) had minimum. Period of calving significantly influenced the FSP, FCI, MY/FLL and MY/FCI in Karan Fries and FLY, MY/FLL and MY/FCI in Karan Swiss. Production efficiency traits in Karan Fries herd witnessed higher yield in the last two periods whereas, Karan Swiss heifers showed fluctuating performance. The findings suggested judicious use of available genetic variability, keeping of inbreeding under safer level and managemental interventions for the consistent improvement of both herds.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제17권10호
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• pp.1334-1337
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• 2004

The present study was conducted to detect polymorphism at growth hormone gene in Karan Fries bulls. A 428 bp fragment of growth hormone gene spanning over $4^{th}$exon, $4^{th}$intron and $5^{th}$ exon was amplified and digested with AluI restriction enzyme to identify polymorphism at this locus. Karan Fries bulls were found to be polymorphic at this locus. Two genotypes LL and LV were identified in Karan Fries with higher allelic frequency for L allele. In Karan Fries males, the average birth weight, 3 months body weight and daily body weight gains of LL homozygotes were significantly higher than that of LV heterozygotes. Genetic distances of KF bulls with respect to genotype along with 3 months body weight and average daily body weight gain forms a single cluster of bulls with LL genotype, while individuals with LV genotype forms three distinct clusters indicating more influence of L allele on growth traits.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제17권9호
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• pp.1214-1218
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• 2004

Data on 958 Karan Fries (KF) and 780 Karan Swiss (KS) cows, born during 1974 to 1992 at National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal were evaluated for causes of culling and their impact on milk performance and herd strength. Causes of culling were classified as voluntary culling (low milk yield) and involuntary culling (other than milk yield). The milk yield of cows was evaluated inretrospectively by estimating expected breeding value (EBV) on the basis of first lactation yield (FLY) and all available lactation yield (ALY). The culling rate of KF cows over the years varied from 10.89 (1988) to 33.92% (1991) with an overall average of 20.96% and in KS from 19.91 (1984) to 33.74% (1989) with an overall average of 25.01%. Reproductive disorders, teat and udder problems, low milk production, health and locomotive disorders were the major reasons of culling accounted respectively for 5.56, 4.97, 4.61, 3.18 and 2.24% of herd strength in KF cows. The corresponding causes of culling were 6.20, 6.26, 7.69, 1.49 and 2.67% of herd strength in KS cows. The involuntary culling of cows accounted for 82.4% in K F and 76.1% in KS cows of total culling. The average annual disposal rate in KF and KS was 26 and 30% whereas annual replacement rate was 24 and 26% respectively. The EBV of involuntary culled cows on the basis of FLY and ALY was 3,111 and 3,515 kg in KF; and 2,669 and 2,940 kg in KS cows respectively. The EBV of selected cows on the basis of FLY and ALY was 3,242 and 3,549 kg in KF and 2,893 and 3,245 kg in KS cows respectively. The average breeding value of involuntary culled cows was not significantly different from selected cows in both the herds. The high rate of involuntary culling of potential cows might be major factor responsible for declined performance and size in these herds. The results indicated that higher genetic gain (2.14% of herd average in KF and 3.49% of herd average in KS) could be obtained by restricting the involuntary culling (50% of total culling) through improved management practices and increasing replacement rate.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제29권6호
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• pp.775-781
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• 2016

A single trait linear mixed random regression test-day model was applied for the first time for analyzing the first lactation monthly test-day milk yield records in Karan Fries cattle. The test-day milk yield data was modeled using a random regression model (RRM) considering different order of Legendre polynomial for the additive genetic effect (4th order) and the permanent environmental effect (5th order). Data pertaining to 1,583 lactation records spread over a period of 30 years were recorded and analyzed in the study. The variance component, heritability and genetic correlations among test-day milk yields were estimated using RRM. RRM heritability estimates of test-day milk yield varied from 0.11 to 0.22 in different test-day records. The estimates of genetic correlations between different test-day milk yields ranged 0.01 (test-day 1 [TD-1] and TD-11) to 0.99 (TD-4 and TD-5). The magnitudes of genetic correlations between test-day milk yields decreased as the interval between test-days increased and adjacent test-day had higher correlations. Additive genetic and permanent environment variances were higher for test-day milk yields at both ends of lactation. The residual variance was observed to be lower than the permanent environment variance for all the test-day milk yields.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제24권10호
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• pp.1348-1357
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• 2011

The objective of this study was to compare the effect of Butylated Hydroxy Toluene (BHT), Pentoxifylline (PTX) and ${\alpha}$-tocopherol (Vit E) on semen quality parameters of Karan Fries bulls. The fortification of extender by various semen additives improves motility as well as fertility of spermatozoa. Split samples of 24 ejaculates of four Karan Fries bulls were extended in extender with or without various additives such as BHT, PTX and Vit E, and performance was evaluated at an interval of 0, 24, 48 and 72 h at refrigerated temperature (4-$7^{\circ}C$). Results of the present study revealed that addition of BHT, PTX and Vit E in extender improved sperm cell function, such as motility, viability, HOST, and acrosome integrity, as compared to the control during liquid storage up to 48 h of preservation at refrigerated temperature. There was no significant (p<0.05) difference between any of the additives up to 48 h of preservation. Overall, the results showed a significant (p<0.05) deterioration in motility after each storage interval. The results showed a significant deterioration in the acrosome integrity and plasma membrane integrity up to 48 h; subsequently, there was not much degradation of both the semen quality parameters. There was a significant increase in spermatozoal tail and total abnormality after each storage interval at refrigerator temperature (4 to $7^{\circ}C$); however, the head and mid-piece abnormalities were almost unaffected. Tail and total abnormality were least in extender fortified with BHT, PTX and Vit E at different hours of incubation as compared to the control. The addition of 1.5 mM BHT, 3.6 mM PTX and 1 mg/ml Vit E in the semen extender has more beneficial effect in terms of semen quality and preservability of spermatozoa.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제14권12호
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• pp.1775-1780
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• 2001

The study was undertaken to find out the normal mean and variations in somatic cell count (SCC) of milk in crossbred and indigenous cows as influenced by stage of lactation, parity and season. On day of milk sampling the udders were tested for mastitis by California Mastitis Test (CMT). Only those cows, which were found negative in the CMT, were taken in the study. Paritywise differences in SCC were not significant between the 1st to 6th lactation and above. Similarly, stage of lactation effect, when tested at 30 day intervals, did not differ significantly. However, the seasons significantly (p<0.05) affected SCC count of milk. The SCC was lower during cold ($1.10{\times}10^5cells/ml$) and hot-dry ($1.11{\times}10^5cells/ml$) season then during hot-humid season ($2.14{\times}10^5cells/ml$). On an average SCC recorded were 1.26, 1.31, 1.54 and $1.61{\times}10^5$ cells per ml respectively in Tharparkar, Sahiwal, Karan Swiss and Karan Fries cows irrespective of stage of lactation, parity and season. Further, crossbred Karan Swiss and Karan Fries cows behave similar to the indigenous Tharparkar and Sahiwal cows but are more vulnerable to hot-humid climate then indigenous ones. Significant correlation between the SCC and milk yield during different stages of lactation (1.38 to $1.74{\times}10^5cells/ml$) and parity (1.47 to $1.63{\times}10^5cells/ml$) suggested that the SCC/ml of milk was higher during the later stages of lactation.

• Animal Bioscience
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• 제37권5호
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• pp.795-806
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• 2024

Objective: Karan Fries (KF), a high-producing composite cattle was developed through crossing indicine Tharparkar cows with taurine bulls (Holstein Friesian, Brown Swiss, and Jersey), to increase the milk yield across India. This composite cattle population must maintain sufficient genetic diversity for long-term development and breed improvement in the coming years. The level of linkage disequilibrium (LD) measures the influence of population genetic forces on the genomic structure and provides insights into the evolutionary history of populations, while the decay of LD is important in understanding the limits of genome-wide association studies for a population. Effective population size (N_e) which is genomically based on LD accumulated over the course of previous generations, is a valuable tool for e valuation of the genetic diversity and level of inbreeding. The present study was undertaken to understand KF population dynamics through the estimation of N_e and LD for the long-term sustainability of these breeds. Methods: The present study included 96 KF samples genotyped using Illumina HDBovine array to estimate the effective population and examine the LD pattern. The genotype data were also obtained for other crossbreds (Santa Gertrudis, Brangus, and Beefmaster) and Holstein Friesian cattle for comparison purposes. Results: The average LD between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was r² = 0.13 in the present study. LD decay (r² = 0.2) was observed at 40 kb inter-marker distance, indicating a panel with 62,765 SNPs was sufficient for genomic breeding value estimation in KF cattle. The pedigree-based N_e of KF was determined to be 78, while the N_e estimates obtained using LD-based methods were 52 (SNeP) and 219 (genetic optimization for N_e estimation), respectively. Conclusion: KF cattle have an N_e exceeding the FAO's minimum recommended level of 50, which was desirable. The study also revealed significant population dynamics of KF cattle and increased our understanding of devising suitable breeding strategies for long-term sustainable development.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제19권1호
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• pp.26-30
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• 2006

The study was undertaken to investigate the validity of milk urea concentration as an index of the reproductive performances in crossbred Karan-Fries (Holstein Friesian${\times}$Tharparkar) cows under farm condition. Milk urea was analysed in noon milk samples (1200 to 1300 h) to interrelate with the interval from parturition to first service, number of insemination per conception, first service conception rate and service period. Milk progesterone (P4) was analysed in noon milk samples on the day 1, 10, 20 and 30 post insemination to study the effect of milk urea concentration on early embryonic mortality. The interval from parturition to first service was found significantly (p<0.01) higher ($77.2{\pm}5.5$ days) when milk urea concentration was ${\geq}63.4mg/dl$. The average milk urea concentrations (mg/dl) were found $42.1{\pm}2.5$, $47.9{\pm}1.5$ and $50.3{\pm}3.1$, respectively in cows that conceived at $1^{st}$, $2^{nd}$ and $3^{rd}$ insemination. However, the variation was not statistically significant. The first insemination conception rate was found significantly (p<0.05) higher (68.8%) when milk urea level was ${\leq}32.4mg/dl$. The service period was found significantly (p<0.05) higher ($125.4{\pm}8.8$ days) when milk urea concentration was ${\geq}45.1mg/dl$. The milk P4 level indicated that the cows, those were detected as non-pregnant on day 60 post insemination were initially pregnant but the pregnancy was terminated sometime during the day 30 to 60 post insemination. The study indicates that the milk urea values may be used as an index of reproductive performances in dairy herd when individual animals are not being monitored for nutritional status. The altered milk urea values may be utilised by the farmers as ready reference to rectify the protein and energy nutrition in cows to achieve the better reproductive performances in herd.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제12권4호
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• pp.511-514
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• 1999

Data pertaining to 1111 first lactation performance record of Karan Fries (Holstein-Friesian $\times$ Zebu) cows spread over a period of 21 years and sired by 72 bulls were used to examine the efficiency of sire indices for lactation milk production using auxiliary traits. First lactation length, first service period, first calving interval, first dry period and age at first calving were considered as auxiliary traits. The efficiency of this method was compared with simple daughter average index (D), contemporary comparison method (CC), least-square method (LSQ), simplified regressed least-squares method (SRLS) and best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) for lactation milk production. The relative efficiency of sire evaluation methods using one auxiliary trait was lower (24.2-32.8%) in comparison to CC method, the most efficient method observed in this study. Use of two auxiliary traits at a time did not further improve the efficiency. The auxiliary sire indices discriminate better among bulls as the range of breeding values were higher in these methods in comparison to conventional sire evaluation methods. The rank correlation between breeding values estimated using auxiliary traits were high (0.77-0.78) with CC method. The rank correlation among auxiliary sire indices ranged from 0.98 to 0.99, indicating similar ranking of sire for breeding values of milk production in all the auxiliary sire indices.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• 제57권4호
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• pp.13.1-13.5
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• 2015

As an alternative to radioimmunoassay a simple and highly sensitive enzyme immunoassay (EIA) was developed and validated for androstenedione quantification in plasma of Karan Fries bulls using second antibody coating technique. The wells of the microtitreplate were coated with affinity-purified goat immunoglobulin (antirabbit IgG) that binds the hormone specific antibody. The EIA was performed to analyze androstenedione directly in $40{\mu}l$ of bull plasma. The androstenedione standards ranged from 0.20 to 200 pg/$40{\mu}l$/well and the sensitivity of the assay was 5 pg/ml plasma. Serially diluted bull plasma containing high endogenous androstenedione showed good parallelism with bovine androstenedione standard curve. Intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation (CV) were found to be 8 and 9%, respectively. Peripheral plasma androstenedione concentrations determined in young and adult bull samples ranged between 104-990 pg/ml and 184-2040 pg/ml, respectively.