Indian cattle breeds

INDIAN CATTLE BREEDS

  • India has 30 indigenous breeds of cattle in addition to the vast cattle population which comes under the non-descript category. There are 3 major types of cattle breeds as per their utility
    • Milch breeds: Sahiwal, Gir, Rathi and Red Sindhi (few animals only at organized farms)
    • Dual-purpose breeds: Deoni, Gaolao, Hariana, Kankrej, Krishna Valley, Mewati, Ongole and Tharparkar.
    • Draught breeds: Amritmahal, Bachaur, Bargur, Dangi, Hallikar, Kangayam, Kenkatha, Kherigarh, Khillari, Malvi, Nagori, Nimari, Ponwar, Umblachery, Red Kandhari and Siri.
  • Vechur and Punganur are the dwarf breeds. The population of some breeds like Nagori, Hariana, Ponwar, Kherigarh, Mewati, Hallikar, etc. is declining mainly due to mechanization of agriculture. In addition to these, there exist some stable populations in different regions that significantly contribute to the food and agriculture production of that region. These are Alambadi, Binjharpuri, Ghumsuri, Pullikulam, Kumauni, Ladakhi, Malnad Gidda, Mampati, Manipari, Motu, Red Purnea, Shahabadi, Gangatiri, ThoTho, and Tarai. There are no wild relatives of cattle in India. Some of the crossbred strains developed are Sunandini, Frieswal, and Karan-Fries. Except Sunandini, the population of other strains is small.
Last modified: Monday, 7 May 2012, 5:33 AM