Ndri Breeds Cattle With Record Milk Yield

The National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) has developed two new cattle breeds through crossbreeding that give a record milk yield of about 40 kg in a day.

The new high milk producing strains, namely Karan Swiss and Karan Fries, have been evolved at the institute through extensive experiments of crossbreeding, NDRI director Kiran Singh said.

The highest milk yield recorded in case of Karan Fries was 41.8 kg and in Karan Swiss, it touched 30 kg, Singh said. The prized herd of Murrah buffaloes and other indigenous cattle breeds such as Sahiwal and Tharparkar give only about 22 kg milk in a day, he said.

Singh said the multiplication of dairy animals with high productivity constitutes the core of research efforts in the area of biotechnology at the institute which encompasses multiple ovulation, embryo transfer and embryo splitting.

NDRI has several cows which have produced 5 to 10 calves in just one year. The technology has been extended to buffaloes also, he added. The successful birth of the first-ever test tube buffalo calf in the world was achieved in 1990 at the institute through vitro maturation and vitro fertilisation, Singh said.

NDRI has done pioneering work in the field of cattle breeding and is catering to the needs of dairy entrepreneurs and the farming community by offering consultancy services through its industrial consultancy cell and farm advisory bureau. NDRI has developed methodologies for survey of agricultural resources, with special emphasis on dairy farming systems, Singh said. He added the institute maintains active interaction with international research organisations and training institutes in dairying and allied fields.

Collaborative research programmes are being run with National Dairy Development Board, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Department of Biotechnology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and Department of Non-Conventional Energy Sources. The institute has a dairy farm with over 2,000 herds of cattle, used for breed improvement programmes. It also has an experimental dairy equipped to process 10,000 litre per day milk and to manufacture various milk products.