The objectives of the present study were to study the effects of breed, sex, parity, year of birt... more The objectives of the present study were to study the effects of breed, sex, parity, year of birth and season of birth on birth weight, weaning weight and yearling weight recorded on 796 calves born between 1996 and 2008. This included offspring from five local cattle breeds (Dhanni, Lohani, Dajal, Red Sindhi, Cholistani) and crossbreds (Holstein or Jersey crosses) maintained at Barani Livestock Production Research Institute (BLPRI, Attock, Punjab, Pakistan). The data were analyzed using a mixed linear model with PROC MIXED (SAS). Overall means ± SD (obtained using PROC MEANS) of birth, weaning and yearling weights were 18.59±2.54 kg, 73.85±19.04 kg and 113.65±30.33 kg, respectively. All three growth traits varied with breed, sex, parity of dam and season of birth and year of birth. However, the birth weight did not vary among seasons (P=0.16) and weaning weight did not vary between dam parity (P=0.29). The calves of Lohani cattle (a short stature breed) had the lightest birth weigh...
Livestock are important in supporting the livelihoods of poor farmers, consumers, traders and lab... more Livestock are important in supporting the livelihoods of poor farmers, consumers, traders and labourers throughout the developing world. Many qualitative statements can be found in the literature in this regard. Parasitic infestations are endemic worldwide constituting greatly as a single worldwide cause of illness, disease and loss of productivity in food animals and cause substantial economic losses. Poor hygienic conditions, poverty, illiteracy, lack of access to clean drinking water, infected range conditions and hot-humid tropical climate are the important factors contributing to the most of parasitic infestation in developing countries. Many parasitic infestation can in fact be transmitted between vertebrates (animals and man) and 'about 20 species are of public health importance causing severe or fatal infestation. The effect of the infestation is determined by a combination of factors amongst which the varying susceptibility level of the host species, the pathogenicity o...
Surveillance systems are of great importance for monitoring and controlling parasitic infections ... more Surveillance systems are of great importance for monitoring and controlling parasitic infections and infestations. Developing countries are facing acute problems in maintaining public health and they have poor or even no surveillance systems for disease control. E-resources provide sufficient means for effective surveillance and control of diseases due to parasites. Developed countries have setup strong and effective surveillance systems using software programmes and e-surveillance. By using internet and other e-resources effective e-surveillance system would not help in control of parasitic infestation nation-wise but also help in making policy decisions those would lead to improved health status of the nation. The salient feature include fast track information tracking, national database formation, history records, effective check-up and prompt solution, rapid information flow and setting up quarantine facilities.
Abstract Text: The objectives of the present study were to study the effects of breed, sex, parit... more Abstract Text: The objectives of the present study were to study the effects of breed, sex, parity, year of birth and season of birth on birth weight, weaning weight and yearling weight recorded on 796 calves born between 1996 and 2008. This included offspring from five local cattle breeds (Dhanni, Lohani, Dajal, Red Sindhi, Cholistani) and crossbreds (Holstein or Jersey crosses) maintained at Barani Livestock Production Research Institute (BLPRI, Attock, Punjab, Pakistan). The data were analyzed using a mixed linear model with PROC MIXED (SAS). Overall means ± SD (obtained using PROC MEANS) of birth, weaning and yearling weights were 18.59±2.54 kg, 73.85±19.04 kg and 113.65±30.33 kg, respectively. All three growth traits varied with breed, sex, parity of dam and season of birth and year of birth. However, the birth weight did not vary among seasons (P=0.16) and weaning weight did not vary between dam parity (P=0.29). The calves of Lohani cattle (a short stature breed) had the light...
Abstract Text: Among three well documented breeds of buffalo dairy breeds in Pakistan, Nili-Ravi ... more Abstract Text: Among three well documented breeds of buffalo dairy breeds in Pakistan, Nili-Ravi is the best milk producer owing to its characteristic of disease and parasitic resistance, and better convertor of roughages into useful products than cattle. A selection program to enhance the genetic potential for milk production of Nili-Ravi using progeny testing program is going on. Traditional progeny testing program has made a remarkable improvement in the genetic potential of dairy cattle in the developed world. However, this program faces severe implementation issues in buffalo improvement due to limitation of resources and basic infrastructure. Simulated studies have shown the potential of genomic selection in shortening generation interval and increasing the accuracy of selection (especially young bulls) that can bring a relatively rapid genetic improvement. The current study intends to explore the application of genomic selection in a typical buffalo breeding perspective using...
The present study was planned to measure the composition of milk produced by Pothowari camel (als... more The present study was planned to measure the composition of milk produced by Pothowari camel (also known as Hilly/Campbel-puri) breed of Pothowar region of Pakistan, kept in field on different localized feeding regimes settled by the local farmer. A survey, comprising on few visits in the field, had been conducted in different villages of Pothowar region to collect 21 morning/evening milk samples of Pothowari camel breed. The farmers at the same time were requested to tell the whole-day feeding routine of their lactating camel stock. The milk samples (150-200 ml each) had been taken in a plastic bottle and numbered. For a temporary storage, 2-3 drops of Formalin were included in these samples, and then stored in a cooler to be sent in laboratory. The milk samples of only those camels had been sent for laboratory analysis that had been kept upon a feeding plan a bit different to that of each other. The milk quality parameters studied were fat, solids-not-fat (SNF), total solids (TS),...
The objective of present study was to explore the potential application of genomic selection in a... more The objective of present study was to explore the potential application of genomic selection in a typical developing country situation using Sahiwal cattle of Pakistan as an example. Sahiwal breed of cattle is one of the top milk producers under harsh climatic conditions of tropics and sub-tropics owing to its characteristic of disease and parasitic resistance. A selection program to enhance the genetic potential for milk production of Sahiwal cattle using progeny testing program is going on in Pakistan. Traditional progeny testing program has made a remarkable improvement in the genetic potential of dairy animals in the developed world. However, progeny testing program faces severe implementation issues in the developing countries due to limitation of resources and lack of basic infrastructure. Simulated studies in developed countries have shown the potential of genomic selection in shortening generation interval and increasing the accuracy of selection (especially young bulls) tha...
The use of appropriate method for genetic evaluation of dairy animals is an important aspect of d... more The use of appropriate method for genetic evaluation of dairy animals is an important aspect of dairy cattle production. Traditional 305-day lactation model does not account for the changes in environmental factors within 305-day lactation and may involve unjustified projection of incomplete lactations. The use of test-day model in the recent past has made it possible to economize the genetic evaluation with a better accuracy. This paper reviews the recent developments in genetic evaluation of dairy cattle in the developed production set ups and explores the possibility of using test-day model for genetic evaluation of dairy cattle in Pakistan. Different options within test-model approach are also discussed.
The objectives of the present study were to study the effects of breed, sex, parity, year of birt... more The objectives of the present study were to study the effects of breed, sex, parity, year of birth and season of birth on birth weight, weaning weight and yearling weight recorded on 796 calves born between 1996 and 2008. This included offspring from five local cattle breeds (Dhanni, Lohani, Dajal, Red Sindhi, Cholistani) and crossbreds (Holstein or Jersey crosses) maintained at Barani Livestock Production Research Institute (BLPRI, Attock, Punjab, Pakistan). The data were analyzed using a mixed linear model with PROC MIXED (SAS). Overall means ± SD (obtained using PROC MEANS) of birth, weaning and yearling weights were 18.59±2.54 kg, 73.85±19.04 kg and 113.65±30.33 kg, respectively. All three growth traits varied with breed, sex, parity of dam and season of birth and year of birth. However, the birth weight did not vary among seasons (P=0.16) and weaning weight did not vary between dam parity (P=0.29). The calves of Lohani cattle (a short stature breed) had the lightest birth weigh...
Livestock are important in supporting the livelihoods of poor farmers, consumers, traders and lab... more Livestock are important in supporting the livelihoods of poor farmers, consumers, traders and labourers throughout the developing world. Many qualitative statements can be found in the literature in this regard. Parasitic infestations are endemic worldwide constituting greatly as a single worldwide cause of illness, disease and loss of productivity in food animals and cause substantial economic losses. Poor hygienic conditions, poverty, illiteracy, lack of access to clean drinking water, infected range conditions and hot-humid tropical climate are the important factors contributing to the most of parasitic infestation in developing countries. Many parasitic infestation can in fact be transmitted between vertebrates (animals and man) and 'about 20 species are of public health importance causing severe or fatal infestation. The effect of the infestation is determined by a combination of factors amongst which the varying susceptibility level of the host species, the pathogenicity o...
Surveillance systems are of great importance for monitoring and controlling parasitic infections ... more Surveillance systems are of great importance for monitoring and controlling parasitic infections and infestations. Developing countries are facing acute problems in maintaining public health and they have poor or even no surveillance systems for disease control. E-resources provide sufficient means for effective surveillance and control of diseases due to parasites. Developed countries have setup strong and effective surveillance systems using software programmes and e-surveillance. By using internet and other e-resources effective e-surveillance system would not help in control of parasitic infestation nation-wise but also help in making policy decisions those would lead to improved health status of the nation. The salient feature include fast track information tracking, national database formation, history records, effective check-up and prompt solution, rapid information flow and setting up quarantine facilities.
Abstract Text: The objectives of the present study were to study the effects of breed, sex, parit... more Abstract Text: The objectives of the present study were to study the effects of breed, sex, parity, year of birth and season of birth on birth weight, weaning weight and yearling weight recorded on 796 calves born between 1996 and 2008. This included offspring from five local cattle breeds (Dhanni, Lohani, Dajal, Red Sindhi, Cholistani) and crossbreds (Holstein or Jersey crosses) maintained at Barani Livestock Production Research Institute (BLPRI, Attock, Punjab, Pakistan). The data were analyzed using a mixed linear model with PROC MIXED (SAS). Overall means ± SD (obtained using PROC MEANS) of birth, weaning and yearling weights were 18.59±2.54 kg, 73.85±19.04 kg and 113.65±30.33 kg, respectively. All three growth traits varied with breed, sex, parity of dam and season of birth and year of birth. However, the birth weight did not vary among seasons (P=0.16) and weaning weight did not vary between dam parity (P=0.29). The calves of Lohani cattle (a short stature breed) had the light...
Abstract Text: Among three well documented breeds of buffalo dairy breeds in Pakistan, Nili-Ravi ... more Abstract Text: Among three well documented breeds of buffalo dairy breeds in Pakistan, Nili-Ravi is the best milk producer owing to its characteristic of disease and parasitic resistance, and better convertor of roughages into useful products than cattle. A selection program to enhance the genetic potential for milk production of Nili-Ravi using progeny testing program is going on. Traditional progeny testing program has made a remarkable improvement in the genetic potential of dairy cattle in the developed world. However, this program faces severe implementation issues in buffalo improvement due to limitation of resources and basic infrastructure. Simulated studies have shown the potential of genomic selection in shortening generation interval and increasing the accuracy of selection (especially young bulls) that can bring a relatively rapid genetic improvement. The current study intends to explore the application of genomic selection in a typical buffalo breeding perspective using...
The present study was planned to measure the composition of milk produced by Pothowari camel (als... more The present study was planned to measure the composition of milk produced by Pothowari camel (also known as Hilly/Campbel-puri) breed of Pothowar region of Pakistan, kept in field on different localized feeding regimes settled by the local farmer. A survey, comprising on few visits in the field, had been conducted in different villages of Pothowar region to collect 21 morning/evening milk samples of Pothowari camel breed. The farmers at the same time were requested to tell the whole-day feeding routine of their lactating camel stock. The milk samples (150-200 ml each) had been taken in a plastic bottle and numbered. For a temporary storage, 2-3 drops of Formalin were included in these samples, and then stored in a cooler to be sent in laboratory. The milk samples of only those camels had been sent for laboratory analysis that had been kept upon a feeding plan a bit different to that of each other. The milk quality parameters studied were fat, solids-not-fat (SNF), total solids (TS),...
The objective of present study was to explore the potential application of genomic selection in a... more The objective of present study was to explore the potential application of genomic selection in a typical developing country situation using Sahiwal cattle of Pakistan as an example. Sahiwal breed of cattle is one of the top milk producers under harsh climatic conditions of tropics and sub-tropics owing to its characteristic of disease and parasitic resistance. A selection program to enhance the genetic potential for milk production of Sahiwal cattle using progeny testing program is going on in Pakistan. Traditional progeny testing program has made a remarkable improvement in the genetic potential of dairy animals in the developed world. However, progeny testing program faces severe implementation issues in the developing countries due to limitation of resources and lack of basic infrastructure. Simulated studies in developed countries have shown the potential of genomic selection in shortening generation interval and increasing the accuracy of selection (especially young bulls) tha...
The use of appropriate method for genetic evaluation of dairy animals is an important aspect of d... more The use of appropriate method for genetic evaluation of dairy animals is an important aspect of dairy cattle production. Traditional 305-day lactation model does not account for the changes in environmental factors within 305-day lactation and may involve unjustified projection of incomplete lactations. The use of test-day model in the recent past has made it possible to economize the genetic evaluation with a better accuracy. This paper reviews the recent developments in genetic evaluation of dairy cattle in the developed production set ups and explores the possibility of using test-day model for genetic evaluation of dairy cattle in Pakistan. Different options within test-model approach are also discussed.
Uploads
Papers by Ghulam Bilal