Effect of Seasons x Meteorological Variables on Normal Milk Constituents in Marathwadi Buffaloes

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of environmental variables and different seasons onnormal milk constituents in Marathwadi buffalo. The milk samples were collected from Marathwadi buffaloes(n=6) fortnightly while, environmental variables i.e., dry bulb temperature (DbT), wet bulb temperature (WbT), wind speed (WS) and solar intensity (LUX) were recorded at a weekly interval (at 14:00 hrs). Non-significant (P>0.05) variation was observed in milk constituents (fat, protein, SNF, lactose and salt) in summer, winter & monsoon seasons. Similarly, different environmental variables had no effect on milk constituents during different seasons. Whereas, significantly (P<0.01) positive correlation was observed between protein and SNF (r=.986), lactose and SNF (r=.993), salt and SNF (r=.898), lactose and protein (r=.984), salt and protein (r=.901) and salt and lactose (r=.901), respectively during the study.Therefore, it can be concluded that native breeds have better adaptability to environmental conditions, which is reflected by optimum production and lack of variation in milk constituents in marathwadi buffaloes during different seasons.