Research and Reviews: Journal of Veterinary Science and Technology Volume 2, Issue 2, ISSN 2319-3441 __________________________________________________________________________________________ RRJoVST (2013) 8-11 © STM Journals 2013. All Rights Reserved Page 8 Lactation Performance and Milk Constituents of Ongole Cattle in Its Breeding Tract Sudhakar Krovvidi 1 *, S. Panneerselvam 1 , A. K. Thiruvenkadan 1 , J. Johnson Rajeswar 1 , K. Sivakumar 1 , R.Vinoo 2 1 Dept. of Animal Genetics & Breeding, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, India 2 Livestock research Station, Lam, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India Abstract A total 62 milk samples from Ongole herd were collected with the objective of assessing milk compositions of Ongole cattle and to investigate the effect of parity and stage of lactation on test-day milk yield and milk constituent traits. Milk compositions were determined by Lactoscan apparatus. The test-day milk yield was 2.78 ± 0.21 kg. Overall least-squares mean for fat, SNF, protein and lactose were 3.31 ± 0.18, 9.34 ± 0.12, 3.51 ± 0.08 and 5.12 ± 0.07 respectively. The analysis revealed that the parity and stage of lactation did not influence the fat, protein, SNF and lactose content and yields. Keywords: Ongole cattle, milk composition, fat, SNF, protein, lactose *Author for Correspondence E-mail: vetsreesudha@rediffmail.com INTRODUCTION Ongole cattle, a dual-purpose breed, native of middle and southern coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh is known for its adaptability to heat stress. This breed has the patronage of the progressive farmers of Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Ongole and Nellore districts of the state. Best draught animals were developed in the breed [1], bullocks being powerful and suitable for ploughing and cart pulling. The best milk- producing animals were also developed in the fertile delta of Godavari [2]. Owing to the better survival and performance on tropical pastures, the animals of this breed were imported by many tropical countries of South America like Brazil and were utilized in their breeding programs [3]. The presence of a limited number of animals which are true to the breed known for their typical phenotype, gait, adaptability to harsh climate and resistance to insect-borne disease makes the breed unique. The mandate of selective breeding in the native breeds and exploiting their distinct traits makes to revisit the breed performances. Although, several investigations have been carried out on the composition of milk with reference to fat and SNF percentages in many native and crossbred cattle in institutional herds in various parts of the country [4–7], a detailed study on composition of milk in Ongole is lacking. Hence, the present study was undertaken to investigate the milk yield and its composition traits, viz., fat, protein, SNF and lactose percent and the non-genetic factors affecting the traits in Ongole cattle. MATERIALS AND METHODS Milk samples from 62 Ongole cows belonging to different lactations at Livestock Research Station, Lam (Guntur) of Andhra Pradesh, were collected in aseptic conditions. Samples were collected randomly without any known bias. The milk samples were analyzed for fat, SNF, protein and lactose percent by Lactoscan SL 30, MB Ver. 60. Fat, SNF, protein and lactose yields were calculated upon their respective lactation milk yield. The stage of lactation and season of calving were