The Murrah buffalo is a breed of water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) mainly kept for milk production. It originates in Haryana and Punjab of India, where it is kept in the districts of Bhiwani, Agra, Hisar, Rohtak, Jind, Jhajhar, Fatehabad, Gurgaon and the capital region of Delhi.[1]
It has been used to improve the milk production of dairy buffalo in other countries, such as Italy, Bulgaria and Egypt.[2] A Murrah buffalo at the Lakshmi Dairy Farm in Punjab set a record of 26.335 kg (58.06 lb) of milk in the 2016 National Livestock Competition and Expo.[3]
In Brazil, this breed of buffalo is used for production of both meat and milk. Murrahs sell for a high price.[4][5]
Among Indian buffalo breeds, Murrah is noted to have the highest milk yield.[6]
Appearance
Murrah buffalo on a Brazilian farm
Murrah buffaloes are jet black in colour, sometimes with white markings on the face or legs. Their eyes are black, active, and prominent in females, but slightly shrunken in males and should not be walled, i.e., the cornea should not have whiteness. Their necks are long and thin in females and thick and massive in males. Their ears are short, thin, and alert. [7]
They typically have short and tightly curved horns. Bulls weigh around 550 kg (1,210 lb) and cows around 450 kg (990 lb). Average milk production is 2,200 L (480 imp gal; 580 US gal) in a lactation period of 310 days.[8][9]
Research institutes
These institutes have ongoing research programs to enhance and disseminate the Murrah breed:
The Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes in Hisar is the premier research institute in India for improving the Murrah buffalo breed and for disseminating Murrah buffalo semen to farmers and buffalo breeders for fertilization of cows. It has cloned a Murrah buffalo to replicate the high quality breed.[10][11][12][13][14][15]
The Philippine Carabao Center in the Philippines breeds Murrah buffaloes for adapting them to the local tropical conditions.
Export to other nations
In Asia, Murrah buffaloes were first introduced in Philippines from India in 1917 to cross breed with native Carabao breed. A few Nili-Ravibreed were also exported from India to Philippines.[17]Philippine Carabao Center was established in 1992 at Science City of Muñoz in Nueva Ecija province to breed and cross carabao based on high-yield Murrah buffalo in the Philippines as a multi-purpose animal that can be raised for milk, meat, hide, and draft.[18][19][20][21] This project has now expected to more than 14 buffalo research centers, based on murrah breed, spread across Philippines.
In Europe, the native breed were crossbred with the Indian Murrah breed in Bulgaria, and later in Romania, some were crossbred with Bulgarian Murrah.[22]
Government Livestock Farm, Hisar, research and dissemination institute to improve the feed for cattle to enhance the milk yield, situated next to the CIRB Hisar
^Moioli, B. and A. Borghese (2016). Buffalo Breeds and Management Systems. Istituto Sperimentale per la Zootecnia (Animal Production Research Institute).
^Cockrill, W. R., ed. (1977). The Water Buffalo(PDF). Animal Production and Health Series. Vol. 4. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN978-9251001080. Archived from the original(PDF) on June 16, 2013. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
^Borghese, A., Mazzi, M. (2005). Buffalo Population and Strategies in the World. Pages 1–39 in Borghese, A. (ed.) Buffalo Production and Research. REU Technical Series 67. Inter-regional Cooperative Research Network on Buffalo, FAO Regional Office for Europe, Rome.
