The influence of temperature on the performance of dairy cattle : with particular reference to the improvement of dairy production in India : dissertation presented for the animal husbandry section of a M. Agr. Sc. degree

Abstract

In India, although there's a huge population of cattle, the milk production is scanty and the consumption of milk per head of human population is meagre. The importance of milk in maintaining the health of the Indian people who are mostly vegetarian cannot he over-emphasised and in view of this point an urgent need has been felt lately to improve dairy production in India. In the past European dairy breeds have been imported into India and have been either bred pure or used to grade up the native cattle but such attempts have turned into failure. In the greater portion of India, excepting at high altitudes on the hills, annual average temperature is high and particularly so during the summer months. It has often been suggested that the high atmospheric temperature has been the cause of degeneration of European cattle in India thus presenting a great obstacle to the improvement of India's dairy production. Very little investigation in this respect has been undertaken in India and there has been a controversy over the importance of high environmental temperature in dairy cattle. The purpose of this dissertation is to study the influence of temperature on the performance of dairy cattle from the observations that have been made in various countries, particularly tropical countries, and to draw a conclusion with regard to the policy of breeding dairy cattle in India in order to increase dairy production. As indicated by the title of the problem this study includes the influence of both high and low environmental temperature.Eff