Test Tube Baby Of Native Cow Born For First Time In Pune

Pune, 18th September 2022: For the first time in Pune, at the level of agricultural universities, the test tube baby experiment has also been implemented in cows to promote indigenous cows. From that Holstein Friesian cow, Sahiwal breed Kalwadi, which gives more milk, has been born.

An experiment of IVF (test tube baby) on indigenous cows was carried out at the Cow Research Center of Mahatma Phule Agricultural University, Pune. A Holstein Friesian cow gave birth to a healthy native Sahiwal calf at this centre on Friday. The birth weight of Kalwadi is 27 kg. In the same centre, a Holstein Friesian cow gave birth to a Gir breed last month.

There are 50 indigenous breeds of cows in the research country on Sahiwal, Rathi itself. Among them, five breeds, namely Sahiwal, Gir, Rathi, Lal Sindhi and Tharparkar, are reared for milk. The Sahiwal breed can give at least 14 to 16 litres of milk twice a day. Rathi is a breed from Rajasthan which can give good milk, so research is going on at this centre about these two breeds. For this technique, farmers are spending 20 to 22 thousand. For this, they will get technical support from Rahuri Agricultural University. It has a success rate of about 50% when used in first calving cows. In high-fat cows, this ratio ranges from 30% to 35%.

Gir breed gives good milk only in a certain environment. The Sahiwal breed gives good milk production with less fodder intake and less sickness. That is why this experiment was carried out for the conservation of this breed. This will enable milk farmers in the state to get good milk-yielding cows with an indigenous pedigree in the local environment.

“Technology is a ray of hope given the dwindling number of indigenous cows. It is very important to spread this technology to the farmers,” said Dr Prashant Kumar Patil, Vice Chancellor, Mahatma Phule Agricultural University.