Estimated Breeding Values for 305 Days Milk Yield Traits and Sire Ranking of Nili-Ravi Buffaloes in Pakistan

Pedigree records of 2,881 buffaloes sired by 162 bulls from four Livestock Experiment Stations in Punjab, Pakistan were used. The objective of this study was to estimate the breeding values of animals for different traits to rank the sires and estimation of genetic trends. An Animal Model incorporating all known relationships was used for estimating variance components and breeding values. The estimation of (co)variances and breeding values were obtained using the Derivative Free Restricted Maximum Likelihood (DFREML) set of computer program. The JAA computer program was used for the estimation of reliability of breeding values. The mean estimated breeding value for 305-day milk yield (kg), was -23±287 kg, with an overall genetic trend of +3.5 kg ranged -3.4 to 10.2 kg among different herds. Sires were ranked based on their breeding values along with reliability. 305 days milk yield regression line showing negative genetic trend (Y = -58.084+3.870X). Genetic trend in the recent past decade was negative for the trait indicating that selection strategy especially for choosing young bulls in the artificial insemination program and progeny testing needs to be reevaluated.