Prediction of phenotypic value of lifetime performance traits on the basis of early performance traits in Murrah buffaloes

In order to achieve the objective, data pertaining to 171 Murrah buffaloes, progeny of 49 sires maintained at Buffalo Research Centre, Hisar were considered for the prediction of lifetime traits from early lactation traits over a period of 24 years from 1990 to 2013. The prediction of phenotypic values of lifetime performance traits viz. Life time milk yield (LTMY), Production life (PL), Milk yield per day of productive life (MY/PL), herd life (HL) and milk yield per day of herd life (MY/HL) were obtained. The equation having the combination of first five lactation traits is recommended for the prediction of phenotypic value of lifetime traits in Murrah buffalo. Accuracy of direct selection for LTMY, PL, MY/PL, HL and MY/HL was 0.42, 0.51, 0.33, 0.51 and 0.54, respectively. The index involving independent variables of first lactation early performance traits had an accuracy of 0.40, 0.39, 0.37, 0.19 and 0.37 for LTMY, PL, MY/PL, HL and MY/HL, respectively. Generally the first lactation milk yield, first peak milk yield and first calving intervals of all lactations contributed maximum to R² value for all lifetime traits. Therefore, it may be concluded that selection on the basis of first lactation milk yield, first peak yield and first calving interval would also improve the lifetime performance.