STUDY ON THE REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE AND MILK PRODUCTION OF DAIRY BUFFALOES FROM THE CENTRAL AREA OF ROMANIA

Abstract

Buffaloes raised in Romania have mixed productive abilities, milk-meat, the main ability is for milk production. In the center of the country, buffalo breeding has a long tradition of over a century. Buffalo milk has great nutritional value, lends itself very well to processing into specific products. On December 1, 2021, there were 18,328 buffaloes, of which 97% of the herds were in the center and northwest of Transylvania. In the center of the country, 5,388 heads are raised, in 592 farms of different sizes, which represents 29.40% of the total herd. The research carried out during six years, in ten farms, on a herd of 396 dairy buffaloes raised in the central area of Romania, revealed that the average interval between calvings is 438.04 days, with a high variability of the character in the population. This result is influenced by the average duration of the service period of 123.93 days, with V=89.06%, the average duration of gestation being relatively constant. The duration of lactation was influenced by the age of the animals and technological factors. The average amount of milk, fat and protein per total lactation, as well as the average content in fat and protein recorded different average values, being influenced by the rank of lactation. From the analysis of the milk production data recalculated at 270 days, it follows that there are no significant differences compared to the milk production per total lactation. The explanation lies in the fact that the total duration of lactation is not much longer than 270 days.