The Murrah buffalo is a breed of
water buffalo
The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called the domestic water buffalo or Asian water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also found in Europe, Australia, North America, So ...
(''Bubalus bubalis'') mainly kept for milk production. It originates in
Haryana
Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...
and
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
of India, where it is kept in the districts of
Bhiwani,
Agra
Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra i ...
,
Hisar,
Rohtak
Rohtak () is a city and the administrative headquarters of the Rohtak district in the Indian state of Haryana. It lies north-west of New Delhi and south of the state capital Chandigarh on NH 9(old NH 10). Rohtak forms a part of the National ...
,
Jind
Jind is one of the largest and oldest city in Jind district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is administrative headquarter of Jind district. Rani Talab is the main destination for tourists while Pandu-Pindara and Ramrai are the main reli ...
,
Jhajhar
Jhajhar is a village, situated in the erstwhile province of Shekhawati of Rajasthan, India. It is located in the district of Jhunjhunu, approximately 7 km from Nawalgarh. Formally it was the part of Pentalisa of Bhojyana.
History
The Ja ...
,
Fatehabad,
Gurgaon and the
capital region of Delhi.
It has been used to improve the milk production of dairy buffalo in other countries, such as Italy, Bulgaria and Egypt. A Murrah buffalo at the Lakshmi Dairy Farm in Punjab set a record of of milk in the 2016 National Livestock Competition and Expo.
In Brazil, this breed of buffalo is used for production of both meat and milk. Murrahs sell for a high price.
Among Indian buffalo breeds, Murrah is noted to have the highest milk yield.
Appearance
Murrah buffaloes are jet black in colour, sometimes with white markings on the face or legs. Their eyes are black, active, and prominent in females, but slightly shrunken in males and should not be walled, i.e., the cornea should not have whiteness. Their necks are long and thin in females and thick and massive in males. Their ears are short, thin, and alert.
They typically have short and tightly curved horns. Bulls weigh around and cows around . Average milk production is in a lactation period of 310 days.
Research institutes
These institutes have ongoing research programs to enhance and disseminate the Murrah breed:
*The
Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes
Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes, Hisar, a Public university, publicly funded, institute for water buffalo research institute, research. It is located from Delhi, at Hisar (city), Hisar in the north Indian state of Haryana. It has a ...
in Hisar is the premier research institute in India for improving the Murrah buffalo breed and for disseminating Murrah buffalo semen to farmers and buffalo breeders for fertilization of cows. It has cloned a Murrah buffalo to replicate the high quality breed.
[CIRB website]
/ref>[50 years of Indian agriculture, page 245]
/ref>
Dainik Jagran
''Dainik Jagran'' ( Hi:दैनिक जागरन , , ) is an Indian Hindi language daily newspaper.
It was ranked 5th in the world and 2nd in India by circulation in 2016. In 2019 Quarter 4, according to Indian Readership Survey, Daini ...
, 25 July 2017.[ ttp://www.icar.org.in/en/node/6765 Training on Advanced Buffalo Husbandry organized at CIRB, Hisar/ref>][Syed Mohmad Shah, Manmohan Singh Chauhan. 201]
Reproduction in Buffalo: Natural and assisted reproductive techniques
Notion Press, Chennai.
* National Dairy Research Institute
The National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal
Karnal ( is a city located in the state of Haryana, India and is the administrative headquarters of Karnal District. It was used by East India Company army as a refuge during the Indi ...
is an agro-dairy university in Karnal
Karnal ( is a city located in the state of Haryana, India and is the administrative headquarters of Karnal District. It was used by East India Company army as a refuge during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in Delhi. The Battle of Karnal between ...
.Nauni University At Rank 12 Among Agri Research Institutes Of Country
/ref>
* The Philippine Carabao Center
The Philippine Carabao Center ( fil, Sentro ng Kalabaw sa Pilipinas or ''Sentro ng Pilipinas para sa Kalabaw'') an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture, was established at Science City of Muñoz in Nueva Ecija province in 1992 to br ...
in the Philippines breeds Murrah buffaloes for adapting them to the local tropical conditions.
See also
* List of water buffalo breeds
This is a list of domestic water buffalo breeds and their uses.
Breeds
The domestic water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis'') is descended from the wild water buffalo (''Bubalus arnee''), now designated an endangered species. Water buffaloes have bee ...
* List of Indian cattle breeds
This is a list of the cattle breeds considered in India to be wholly or partly of Indian origin. Some may have complex or obscure histories, so inclusion here does not necessarily imply that a breed is predominantly or exclusively Indian. Cows f ...
* Indian Agricultural Research Institute
The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), commonly known as the Pusa Institute, is India's national institute for agricultural research, education and extension. The name Pusa Institute is derived from the fact that the institute was or ...
(IARI)
* Government Livestock Farm, Hisar
Government Livestock Farm, Hisar, Asia's largest livestock breeding, research and training institute,I. E. N. Chauhan, 1979District Census Handbook: Hisar Director of Census Operations, Government of Haryana. is a public funded institute locate ...
, research and dissemination institute to improve the feed for cattle to enhance the milk yield, situated next to the CIRB Hisar.
*
Murrah buffalo
]
References
{{Water buffalo breeds
Animal husbandry in Haryana
Water buffalo breeds originating in India