9 - NSF Digital Library

V. G. Momongan
be late maturing, with a low pregnancy rate and calf crop, long service
period and calving interval, and low milk production. Many of these
productivity traits are iduenced by the management systems. Research
has shown that proper selection of breeding animals, nutrition, and care
and management can improve rate of growth, attainment of sexual
maturity, conception rate, postpartum ovarian activity and milk
production.
Nutrition
Pt'iany of the buffaloes under the care of smallholder farmers are
fed with low quality roughages and farm by-products (rice straw, corn
stover, sugarcane tcrps, etc.) without supplementation except table andlor
mineral salts in some instances. With thls kind of feeding system,
animals cannot be expected to perform well. However, many studies
have shown that supplementation of feed with concentrates, andlor even
urea-molasses-mineral block (UMMB) can improve the productivity of
the buffalo (Leng, 1984; Leng, 1994; Neric et al., 1984; Abelilla and
Oliveros, 1995).
Genetic Improvement
It has been demonstrated in Thailand that strict selection of
breeding swamp buffalo bulls through performance testing greatly
irnprwed their reproductive jmibmmce at the Surin Livestock Breeding
Station. Konanta and Intaramongkol(1 W4) reported that the age of first
calving of Thai bu&loes was reduced fim 5.26 + 0.94 years in 1976-77
to 3.61 + 0.26 years in 1991, and calving interval, from 587.6 + 108.9
days in 1981 to 493.7 + 100.1 days in 1991. Conception rate was
inaeased fim 67.5% in 1 976-81 to 72.7% in 1 984-89, and calving rate
from 66.6% in 1976 to 69.2% in 1989.
Studies on crossbreeding of Murrah and swamp buffaloes
showed sigdicant improvement in body weight and milk production as