eChapters

Sutures or surgical threads : means a material used to hold the edges of tissue in close approximation. 

Objectives
    1.    To facilitate healing. 
    2.    Haemostatic.
    3.    To retain drainage tube and implants. 
    4.    To reduce the size of natural opening.

Sterilization is a process of killing all microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi and their spores, and viruses from animate or inanimate surfaces with the use of either physical or chemical agents. Joseph Lister first gave antiseptic principle in 1867.

Surgical Plan
i. Pre-operative Course of Action 
    a.    Client communication.
    b.    Clinical laboratory evaluation, radiograph, treatment for fluid or blood volume deficits. 

ii. Intra-operative Plan of Action 
    a.    Surgical approach 
    b.    Material and equipment needed 
    c.    Technical and support personnel

Surgery : The branch of medical science which deals with the treatment of injuries, deformities or disease condition by manipulation or operations with the hand. The term surgery is derived from a Greek word – Chirurgia. 
Cheir – Hand 
Ergon – Work 
Veterinary surgery : Veterinary surgery is the surgery which is practiced on animals. 

Abstract

Human resource management (HRM) has experienced a strong evolution. It is necessary to evaluate the design and implementation of personnel policies in order to provide useful information to managers. The objective of HR Audit is to analyze and evaluate the HR policies and their level of fit with the firm’s strategy and the characteristics of human capital. A periodic and systematic audit is very important in order to check the effectiveness and proper implementation of various HR policies in the organization. This chapter will represent various sections where the HR audit can be carried out, what should be the task of auditors, what are the steps/processes that needs to be followed at the time of audit, and various tools for HR Audit and preparation of Audit Report to be used for future references. At the end of this chapter a case study has been presented in order to make the study more effective.

Abstract

The major objective of this chapter is to examine how knowledge management initiative can bring competitive edge and help organizations to compete in a knowledge era. People now viewed as being the most valuable asset and ‘people management’ being a pertinent issue in knowledge management, the pivotal role of HR is being increasingly recognized by the organizations in a knowledge economy. The chapter starts with a discussion on the nature of knowledge management, theory, and process and then explores the role of human resource practices in facilitating the KM process in organizations. The author examines how different HRM practices like talent management, performance management, training and development, fostering trust, reward systems, institutionalizing learning systems and leadership can be linked with the knowledge management process to achieve competitive advantage.

Abstract

This chapter highlights the need of performance appraisal. It discusses various measures and methods of performance appraisal with respect to organizational goals. Performance counseling, when used as a part of performance appraisal is a strong motivational tool for the employees and results in organizational effectiveness. The issue has been discussed from the perspective of employer and employee

Abstract

The professionals carry additional moral responsibilities as compared to the general population and in society the professionals are capable of taking actions and decisions in a situation which the general public cannot take due to the lack of relevant training and knowledge. Ethics are used world-wide in large companies as well as in small businesses. Ethics is required to be promoted in the work place since it gives employees a sense of trust and worth that can help the business and employees succeed. The client places trust in the professional on the basis that the service provided will be of benefit to them. The purpose of this chapter is to study about need of ethics, types of professional ethics, moral principles of professionals and ethical decision making. Further the study is supported by case studies to make the chapter more relevant.

Abstract

Workplace has become more and more complex due to tremendous pressures and high expectations and it poses heavy demand on the managers and leaders to exhibit their emotions smartly and intelligently. Thus, in the present scenario social and emotional competencies are considered as very important ingredients of individual’s efficiency and effectiveness at workplace. Emotional intelligence is the ability to sense, understand, value and effectively apply the power and access of emotions as a source of human energy, information, trust, creativity and influence. Present chapter elucidates different models of emotional intelligence and role of culture and sociological factors in defining emotional intelligence.  It also explains the four cornerstone model of emotional intelligence. These four cornerstones made emotional intelligence moved out of the preview of psychological analysis and philosophical theories into the domain of direct knowing, exploration and application. These are emotional literacy, emotional fitness, emotional depth and emotional alchemy, which are significant in the organizational context. Finally chapter describes about different measures of emotional intelligence.

Abstract

Whenever human beings come together and interact, there are bound to be conflicts. It is the struggle between individuals or groups or organizations for values, status, power or scare resources, that creates tension and frustration. It cannot be totally eliminated, it has to be managed. Positive conflicts sometimes lead to innovations or new directions of thinking in the Research and Development (R&D) environment. But negative conflicts mainly breed unproductiveness, a climate of distrust and suspicion, antagonism, and neglect of organizational goals. Conflict arises due to one of the three reasons : unacceptability, uncertainty and incomparability of alternatives. The problem of unacceptability arises when the most preferred alternative is not found to be acceptable. Uncertainty arises when the individual faces problem to select one from the alternatives. The incomparability dilemma is a situation where the decision maker does not have standards to compare alternatives. Modern managers must be equipped to deal with different types of conflict and devise strategies to resolve them. This chapter deals with conflicts at individual level, at group level or at organizational level, their resolution through negotiation or collaboration, models and methods for managing conflicts, etc in details. A healthy organization climate can unblock creative potential of its employees, streamlining and facilitating efforts for the good of the organization and its employees.

Abstract

No one is born with the gift of good time management skills and it is rarely taught at schools or universities. The ways to manage time and get the things done is something which has to be developed and implemented by an individual himself. We need to find out the perfect method that will suit us. We may often wish to get more time but we only get 24 hours, 1,440 minutes or 86,400 seconds each day. The perfect ways to utilize time depends upon skills learned through self analysis, planning, evaluation and self control. Establishing a time management depends on individual’s personality, ability to self motivate and level of self discipline. The objective of this chapter is to focus on benefits of time management, tips for time management, steps for time management and various techniques of time management. The study is supported by case studies which will help in understanding the chapter thoroughly.

Abstract

Stress can be due to both positive as well as negative experiences, which also forms a necessary part of our daily lives. If we consider an evolutionary standpoint stress was necessary for survival (i.e., imagine hunting large prey on which one’s entire tribe is dependent) and in our modern lives also stress is important as it motivates us for the fulfillment of tasks and changes. Pressure is felt from the environment during transition period ( like at the time of high school graduation) and in preparation for some events (like job interview). Although stress can be a motivation tool, too much stress or inability to cope up with stress can have an adverse effect on the health of an  individual. This chapter represents the study on stressors, various sources of stress, outcomes of stress, and various strategies which will help an individual to cope up with stress. The study is supported by case studies which helps in understanding the chapter more clearly.

Abstract

Leadership behavior is seen in every group of social animals like elephant, honey bee, human being, etc. Initially people thought this behavior as inborn character and only few lucky people possessed it. But now it has been proved that this character can be developed by interested people through systematic training. In every family parent are playing the role of either leader or manager and being a role model gradually transmitting this behavior to their children from childhood itself. Training begins at home of every successful leader.  In this article the characteristic features of leaders, style of their functioning, leadership theories and the difference between a leader and a manager are discussed in details. Important tips have been mentioned to follow for becoming a good and successful leader.

Abstract

Mentoring is a personal enhancement strategy through which one person facilitates the development of another by sharing known resources, expertise, values, skills, perspectives, attitudes and proficiencies. The concept of mentoring is not new. Guru – Shishya traditions in every old civilization are the examples of mentoring by which culture, technology and knowledge have been successfully disseminated from older generation to newer generation. Being an important career building factor, now more emphasis is given to develop mentoring relationship in organization level. In office culture mentoring facilitates an environment in which an individual grows both as a person and as a professional.

Abstract

Training is for improvement of a person. Training is no longer optional. In the 21st century, an organization’s capacity to effectively train its people is part of its ability to survive.  And if that capacity isn’t there, or if it is defective, then the organization itself will reveal that flaw in a number of destructive ways, including loss of bottom line profits. Needs identification will help to identify the necessary and relevant issues for proper planning and implementation. Needs identification is the first logical step to determine and justify the requirement for training in the first place. It acts as a prognosis of an organizational ailment. There are various methods and techniques to identify needs which are then categorized into four major categories : democratic, diagnostic, analytic and compliance needs. Since none of the technique is self sufficient in nature it is advisable to have a combination of techniques so as to get the true result i.e. the actual training needs. Need analysis is the next step in the training process to determine training for whom, why and what. The three major components of needs analysis are organizational/strategic analysis, task analysis and person analysis. Organizational analysis involves determining the extent to which training is congruent with the company’s business strategy and resources.

Abstract

Motivation is a process that starts with a physiological or psychological deficiency or need that activates behavior or a drive that is aimed at a goal or an incentive. Motivation is a complex area. It’s different for different persons. Alignment of aims, purposes and values between staff, teams and organization is the most fundamental aspect of motivation. Organizational work culture and employees behavior are two important factors in taking decision on motivation techniques to be followed in the organization. Security of job, reward on better performance, importance of employee’s view in decision making, positive attitude, decisive leadership, etc bring motivation among employees. The five practices such as get to know every employee, challenge them to improve the performance, treat each employee as client for a day, establish great idea award and implement the great idea in organization activity, can improve the motivation of employees. They should be considered as resources, trusted by giving responsibility and rewarded with performance bonus for better motivation in the workplace.

Abstract

People are the most important and valuable resources of any organization. Dynamic people can build dynamic and growth-oriented organizations. No wonder that late Homi J Bhava advocated on identification and selection of a dynamic scientist and building a laboratory ‘for’ him and ‘around’ him and not the reverse, that is, building a laboratory with certain aim and then search a suitable candidate to steer it. Effective employees can contribute to the effectiveness of the organization. Competent and motivated people can make things happen and enable an organization to achieve its goal. Therefore, organizations should continuously ensure that the dynamism, effectiveness, competency, and motivation of its people remain at a high level. Human resource development is a continuous process to ensure the development of employee dynamism, effectiveness, competencies and motivation in a systematic and planned manner.

Bulls are considered as the half of the herd as the genetic contribution of a male almost commensurate with that of a female. The male gamete, following deposition in the female reproductive tract, traverses a long path before it could effect a successful fertilization process. It is the beauty of the nature’s creation that in spite of encountering much of this physical and chemical stress, the male chromatin remains stable until it forms the male pronucleus following fertilization. This amazing feature is endowed by the high level of compaction of the sperm nuclear DNA which in turn is due to the replacement of the sperm nuclear histones by protamines.

Abstract

Prolactin is a hormone secreted predominantly from anterior pituitary and imparts important roles related to development of mammary gland, reproductive behaviour and immune response. The objective of this study was to explore restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) pattern of prolactin gene, to estimate gene and genotype frequencies of different restriction fragments and to study the effect of genotypes on milk production and reproduction traits in crossbred cattle Bos taurus x Bos indicus (Jersey x HF x Sahiwal).The present study investigated RFLP within 156bp amplification products of the bovine prolactin gene exon 3 in 30 crossbred cattles selected randomly from a herd using specific set of primers (Forward primer- 5’- CGA GTC CTT ATG AGC TTG ATT CTT -3’ and reverse primer- 5’- GCC TTC CAG AAG TCG TTT GTT TTC -3’). Restriction enzyme digestion with RsaI revealed three patterns in crossbred cattle, one having 156bp fragment (AA genotype), second having 156bp, 82bp and 74bp fragments (AB genotype) and third having 82bp and 74bp fragments (BB genotype) indicating genetic polymorphism. The gene and genotype frequencies in crossbred cattle were found to be 0.78 and 0.22 for A and B alleles and 0.70, 0.17 and 0.13 for AA, AB and BB genotypes, respectively.

Introduction

Genetic resistance to diseases is a great resource to control and prevent diseases, and to improve the productivity in livestock and poultry. The emergence of virulent and drug resistant pathogens, restriction on use of antimicrobials and appearance of certain diseases associated with selection for production traits emphasize the possible exploration for genetic resistance to diseases (Pinard et al., 1992). Genetic resistance to diseases is a composite trait and difficult to measure directly. The disease resistance measurement was first started as difference in mortality among populations. Later on, several other criteria related to expression of infection such as antibody response, tumour production count or expression in quantitative scale such as survival time and density of pathogen in target organs were used as a measure of disease resistance.

Mastitis is a disease of the mammary gland caused by pathogens that find their way into the lumen of the gland through the teat canal. Our efforts have been focused on developing mastitis resistant dairy cattle for a variety of reasons. Firstly, mastitis is a significant detriment to agricultural productivity. Mastitis is on every dairy farm and affects both the production and post harvest segments of the dairy industry. It is clearly a global disease. Secondly, the incidence of mastitis has not declined appreciably since the implementation of the extensive antibiotic therapy and culling of infected animals. Thirdly, considerable effort has been expended in developing vaccines that have not been as efficacious as hoped. Given these past efforts it is far from certain that a truly effective vaccine will ever be realized. Finally, because of the low heritability of mastitis resistance selective breeding has not been a useful tool for combating mastitis. Additionally, there is a strong desire to reduce the on-farm use of those antibiotics that are also used in human medicine, and certainly not least is a desire to improve the welfare of our dairy animals.

Historical Background: Mendelian Genetics
 
Gregor Mendel (1822-1884), the first geneticist, proposed his principles (Mendel’s laws of inheritance) addressing the question of ‘what is inherited and how?’ based on his experimental results with sweet pea. New scientific discoveries supported Mendel’s principles. The chromosome theory of inheritance was proposed based on the cytological observations that transmission patterns of chromosomes are closely associated with Mendel’s principles (Sutton 1903). T.H. Morgan (1866-1945) provided the empirical evidences of this theory using fruit fly, Drosophilla. He demonstrated that genes located close together on the same chromosome co-segregated in his experimental crosses (i.e. linkage), and could be mapped into linear linkage groups which corresponded to chromosomes (Morgan 1934). Thanks to Morgan’s contributions, the failure of independent assortment in Mendelian inheritance could be explained by linkage. In 1908, the equation describing the expected genotype distribution in a random mating population at equilibrium was derived by Hardy and Weinberg (Crow, 1999).

Introduction

Livestock contribute directly to the livelihoods of nearly one billion of the world’s population. Livestock provide protein and minerals for human consumption, manure for crop production, and fibre and leather for industrial uses. Animals are also a source of draught power. Beyond their role of providing food and inputs for agriculture and industry, livestock provide security to farmers in developing countries, especially in emergencies such as crop failure. To many of the resource-poor, both smallholder farmers and landless livestock keepers, animals are a living bank, facilitating both income distribution and savings. In addition, by consuming crop residues and by-products, in addition to well-managed grazing, livestock production contributes positively to the environment, particularly in mixed crop-livestock production systems. Thus, livestock are an important source of income and employment that contribute to poverty alleviation and enhance the household food security of farmers.

Since the linking of the abnormal chromosome constitution of 45, XO to the peculiar phenotype of Turner’s syndrome (Ford 1959), an increased interest in the association between abnormal chromosome constitution and some clinical syndromes was perceived worldwide. The advent of “banding” techniques in the late 1960s helped to refine the detection accuracy and provided for more and better information about cytogenetic make-up of cells and contributed significantly to the localisation of certain genes (McKusik 1992). This phenotypic-karyotypic correlation was done on the basis of visual deletions, insertions, and duplications etc. of DNA segments of various lengths. However, many instances are known in which, because of a parent carrying a balanced translocation, two or more offsprings suffer from a deficiency and/or excess of chromosomal material. Some familial chromosomal arrangements are beyond detection by our current cytogenetic methods, although remarkable results have been forthcoming with high resolution banding. Similarly, paracentric inversions in a parent may not be evident except when carefully studied with high resolution banding, but can give rise to a variety of abnormalities in children.

Introduction

Coordinated and innovative efforts of government agencies and milk producers’ has immensely increased milk production and ushered in White revolution in India leapfrogging the country to the leading position in milk production (102 million tonnes) in the world. With an annual rate of 4-5% and with a share of 18% in the agricultural gross domestic product; milk is largest agricultural commodity in India (Economic Survey, 2007-08). However, the improvement in milk production in past few decades has not necessarily resulted in proportionate increase in profits to dairy farmers as animals with high milk production have increased frequency of health disorders.

Introduction

Poultry rearing in North East is very popular as backyard venture and is an inseparable part of poor tribal people of this region.  Majority of birds reared in backyard yard system are indigenous nondescript in which growth and production is very low (60-70 eggs per bird per annum; 2.5 kg. and 1.5 kg. body weight per bird in males and females, respectively). Due to this reason, the per capita availability of egg and meat is too low as compared to recommended allowance, particularly in rural areas. Moreover, the agriculture of N.E. region is characterized by monocropping system. The system of cropping is not suitable for providing round the year farm income. Therefore, most of farmers of this region rearing pig, goat and poultry in the back yard of their house to support their livelihood throughout the year. The N.E. region is most suitable for rural poultry production having plenty of natural foods i.e. good greenery through out the year, insects and other food resources.  Rural poultry production also has an appreciable advantage of being easy to raise, low input and higher reproduction. Rural poultry farming utilizing surplus coarse grains, kitchen waste and greenery and converting them into protein rich human food and valuable manure.  The manure obtained from poultry having more essential nutrients Nitrogen (three times the cattle manure), Phosphorus, Potash, Magnesium, Sodium and Calcium plus trace minerals, which are very essential for soil fertility and texture.

Abstract

The sires have been evaluated and ranked on the basis of solutions obtained through univariate and multivariate REML using animal model and BLUP value for sire effects under mode l 8. The data considered from 1214 animals descendent from 110 sires of chokla sheep maintained at CSWRI, Avikanagar, Rajasthan. The traits were considered birth weight, weaning weight, 6 months weight and first greasy fleece yield for the present study. Three solutions were used: Best linear unbiased Predication (BLUP1) values of Model 8, and univariate (BLUP₂) and multivariate (BLUP₃) solutions of REML animal models. Less than half of the sires were superior to the populations mean under BLUP₁ for the traits studied. The corresponding values were above 60% under BLUP₂, which was much higher than BLUP₁.

Abstract

The Sonadi is an important breed of sheep in southern Rajasthan. Three districts namely Udaipur, Rajsamand and Chittorgarh were selected from major and Bhilwara from minor breeding tract for complete enumeration. Finally 450 shepherds were selected to collect the information with respect to demographical and geographical distribution as well as management practices. Among selected tehsils, two tehsils from each district were chosen for breed characterization. In all 6979 sheep from 147 shepherds of 49 villages in 8 tehsils were registered for breed characterization.

Gujarat state blessed with rich goat genetic resources. Recognized goat breeds in the state are Kutchi, Surti, Zalawadi, Mehsanba and Gohilwadi which have been the integral component of small, marginal farmers, landless labourers and significantly contribute rural livelihood. These breeds excel in drought capacity, disease resistance and better adapted to harsh local climatic conditions under extensive production system. The population status and breeding tract of goat breeds are given in Table 1.

The goat genetic resources (AnGR) of state may be important assets for having the valuable adaptive traits that they have developed over long periods of time, such as:

Introduction

Uttarakhand has a mix of almost all domesticated species of livestock, very large in number and very low in productivity across the board. In economic terms they are a wealth indeed, low productivity not with standing, as the sector supports livelihoods of nearly 80 percent of the rural households in the state, at least in part in the majority of cases and in full in some (tribal and nomads exclusively living off livestock).

Livestock production in Uttarakhand is the endeavor of the small holder (marginal, small and landless) and takes place in millions of small and tiny holdings scattered across the state. The predominant farming system is mixed crop livestock farming, both in the plains as well as the hills, irrigated in the plains and rainfed in the hills.

Open nucleus breeding system is considered to be a best approach to bring genetic improvement in livestock. This system was first introduced New Zealand for faster genetic improvement of sheep. The milk recording under field condition is quite expensive. Moreover, farmers are not under any obligation to retain the animal till the lactation is completed. The generation interval is also very large as it takes about 6-7 year by the time complete record on progeny testing programmes in developing countries is available, so that the effective genetic improvement is small. Use of best proven bull on the elite cow, which are best 5-10% of the cow for genetic improvement of the population. The net genetic gain in the herd considering the actual genetic improvement from various parents off spring path is around 0.7% per annum. Considering these situation in develop countries it has been proposed that ‘nucleus’ herd be created where males from the best cows are obtained. The nucleus herd would be open in the sense that the lowest yielding cows are culled every year and are replaced by procurement of that many high yielding cow from farmers herd. The nucleus herds are utilized entirely for production of males for breeding purposes in the population.

Abstract

Estimates of genetic parameters are needed for the prediction of breeding values and planning of selection strategies for desired genetic advancement. Even animal breeders feel lost when confronted with the huge set of different methods. This paper describes an overview of latest methods for the estimation of genetic parameters in a simplest possible way avoiding complex mathematical expressions.

Abstract

Data pertaining to 1761 records on daily milk yield and 1416 milk samples for estimation of fat and SNF percent in Banni buffalo during the year 2008-10 were collected from the breeding tract under In-situ conservation project on Banni buffalo and utilized for present study. The overall means ± SE for daily milk yield was 09.86 ± 0.07 lit. The month-wise daily milk yield was observed highest in second month, followed by 1st (12.96 ± 0.19 lit), 3rd (12.73 ± 0.19 lit), 4th (11.66 ± 0.20 lit), 5th (10.81 ± 0.25 lit), 6th (09.77 ± 0.23 lit), 7th (08.58 ± 0.18 lit), 8th (07.26 ± 0.17 lit), 9th (06.15 ± 0.11 lit), 11th  (05.70 ± 0.10 lit), 10th (05.41 ± 0.09 lit), 12th (05.78 ± 0.08 lit) and 13th  (05.48 ± 0.63 lit) months of lactation. The data on milk constituents’ viz. fat and SNF percent was grouped according to the seasons of the year and morning – evening milking.

Abstract

The data on production performance of Banni buffaloes during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 were collected from the animals selected under project “In-Situ Conservation of Banni buffalo”. The data on 208 animals were analyzed and overall means ± SE for total lactation milk yield, lactation length, peak yield, days to attain peak yield, milk yield per day of lactation length, service period and calving interval were observed as: 2917.76 ±  54.77 lit., 292.19 ± 2.88 days, 14.86 ± 0.18 lit., 47.50 ± 2.92 days, 9.99 ± 0.14 lit., 87.13 ± 4.39 days and 380.87 ± 2.36 days, respectively. Present findings on production performance indicate Banni buffalo an valuable germplasm maintained under extensive production system and arid climatic conditions of Kachchh and holds the promise of raising milk production of non-descript and low producing buffaloes through up-grading and crossbreeding. Therefore, Banni buffalo can be use as improver breed for genetic improvement of non-descript buffalo population in semi-arid and arid regions of the state / country.

Abstract

Buffaloes are considered to be the principle milk producing livestock species in India and Surti is one of the well-defined buffalo breeds of India. The study on lactation curve and persistency is very much helpful to know the sustainability of the lactation. The present study is based on daily milk production records for 298 lactations from 130 buffaloes belonging to 15 sires. Lactation curve was prepared through Statistical Packages for Social Sciences programme. Two functions, i.e. gamma function and inverse polynomial functions were fitted to the daily milk yield records. Persistency was calculated through simple analysis in Microsoft Excel 2000 on the weekly records of the milk yield. Gamma function was found to be more effective as compared to inverse polynomial function with higher R2 value for all the four lactations, which indicated that gamma function can be effectively used to establish lactation curve and predict milk yield of animals on any day of lactation. The value of persistency ranged from 97.94% in fourth lactation to 98.56 % in first lactation, indicating Surti buffaloes as fairly persistent in milk production throughout the lactation.

Abstract

Bhadawari is one of the recognized buffalo breeds of India and is famous for high milk fat content. The main breeding tract is Agra and Etawah in Uttar Pradesh and Bhind and Morena districts in Madhya   Pradesh. The tract was a part of the erstwhile Bhadawar estate from where the name of these animals originated. Bhadawari, the brown beauty of ravines and predominantly the only breed adapted to the harsh conditions of the ravines with undulating topography, thorny and scanty bushes, climatic stress and draught conditions. Breed is said to be resistant to many tropical bovine diseases and also known for eating less and producing more. Calf mortality is significantly lower than the other breeds of buffaloes. Male animals are good for agriculture work especially for ploughing in rice fields.

Introduction
 
Livestock sector plays an important role in Indian economy and is an important sub sector of India agriculture the contribution of livestock to gross domestic product was 4.7% in 2004-05 with 27% share in agriculture and allied sector. Milk production in India reaching a level of 91 million tones in 2004-05. It is estimated that in milk production 58% of milk was contributed by buffaloes with average lactation milk about 1300 kg. Some of the buffaloes produce as high as 4000 kg but their number is limited. India with 185 million cattle and approximately 98 million buffaloes possesses 20% of the world bovine and 14% of the cattle population. Buffalo population in the country has been increasing at a steady wait with slight increase in productivity. Highest increase in the past five years was observed in Haryana (25.1% ), followed by Uttar Pradesh (20.6%), Madhaya Pradesh (13.9%), Gujrat (13.6%), Uttaranchal (12.2%), Andhra Pradesh (10%) and Rajasthan (6.6%). Productivity per animal is very low mainly due to low genetic potential for milk production, near absence of the genetic improvement programmes, poor plan of nutrition and health measures. 

Buffaloes have been classified in two main categories namely riverine and swamp buffaloes depending upon variation in their habitat and genome structure. River buffaloes are generally large in size mostly with curled horns and are mainly found in India, Pakistan and some of the west Asian countries, prefer to enter clear water and have 50 (2n) numbers of chromosomes and are primarily used for milk production and also used for meat production and draught power. Swamp buffaloes are stocky animals with marshy land habitats and have 48 (2n) numbers of chromosomes. They were primarily developed for draught power in paddy fields and haulage and are also used for meat and milk production. Swamp buffaloes are mostly found in south East Asian countries and few animals are also available in north eastern states of India.

Animal Husbandry is making a significant contribution to the national economy and socio-economic development in the country. In rural India where over 15-20% families are landless and about 80% of the land holders belong to the category of small and marginal farmers, livestock is the main source of livelihood with the policy of the state Animal Husbandry Department to extend free breeding, vaccination and veterinary services, and permit free grazing on community lands, the farmers were encouraged to expand their herd size without any major financial burden. This has probably been the reason for the presence of the worlds largest livestock population in India. India rank first in buffalo population, second in cattle and goat, third in sheep and seventh in poultry (Table-1). Although the population of livestock during last 10 years has been stable around 485 million, the buffalo population during 1997-2003 has increased by 8.91%, while the cattle population has reduced by 6.89%. There has been a significant increase in population of goats during the last five decades, which is attributed to the decrease in the size of land holdings and persistent drought caused by erratic monsoon, forcing many small farmers to shift from large animals to small ruminants.

Dairy buffalo production has been a tradition in parts of the world like the Caucasian countries. Asia and Egypt, where fresh buffalo milk, dahi (cultured sour milk), ghee (butter oil) and yoghurt are popular. In Italy the dairy buffalo industry is flourishing thanks to the popularity of buffalo mozzarella cheese. Because of the market for Mozzarella, buffalo farming is a profitable enterprise and is carried out in an organized manner with modern equipment. In South American countries like Brazil and Argentina, buffalo reared for both milk and meat. In recent years buffalo milk and milk products, especially Mozzarella cheese, have become immensely popular and dairy buffalo production has founds its way into non traditional areas with the number of buffalo farms mushrooming.

Abstract

Performance records of 1085 crossbred cattle daughters of 57 sires maintained during 1974-2004 at Instructional Dairy Farm of G. B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar were used to evaluate sires for first lactation and life time performance traits. First lactation traits included were age at first calving (AFC), first lactation period (FLP),first dry period (FDP) and first calving interval (FCI) and life time traits were herd life (HL), total lactation length and life time milk yield. The data were analyzed to estimate the breeding values of sires using least squares methods (LSM), best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) and derivative free restricted maximum likelihood (DFREML) method. The average breeding values of sires estimated by all three methods were similar and estimated for AFC, FLP, FDP and FCI as 1359.95 days, 356.56 days, 177.58 days and 534.15 days respectively and for HL, TLL and LTMY as 1641.30 days, 1320.20 days and 9110.30 kg respectively. The estimated breeding values (EBV’S) showed large genetic variation between sires for both first lactation and life time traits. The estimated breeding values (EBV’S) of sires had very high and significant product moment correlations and rank correlations among all first lactation and lifetime traits estimated by all three methods.

Abstract

The data for the present investigation were obtained from the performance records of 1081 crossbred cattle progeny of 65 sires maintained at Instructional Dairy Farm Nagla of G.B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology Pantnagar, distributed over a period of 40 years from 1966-2005. A total of 65 sires were evaluated on the basis of single and multi traits of their progeny. For single trait sire evaluation, FLMY was considered as principal trait under univariate models viz- simple daughter’s average () method, least squares method (LSM), DFREML-I method and BLUP-I method. However, for evaluation of sires by multi traits FLMY+AFC, FLMY+FLP and FLMY+AFC+FLP, the multivariate models viz. DFREML-II, DFREML-III, DFREML-IV, BLUP-II, BLUP-III and BLUP-IV method were used. The lowest average breeding value (2616.25) for the trait was obtained by () method and the highest average breeding value (2660.42 kg) was obtained by the rest nine methods. The accuracy, efficiency and stability of different sire indices were compared to judge their effectiveness. The evaluation method that gave the lowest error variance was considered to be most efficient.

The state of Uttaranchal was carved out of Uttar Pradesh on 9^th November 2000 as the 27th state of the union of India and renamed as Uttarakhand. The state is located in western Himalayan region and is one of the geographically smallest states of the country. However, the state is enriched with livestock biodiversity represented by cattle, buffaloes, goats, pigs, horses, mules and poultry.  The climate of the state varies from subtropical in the valleys to temperate on higher slopes with a summer monsoon. The temperature ranges from -5.4ºC (Muketshwar, higher hills) to 40.2ºC (Pantnagar, plains) but it drops below freezing point in many parts of high mountainous areas of the region during winter. Preponderance of hilly terrains and forestland restricts the size of the agricultural land/ holding. The average rainfall recorded in the year 2008 was 1605 mm.  Higher rainfall, abundance of natural pastureland and suitable climatic conditions makes the state favorable for livestock development. The human population was 84.89 lacs with a density of 159 people per sq km during the year, 2001.

India is very rich in biodiversity especially in animal genetic resources and animals have been part and parcel of agricultural heritage. There are about 30 well defined breeds of cattle found in different parts of the country. To name a few are Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Gir, Kankrej, Deoni, Tharparkar, Hariana, Ongle, Nagori, Amritmahal and Hallikar. The cattle breeds are classified into three types i.e. dairy, dual purpose and draft/drought animals. The number of the animals of majority of indigenous breeds has declined over the years. Further, their number is very low and majority of cattle population (80%) in India is non-descript. The introduction of systematic crossbreeding program of our native cattle with exotic breeds in seventies have further led to the depletion of prized germplasm of all the indigenous breeds under farm and field conditions. However, considering the importance of indigenous cattle, some of the breed improvement programs have been initiated to conserve and multiply these breeds. The associated herd progeny testing program has been going on at NDRI Karnal for the genetic improvement of Sahiwal cattle. All India Coordinated Research Project on Hariana and Ongole cattle has been undertaken at different centres by Project Directorate on Cattle, Meerut. Lately, three more breeds namely Sahiwal, Gir and Kankarej have been included in the indigenous breed improvement program (IBP) and different centres have been identified as germplasm units and data recording units for different breeds under the program.

Abstract

Climate change is a long-term change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods of time that range from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in the average weather conditions or a change in the distribution of weather events with respect to an average. Climate change may be limited to a specific region, or may occur across the whole Earth.Since, time immemorial human beings have attempted to predict the disease occurrence informally by mere observing the changes in pattern of weather parameters. But the present scenario has been very much altered with the incessant and irrational use of natural resources exposing the atmosphere to the enormous encumbrance. Excessive CO₂ emissions, deforestation and injudicious use of chemicals in agricultural fields have ultimately led to the climate change, which needs an absolute engrossment. Climate change has also invited the emergence and resurgence of many of the pest and diseases posing a grave challenge to manage them. So there is a need for immediate action through Government policies and scientific community to combat the situation. Disease forecasting models may be one of the rescuing options to mitigate the problems of agriculture.

Abstract

Climate change is today’s major concern throughout the world. All sectors have been influenced with the impact of climate change. Similarly, agriculture sector has also been affected with the worse climatic changes. All components of agricultural production system like water, soil, vegetation, organism and microorganism etc. affected greatly due to climatic abruptions. And thus, the productivity is hampering day by day. Today, we requires to predict the trend of changes in climatic parameters like maximum and minimum temperature, humidity, wind speed, sunshine hours etc, to project future change in these climatic parameters, to assess the effect of theses climatic parameters on agricultural components like water resources, soil, vegetation, organism and microorganism and, also to find the adaptation and mitigation strategies.  All these works have beenmainly done by manual methods earlier. Developed country like USA, Japan, UK etc adopted the computer modelling to climate change research. Computer modelling and software assistance have been adopted slowly in developed countries. Since, climatic changes requires processing of very large number of data, they needs computer and software assistance. Without computer assistance climate change research seems to be impossible.

Abstract

Rice blast disease (Pyricularia grisea cavara) which is very much weather sensitive, continues to be an enigmatic problem of West Siang District of Arunachal Pradesh, owing to its geographical location and climate. There is an urgent need of a forewarning system which can provide advance information for outbreak of the diseases attack so that protection measures can be implemented before the actual economic damage of the crop occurs. Two most important statistical techniques for disease forecasting viz. regression analysis and artificial neural network were chosen and forecasting models has been developed for the area and analyzed with local weather data to find best fit for the area and also compared with the Support Vector Machine (SVM) based model RB-Pred developed by Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh. The model based on artificial neural network was found to be best with accuracy of 75-80%, with the present data and algorithm. The accuracy can be improved with long archive records and proper implementation and algorithm selection of the hidden layer, of both ANN and SVM based (being special case of ANN) models, for site-specific forecasting.

Abstract

The disease is an output of the interaction among host, pathogen, and the environment over a period of time. Given that a susceptible host and an aggressive pathogen are available, weather determines the intensity of the disease over time. To capture the dynamics of the interactions among these biophysical variables, efforts have been made in the past to understand the variables per se and their interactions through modeling approaches.  The important weather parameters are temperature; rainfall/dew; leaf wetness period, wind, bright sunshine hours all of which are in turn influenced by soil properties. The important parameters of host that can influence disease development are susceptibility; growth stage and form; structure and density of the plant population and overall health. For pathogen, to cause disease, it should be present in the vicinity, pathogenic, adaptable with reproductive fitness and possess efficiency of survival and dispersal. 

Abstract

Gastrointestinal parasitic infections particularly Haemonchus contortus infection in goats is very common and found as major nematode infections in farm condition. To chalk out the control programme and to prevent the initiation of anthelmintic resistant parasites, it is essential to know well in advance the prevalence of H. contortus infection. During the year 2009, a study was undertaken on H. contortus infection in the goat farm of ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam, Meghalaya, which is a subtropical hill area and bioclimatograph was prepared to predict the prevalence of H. contortus infection in goats of this area. Meteorological data of this area was collected to visualize the effect of temperature, rainfall and humidity. Bioclimatographs were prepared in which total rainfall (TRF) or relative humidity (RH) is plotted against the maximum temperature (T-max) or minimum temperature (T-min) for the months and the resultant points are joined by a closed curve. The lines constituted the windows on these bioclimatographs, indicating the limit of the climatic conditions most suitable for development and survival of exogenous stages of gastrointestinal nematodes.

Abstract

Aquaculture is facing the serious effects of climate change in the form of scarcity of water and shift in dissolved oxygen level leading to outbreak of diseases. In a study conducted in Farm facilities of ICAR, Tripura it was seen that rise in temperature do have significant effect on hematological and biochemical parameters of fish which are basic index of good health of any organism. Many different diseases occur in the farmers’ pond and which can be controlled. So some basic diseases and their controlling strategies have been pointed out that can lead to better management of fish diseases in pond condition.