A Comparative Study of Productive and Reproductive Performance between Mpwapwa Breed Cattle and Their Crosses

Abstract

Mpwapwa cattle, a Tanzanian composite dual-purpose breed which was established in 1960s is suitable for medium to low input production systems, but is faced with limited country-wide distribution. The aim of this study was to assess the productive and reproductive performances of Mpwapwa cattle breed and its crosses reared at Tanzania Livestock Research Institute (TALIRI). Retrospective data on age at first calving (AFC), calving interval (CI), pregnancy percentage (PP), lactation length (LL), average milk yield per day (AMYD) and total lactation milk yield (TLMY) obtained from 295 cows with the total of 885 lactations during five consecutive years (2015-2019) were analyzed.  Overall mean of AFC, CI, PP, LL, AMYD and TLMY were 38.5±5.9 months, 19.92±5.64 months, 29.1%±14.4%, 237.72±71.20 days, 2.65±1.12 liters and 667.18±397.11 liters, respectively. The results of AFC, CI, LL and TLMY showed significance difference (p < 0.05) between Mpwapwa breed cattle and its crosses except for PP which did not show significance difference (p > 0.05). The results shows that reproductive and productive performance of Mpwapwa breed cattle and its crossbred cows was lower compared to the breeding goal of this breed. Therefore, it is recommended to investigate factors required to improve reproductive and productive performances to meet the intended objectives of establishing Mpwapwa Breed