Question

High link yielding cross bred Frieswal cow is the product of
A. Brown swiss x Sahiwal
B. Friesian x Sahiwal
C. Holstein x Tharparkar
D. Brown Swiss x Red Sindhi

Answer 1

Hint: A high yielding breed of cattle developed by ICAR (Indian Council of Agriculture and research) and CIRC (Central Institute for Research on Cattle) located on a military farm that contributed to making India self-sufficient in milk production.

Complete answer:
The high yielding cross bred Frieswal cow is the product of cross breeding between Holstein Friesian cows of Netherlands with the Sahiwal of India. As we all know that in a country like India, agriculture is the main source of livelihood. So, a good breed of cattle is required to meet the needs of the people especially in the military farms. 1 Lakh litres of high quality milk provided by the frieswal cattle every day to our military forces. Before getting further detail about Frieswal cow, let’s give a brief look to the two contributing varieties.

Holstein Friesian
-It is a breed of dairy cattle originating from Friesland and Schleswig Holstein in Northern Germany.
-It is a high yield producing, Black and White dairy cow depicting piebald pattern, which feeds best on grass.
-They are famous for their high dairy production, averaging 10,220 kg of milk in a year. This milk contains 858 pounds (3.7%) are butterfat and 719 pounds (3.1%) are protein.
-A healthy calf weighs 40 to 50 kg at birth.
-A mature Holstein cow generally weighs about 680–770 kg, and stands 145–165 cm tall at the shoulder.
-Holstein heifers are bred by 11 to 14 months of age, when they weigh 317–340 kg. Generally, breeders plan for Holstein heifers to calve for the first time between 21 and 24 months of age and 80% of adult bodyweight.
-The gestation period is about nine and a half months.

Sahiwal
-It is a breed of dairy cattle named zebu cow which originated in the dry Punjab region, Sahiwal, Pakistan.
-It is a dual purpose high yielding cow which is used for drought and as dairy animals.
-The colour varies from brownish red to greyish red.
-It is taken in consideration as a heat tolerant cattle breed.
-It is a horned cattle and is amongst the best of zebu breeds.
It has a high longevity and can reproduce up to 20 years.
It is currently an endangered species.

Hence, the correct answer is option (B).

Additional information:
-A massive programme was initiated at Meerut in 1987 in collaboration with defence ministry and ICAR.
-The technical set up was provided by ICAR and the land was provided in the form of military bases.
-After a long time consuming research, the desired species of Fireswal, with a total expenditure of about ₹800 crores, was obtained.
-The genetic composition includes- Holstein Friesian- 62.5% and Sahiwal- 37.5%.
It produces 4000kg of milk along with 4% butter fat in a mature lactation of around 300 days.

Note: Currently there are very successful strains of Cattles in India and the most successful ones include the cross between the foreign and Indian strains. So, while solving these types of questions look for the strains which are high yielding and if possible look for those species which perform dual function.