Paper presented at the 52nd CFCS Annual Meeting, Guadeloupe, July 10-16, 2016 VALUATION OF LOCAL GENETIC RESOURCES FOR SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION SYSTEMS
DEVELOPMENT OF THE BUFFALYPSO BREED BY CARONI 1975 LIMITED IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO – A REVIEW Ramnarine S. and Singh M. D. The Department of Food Production, Faculty of Food and Agriculture, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, W. I. Keywords: Buffalypso, bosBubalis, Water Buffalo, Tuberculosis, Zebu, breed, species, characteristics, inter-fertile, Trinidad, Caroni Abstract In 1949 Dr. Steve Bennet and Mr. T. Porteous began the development of the Buffalypso breed for Caroni (1975) Limited in Trinidad. The name from the breed came was determined as: Buffalo from Trinidad, Land of Calypso – Buffalypso. Bennet’s work was aspired by studies performed by Mac Lachlan which pointed out 7 highlights : 1) Buffaloes from India were genus Bos buballis, 2) They were widely used for work and production of ghee (a milk fat formulation used by Indian cultures for food production), 3) In 1949 the last Murrah buffaloes were imported from India , 4) These buffaloes thrived well on high fibre grass and were well adapted to hot, humid tropical conditions, as in the Caribbean region, 5) Buffalo milk had 7-12% butter fat and took half as much milk to produce 1 lb of butter as conventional breeds, 6) Buffaloes had a preference to European tastes (Italy) and 7) Buffaloes were easier to break in then the Zebu currently used by Caroni, tuberculosis tests were performed in 1949 on the Zebu herd (500 animals tested) and it was discovered that there was a 30% infection rate. To ensure development of a suitable breed for beef buffalo and a healthy working herd, the disease had to be eradicated, a two-pronged approach to combat the disease was taken 1) elimination of animals that showed positive to the tuberculosis tests and 2) improving sanitary conditions of the herd. With the introduction of this programme the disease was eventually eradicated by 1958. Concrete floors were laid down introduced and animals were fed via racks and mangers, coconut meal were fed by creeps to nursing calves, tuberculin tests were regularly performed and diseased animals were slaughtered. Breeding programmes used led to the only beef animal ever developed from various strains - The Buffalypso. Background to Buffalypso Breeding The introduction of new health standards in buffalo breeding led to an over-production of buffaloes, this resulted in buffaloes being used for beef production. As a result Caroni Limited had aspirations to develop a breeding programme which aimed at producing a breed of buffalo suited for beef production. They gave this charge to Dr. Steve Bennet who in 1949 began the breeding programme to develop such a breed. The fundamental philosophy used by Dr. Bennet for the breeding programme was that the adaptability of these animals to tropical conditions indicated that with selective breeding the animals may easily find their way in the field of beef production and to a lesser extent dairy production, thus allowing great economic potential and increased profits for Caroni (1975) Limited and farmers who would rear the breed. Method Four desired characteristics were of importance of developing the new breed: 1) Straighter top lines of animals, 2) Broder loins and rumps to ensure maximum meat production, 3) Transfer of weight from the front quarters (where there was tractive strength and larger muscles) to the hind quarters and 4) Horns with small tight curls (to prevent injury to other animals and humans alike). This met the criteria for such a breed in Trinidad, to provide sustainable production of a nonimported breed for beef and milk production, which would allow products to be cheaper and with high weight gain/yr , a quick turnover in stock for production. This would lead to the objectives being met: beef being readily available on the market to consumers and a high profit margin for producers and farmers alike. The breed thrives on poor pastures and rough conditions making it cheaper to rear and produce. Selection work was done in the Caroni herd until 1973, then extended to collaborating farms. Buffalypsos prominent physical features are: 1) small flat horns growing backwards, upwards and inwards with slightly pointed tips, 2) three colours of animals: black, brown and albinoid and 3) meat well distributed to the hind quarters. Two major drawbacks to beef cattle production by Caroni Limited and farmers alike were 1) a deep litter, zero-grazed system was used for production and 2) animals were fed by placing feed (mainly sugarcane trash and grass) on the floors of pens. The deep litter system was used to facilitate collection for buffalo manure and feed that was not consumed to apply to sugarcane fields, that was seldom collected during the year. Results Diets composed of molasses and fresh chopped sugarcane/sugarcane silage/sugarcane bagasse ranging between 73-78% of total diet DM the following were observed for meat characteristics and characteristics of milk from cows at Aripo Livestock station were as follows:
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