Growth performance and adaptability of Sirohi goats in arid and semi-arid regions of India

Abstract:

Sirohi goat is an important dual-purpose indigenous breed of India, native to the Sirohi district of Rajasthan and well distributed across the arid and semi-arid agro-climatic zones of Rajasthan and Gujarat. The present review compiles and critically analyses the available scientific information on growth performance and adaptability of Sirohi goats in arid and semi-arid regions of India. Birth weight ranged from 2.16 to 2.57 kg and 12-month body weight from 21.74 to 25.09 kg under diverse management conditions, with pre-weaning and post-weaning average daily gain of 87.52-113.66 g/day and 46.17-51.35 g/day respectively. Sirohi goats consistently outperformed Marwari goats of the same arid zone in pre-weaning body weights and pre-weaning ADG, confirming superior early growth efficiency driven by higher milk production capacity of Sirohi dams. Moderate heritability for birth weight (0.39±0.05) indicates good scope for within-breed genetic improvement and intensive management with concentrate supplementation significantly improved growth over extensive grazing. The breed exhibits remarkable adaptability to arid environments through maintenance of physiological parameters within near-normal range under peak summer heat stress, highest HSP70 mRNA expression among compared breeds, productivity maintenance on as low as 1.74 litres water per day and the lowest gastrointestinal parasite prevalence (10.91%) compared to Barbari (39.97%) and Jamunapari (36.93%). Systematic in-situ and ex-situ conservation and structured genetic improvement of this valuable indigenous breed is urgently needed for sustainable livestock production in the arid and semi-arid regions of India.