Background:

The global market has an increasing demand for buffalo by-products due to their unique nutritional characteristics. Many buffalo herds lack suitable breeding control programs, hindering the implementation of selection programs.

Objective:

To evaluate milk production per lactation (MP), lactation length (LL), and calving interval (CI) of a herd of crossbred Murrah buffaloes to support buffalo clustering according to their potential.

Methods:

Data from 543 lactations between 2002 and 2014 from 105 crossbred Murrah female buffaloes were used. Data were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis.

Results:

The first components (PCs) were responsible for 92.32% of the total variation, of which 61.45 and 30.87% were explained by the first (PC1) and second (PC2) components, respectively. The cluster analysis allowed three female buffalo groups according to their potentials.

Conclusion:

Buffalo farmers can make decisions on nutritional, reproductive management and cow culling based on grouping.

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