Long Calving Interval in Pakistani Dairy Buffaloes
Mohammad Riaz Khan from Charles Sturt University in Australia will test whether the controlled internal release of progesterone in Pakistani dairy buffaloes can induce pregnancy and thereby increase milk production. Buffaloes are an important source of milk in Pakistan, but they breed seasonally and have a silent ovulation. This translates to a long interval (over 500 days) between calves, which limits milk production. He will test a controlled internal drug-release device over different time periods on animals from small rural farms in Pakistan to determine if it can induce pregnancy to reduce the long calving interval.