SEASONAL VARIATIONS IN PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES OF SEMEN IN MALABARI AND CROSS-BRED BUCKS OF KERALA

Abstract

Seven adult bucks belonging to Malabari, and Alpine X Malabar  Breeds belonging to the Kerala Agricultural University goat farm were used to study the seasonal variation in physical attributes of semen. Semen was collected on a daily rotational basis, at weekly intervals from each buck, and was evaluated as part of a year-long semen evaluation study. Atmospheric temperature, relative humidity (RH), and day length (DL) were also recorded daily during the period. The semen parameters were analyzed for monthly, quarterly, and half-yearly variations and were correlated with major climate variables to determine the environmental regulatory factors. Among the physical attributes of semen, only PH and total sperm per ejaculate showed significant variation between months and quarters, while none of the other variables, such as volume, color, density, mass activity, sperm concentration, and MBA time, showed significant variation between these periods. Only PH of semen showed a significant relationship with environmental variables, and the correlation was negative with maximum temperature (P<0.01).