Bovine IVF lab to increase Ongole, Punganur count

HYDERABAD: Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University (SVU) will soon launch the mission to preserve the rare bovine breeds of Punganur and Ongole in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania and JK Trust. These breeds will be propagated using the in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
According to officials, at present there are not more than 350 cows of Punganur breed, while the population of Ongole bull has diminished to below one lakh.Immediate steps are needed to protect them. “We will soon launch IVF operations,“ SVVU director of extension Dr Srinivasualu told TOI.The plan is to increase the population of Punganur cows by about a hundred by next year. A team of scientists will work on this project later this month. “If the results are good, we will persuade farmers to adopt the IVF process. The university will initially buy as many animals as possib le,“ he added.
In the IVF procedure egg and sperm are fertilised artificially in a laboratory and the fertilised eggs are put back into the womb for its development.
“Our idea is to implant a fertilised egg every 15 days into a new cow,“ officials said. According to scientists, each cow can produce nearly 150 eggs in its life time. A cow can reproduce six to eight times in its life.
IVF can increase the frequency of reproduction. If the experiments are successful, the harvested eggs will be exported to other countries.There is a heavy demand for the semen of Ongole bull in countries like Brazil. Earlier in 2004, the university attempted at cloning, but could not succeed.
Incidentally , the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) recently appealed to public to donate only pure breed of cows to its `goshala'.Officials said the experiment, if successful, will give boost to milk production.Farmers are sending nonproductive animals to slaughterhouses.
The university is also planning to introduce a certification system authenticating the breed of cattle for the benefit of farmers.