Preferences of Farmers for Strains of Deoni Cattle

The study is planned to find out if there is a special preference of livestock owners towards rearing of a certain Deoni variety. Deoni is a sturdy and valued dual purpose breed of Maharashtra, India. The breed demonstrates three strains viz., Balankya(pure white), Waghya also called Shewera(white and black Spots on the body) and Wannera(animals with complete white Body and black face). Social media and available non- scientific literature highlights Wannera strain as Deoni. Data were collected from Deoni livestock owners who participated in Livestock exhibitions held at different areas of Latur and adjoining neighboring regions during a period from 2016- to 2019 by personal interview method. Results revealted that amongst the three varieties, Wanner and Shewera (46.29% and 49.00% respectively) were in approximately same number but Balankya strain animals were only 4.71% advocating urgent steps for conservation of strain. 54% farmers reported that the bull used for NS belonged to Wannera strain. It was also seen that 62% farmers showed specific inclination towards Wannera. There are also a concerns of mixed populations and uncontrolled breeding at farmer’s doorsteps. In addition to all these limitations and adversities for Deoni cattle population, there is an additional challenge arises regarding farmer’s choice of variety. With this trend of strain selective breeding of Deoni, there might be threat to genetic biodiversity.