SEASONAL VARIATIONS IN SEMEN PRODUCTION OF MURRAH BUFFALO BULLS

Total of 4834 ejaculates collected from seven Murrah buffalo bulls were studied to observe the effect of seasons on semen quality, freezibility and loss of male gametes during frozen semen production. Mean values for seminal parameters viz. number of ejaculates per month, seminal volume (ml), initial motility (%), sperm concentration (106/ml), sperm output per ejaculate (million) and post-thaw motility (%) were 14.38, 3.12 ± 0.02, 67.42 ± 0.07, 1139.71 ± 5.89, 3487.59 ± 28.58 and 53.68 ± 0.08 respectively. Sperm concentration, initial and post-thaw sperm motility differed significantly (P<0.05) between seasons, however volume and sperm output per ejaculate did not differ significantly between seasons. Bull to bull variations was significant (P<0.05) for all seminal parameters. Discard rate of frozen semen doses was highest during monsoon season followed by summer and winter.