Punganur dwarf cattle

This Punganur cattle breed originated from the Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh. This breed is one of the world smallest cattle variant like Vechur cattle breed in Kerala, Its average height is 70 to 90 cm and its weight is 115 to 200 kg.

This Punganur cattle breed named after the village Punganur in Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh, in the southern point of Deccan plateau. This breed milk high-fat content and rich in medicinal properties.

This rare breed Punganur cattle mainly maintained as a livestock research station, Palamaner, Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh, attached to Shri Venkateswara Veterinary University, Tirupati. 

Body: Punganur is one of very few smallest cattle breed in the world. Back sloping downwards from front to hindquarters, Tail touching the ground.

Body colour: Punganur cattle will be in different colours. White colour mixed with red, brown or black coloured patches are also seen.

Horns: Punganur breed has a broad forehead and short horns. The horns are crescent-shaped and often lose curving backwards and forward in males and lateral and forward in females.

Production traits: Average milk yield of the breed is 546 Kg per lactation, with 5% average milk fat.

Ability as draught purpose: The bullocks are used for agricultural operation in the light soil as well as for driving carts for transportation and special races.

Anything else: Normally Cow Milk has a fat content of 3 to 3.5 per cent, the Punganur breed’s milk contains up to 8 per cent.

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has about 200 Punganur cows in its cattle-yard. Ghee prepared from the milk of these cows is being used in ‘archana’ (offering) for Lord Venkateswara. 

Punganur cow’s milk is used for ksheera abhishekam in Thirupathi for Venkateswara swami. The ghee of punganur cows is used for making the very famous Tirupathi temple laddu. The darshan of this cow itself is very sacred.

 

The native virgin Punganur breed cattle became almost an endangered species. The AP government is planning to launch Mission Punganur. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy also directed the officials concerned to take necessary steps to protect the native breed including Punganur and Ongole cattle varieties. The Punganur cattle fall under the Zebu category in scientific terminology. The cattle are drought resistant, short variety, a cow gives around 700 to 750 litres of milk over a lactating period, most of the people believe that its milk has lots of medicinal values.

At present, there are only around 200 known cows and bulls of our local variety virgin Punganur breed available, said Poonam Malakondaiah, Special Chief Secretary, Animal Husbandry department, speaking to the media. She further explained that the breed gives good quality milk and the mortality rate is very less. The Punganur cow’s milk has many medicinal values, the cow dung is highly useful for those adopting Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF). The cow dung serves as a rich fertiliser source and its urine is being used for pest control in agriculture.

When we came to know the population of Punganur cows, we were surprised. The population of Ongole cattle currently is about 10,000 while that of Punganur cattle is only 200. There are some mixed and cross variety of Punganur cows available. But, the focus is on developing original breed,” she explained. Dr G Gangaraju, Principal Scientist and Head at Livestock Research Station (LRS), Palamaner said that the Punganur cattle’s dung and urine are rich sources of fertiliser and pest controller for organic farming.

The production also increased from 20 to 30 per cent in organic farming. It has already been proved in Punganur and surrounding areas. Since 2015, cow’s urine and dung are being used for ZBNF. The farmers said that there was an improvement in the quality of products and an increase in yield. The shelf life of the product also increased after using manure. It has so far been used in floriculture and horticulture. Gangaraju said that they have been rearing the Punganur cattle at the LRS. Poonam Malakondaiah said, “Under the Mission Punganur programme, the government will increase the population of the cattle. IVF technology, genome technology and vaccines production technology will be introduced for these cattle at AP Centre for Advanced Research on Livestock (APCARL) located at Pulivendula in Kadapa.” She further added that the developed cattle will be distributed to farmers under the ‘Polam Badi’ programme.

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