Seasonal prevalence of strongyles and impact of their strategic management on milk production in cattle

Seasonal prevalence of strongyles in cattle (n=1067) from Jammu region of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir was carried out during August 2020 to July 2021 by coproological examination. Overall prevalence of strongyles was recorded as 20.62% (220/1067). Seasonally, the highest prevalence was found in the monsoon season (29.41%) followed by post-monsoon (25.29%), summer (16.44%) and winter (11.2%) seasons. Age wise, the highest prevalence was recorded in animals >6 months to 1 year of age (28.08%) followed by >1 year old (17.37%) and the lowest in <6 months of age (7.69%). Males had slightly higher prevalence (20.81%) than the females (20.57%). To study the impact of deworming and mineral supplementation on milk production, 40 cows positive for strongyle infection were selected and divided into four groups viz., Group-I (treated with fenbendazole and Agrimin), Group-II (fenbendazole alone), Group-III (Agrimin alone) and Group-IV (untreated control). The milk yield of each cow was measured before (Day 0) and after (Day 30) the treatment. The highest average increase in milk yield (0.72 litre/day) was observed in Group-I. It can be concluded that season and age are the risk factors for the prevalence of strongyles in cattle of Jammu region and the administration of an anthelmintic along with mineral mixture supplementation increased the income.