Department of Processing and Agricultural Structures, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141 004, India.
Serum calcium and phosphorus were estimated in fertile smd infertile cattle and buffalo bulls. The fertile bulls had higher caIcium (cattle: 10.27±2.53 mg %; buffalo: 6.30±0.87 mg %) than the infertile ones (cattle: 5.92±1.07 mg %; buffalo: 5.60±0.40 mg %). Similarly serum inorganic phosphorus was higher in fertile cattle (3.96±0.32 mg %) and buffalo bulls (3.99±0.45 mg %) than the infertile ones (cattle: 2.40±0.12 mg %; buffalo: 2.86±0.38 mg %). The differences in serum phosphorus between fertile and infertile cattle bulls were significant (P< 0.01). Calcium/phosphorus ratio did not show any variation in both the species. Species differences in serum mineral values were observed. Cattle had higher serum calcium (8.09±1.80 mg %) than buffalo bulls (5.95±0.63 mg %), while phosphorus was lower in cattle (3.18±0.22 mg %) than buffalo (3.42±0.41 mg %). Calcium/phosphorus ratio was higher in cattle (2:54) than buffalo (1:74). It can be concluded that lower levels of serum calcium and phosphorus may be one of the several causes of infertility in cattle and buffalo bulls.
