Short term lymphocyte culture technique was used to study the chromosomes of normal and abnormal buffaloes of some breeds of Indian river buffaloes. The diploid number in Murrah, Surti and Jaffrabadi breeds was found to be 50. Chromosome abnormalities such as trisomy-X, pericentric inversion and C-band deletion in animals with reproductive deficiencies besides chimaerism (50, XX/50, XY) in heterosexual multiple births, and secondary constrictions in some apparently normal animals are described

Body weight and measurements at birth, weaning (8 months), and yearling (365 days) as well as pre- and post weaning average daily gains of the swamp buffaloes from the breeding herds at the Surin Buffalo Breeding Center were used to estimate heritabilities and correlations. Most of the estimates of heritability were from low to medium (0 to 23%). A high estimate (51.8%) was obtained only for the postweaning growth rate. The phenotypic correlations among the traits studied were mostly positive and highly significant, except for the negative correlations of postweaning gain with most other traits

The study examined changes in the body-weight of mature buffaloes at the Surin Buffalo Breeding Center due to seasonal fluctuation in feed supplies. It also investigated the effect of parturition on buffalo cow body-weight. The effect of feed scarcity started to show in January when the buffalo body-weight began to decline, and continued to decline to the lowest average in April, the hottest and dryest month of the year. The monthly weight change of the mature buffaloes could well be explained by the annual rainfall pattern. The data on monthly records of the body-weight of buffalo cows during the five months before calving and the four months after indicated that the animals gained 33.1 kg during the five-month pre-partum and lost 34.5 kg from one month after, with the average calf birth weigth of 30.8 kg. The nursing cows continued to lose weight during the four-month post-partum. The cows calved from May to October and regained their body-weight faster than those calved from November to April