Home › PYQs › Agriculture › All questions › 1979 · Cattle breeds
UPSC Prelims 1979 · Agriculture · Beyond Crops
Which of the following cows gives maximum milk yield?
- (a) Jersey
- (b) Holstein
- (c) Red Sindhi
- (d) Sahiwal
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: (b) Holstein
The Holstein-Friesian (Netherlands) is the world’s highest-yielding dairy breed.
The idea
Exotic breeds (Holstein, Jersey) give more milk; Indian breeds (Gir, Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Tharparkar) survive heat, disease and poor feed better. Cross-breeding tries to get both.
Why the others are wrong
(a) Jersey gives rich, high-fat milk but less volume than Holstein.
(c) Red Sindhi is a good Indian dairy breed, but yields much less.
(d) Sahiwal is among the best Indian breeds — still well below Holstein.
The trap
Sahiwal and Red Sindhi are the “best milch breeds” in Indian textbooks — best among Indian breeds, not in the world.
🔒 Most milk: Holstein-Friesian · richest milk: Jersey · best Indian milch breeds: Gir, Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Tharparkar.