Cattle drinking water quality in the cow-calf beef operation in southern Chihuahua, Mexico

Authors

  • Rubén Alfonso Saucedo-Terán INIFAP
  • RUBEN ALFONSO SAUCEDO TERÁN INIFAP
  • Celia Holguín- Licón UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE CHIHUAHUA
  • Pedro Jurado-Guerra INIFAP
  • Jesús Manuel Ochoa-Rivero INIFAP
  • Héctor Osvaldo Rubio-Arias UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE CHIHUAHUA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.19136/era.a4n11.1071

Keywords:

Agua de pozo, ganado bovino de carne, manantial, presones, río.

Abstract

Despite the key role of water in livestock growth and reproduction, there is little information on water quality for Mexico s beef cattle ranches. The objective of this study was to evaluate drinking water quality for beef cattle in the cow-calf operation through calculation of a water quality index (WQI) that relates water physical-chemical composition with common cattle drinking water sources. The study was conducted in 25 cattle ranches of the cow-calf system in seven municipalities of Chihuahua, Mexico. In all cattle ranches, water samples were collected from the main water sources, and physical and chemical parameters were analyzed. Statistical analyses were done through Kruskal-Wallis test, considering water sources (WS) as a source of variation. The WQI was calculated considering the parameters closely related to animal health and productivity and following standard procedures. Most parameters showed high variation among WS. The only parameters in uenced by WS were pH, As (p < 0.05) and Co (p < 0.01). The parameters that surpassed the optimum level for cattle drinking were turbidity for all WS and Mn for earthen tank and spring/river water. Groundwater showed the best quality with a 50.34 WQI, corresponding to good class. Earthen tank water also corresponded to good class with a 98.8 WQI, while spring/river water was classi ed as poor water for cattle with a 114.47 WQI. 

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Author Biographies

  • Rubén Alfonso Saucedo-Terán, INIFAP
    INVESTIGADOR
  • RUBEN ALFONSO SAUCEDO TERÁN, INIFAP
    INVESTIGADOR
  • Celia Holguín- Licón, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE CHIHUAHUA
    PROFESORA-INVESTIGADORA
  • Pedro Jurado-Guerra, INIFAP
    INVESTIGADOR
  • Jesús Manuel Ochoa-Rivero, INIFAP
    INVESTIGADOR
  • Héctor Osvaldo Rubio-Arias, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE CHIHUAHUA
    PROFESOR-INVESTIGADOR

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Published

2017-04-28

Issue

Section

SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE

How to Cite

Saucedo-Terán, R. A., SAUCEDO TERÁN, R. A., Holguín- Licón, C., Jurado-Guerra, P., Ochoa-Rivero, J. M., & Rubio-Arias, H. O. (2017). Cattle drinking water quality in the cow-calf beef operation in southern Chihuahua, Mexico. Ecosistemas Y Recursos Agropecuarios, 4(11), 331-340. https://doi.org/10.19136/era.a4n11.1071

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