Resistance to Natural Tick Infestations in Different Breeds of Cattle in the Sudan

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Abstract
Whole body tick collections, carried out at 6-day intervals for 2 mo. at Nisheishiba [Sudan] showed significant differences in tick counts between 3 breeds of cattle. Crossbred (Bos taurus .times. B. indicus) cows carried 4.5 times more ticks (mean tick count 70.5 .+-. 84.8) than the B. indicus Kenana (mean tick count 16.7 .+-. 24.4) and Butana cows (mean tick count 15.0 .+-. 18.4). In all cases, the SD''s were larger than the means reflecting the usual wide variability in tick numbers between individuals. Significant differences also existed in the degree of engorgement achieved by female Hyalomma anatolicum anatolicum ticks on different breeds of cattle. The weight of detaching fully engorged females feeding on Kenana crossbred cattle was 374.8 mg and 422.0 mg, respectively. This was reflected in the amounts of eggs laid by the females which were 191.3 mg for the Kenana-fed ticks and 26.1 mg for those from the crossbreds. The resulting larval challenge from the crossbred-fed ticks was 36.5% greater than from the ticks fed on Kenana cattle.

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