Morphometric variation and principal component analysis of local buffaloes in the southern region of Chhattisgarh, India

Morphometric characterization is essential for understanding structural variability and guiding selective breeding in indigenous buffalo populations. This study analyzed eight morphometric traits chest girth (CG), body length (BL), height at withers (HW), horn length (HL), face length (FL), tail length (TL), distance between horns (DBH), and ear length (EL) in 446 local buffaloes of the southern region of Chhattisgarh using principal component analysis (PCA). Descriptive statistics revealed moderate variation in TL (76.48 ± 9.51 cm), CG (177.23 ± 20.34 cm), BL (132.90 ± 8.97 cm), HW (120.26 ± 6.98 cm), HL (39.95 ± 12.35 cm), FL (41.92 ± 6.06 cm), DBH (20.28 ± 3.04 cm), and EL (22.03 ± 3.87 cm), indicating substantial phenotypic diversity. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure (0.551) and Bartlett’s test of sphericity (?² = 757.69, p < 0.001) confirmed the suitability of the dataset for PCA. Three principal components with eigenvalues >1 explained 63.43% of the total variance. Varimax rotation revealed Factor 1 representing body frame and thoracic robustness (TL, CG, HL), Factor 2 representing vertical growth and limb development (HW, DBH, FL), and Factor 3 representing cranial and body length proportions (BL, FL). Ear length contributed minimally to overall variation. The results indicate that structural robustness, vertical development, and body proportion are the primary axes of morphological variability in local buffaloes of the southern region of Chhattisgarh. These findings can inform selective breeding strategies, emphasizing animals with strong body frames, upright growth, and proportional cranial-trunk structures to enhance draft performance, grazing efficiency, and functional adaptability.