Indigenous cattle like Vechur, Vatakara animals and Kasaragod cattle have many adaptations to survive in our climatic conditions. For increased production of milk, we used to cross bred our native cattle with imported cattle like H.F, Jersy, Brownswiss, etc. Past breeding strategies for dairy cattle have been very effective in producing rapid genetic gain to achieve industry targets and raise profitability. Such gains have been largely facilitated by intense selection of sires combined with the use of artificial insemination. However, this practice can potentially limit the level of genetic diversity through inbreeding and selection plateaus. Cattle genetic diversity is currently under threat mainly due to extensive planned as well as indiscriminate cross breeding among local populations. . Genetic diversity is the basis for present day diversified living systems and future genetic improvement needs. This diversity should be properly utilized, improved and conserved. The calculation of pair wise genetic similarities by indices between individuals by phylogenic analysis after RAPD-PCR technique may help to select animals possessing the least genetic similarity and might be a valuable tool for selection in the future germplasm collections.
