Abstract—This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of environmental factors on variations in milk composition and concentration of some macro minerals in Moghani sheep grazing in north of Sabalan rangelands. For surviving the effect of rangeland elevation, milk samples were collected from 60 grazing Moghani sheep in three elevation sites (respectively1300-1800, 1800-2500 and 2500-3200m). Effect of season was studied by sampling in two grazing season (spring and summer). Milk composition including Fat, Protein, Lactose, SNF (Solids Non Fat) and Ash was determined using Milcoscan. Studied Macro minerals included Calcium, Phosphorous, Sodium, Potassium and Magnesium. Mineral concentration was measured using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer and flame photometer. Analytical software of SAS (9.1) was used for Statistical analyses. Results of this study showed the significant effect of elevation on Fat, Protein, SNF and Ash (p<0.05). Protein and Lactose had higher percentage in the first, Fat in the second and SNF and Ash in the third elevation site. Elevation of sites had significantly affected the concentration of all studied macro minerals. Among the milk composition parameters, Fat and Lactose were significantly different between the seasons (p<0.05), and collected milk samples in summer showed the higher amounts of these parameters. Among the studied macro minerals, concentration of Ca, P and Na showed significant difference between spring and summer. Higher concentration of them was observed in summer. There was significant interaction between the elevation and season for Fat and all studied macro minerals. Overall according to the results of this study, environmental factor such as elevation and season had affected the studied parameters of Moghani sheep milk in Sabalan Mountain.

Index Terms—milk composition, mineral, elevation, season, rangeland, moghani sheep

Cite: Farzad Mirzaei Aghjeh Qeshlagh, Roghayeh Valizadeh Yonjalli, Ardavan Ghorbani, and Bahram Fathi Achachlouei, "Milk Composition and Mineral Concentration Affected by Elevation and Grazing Season in the Rangelands of North Sabalan Mountain, Iran," Journal of Advanced Agricultural Technologies, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 20-25, March 2016. Doi: 10.18178/joaat.3.1.20-25