Evaluation of Temperature-Humidity Index Values on Dairy Cattle Farming: The Case of Siirt Province

Abstract

Turkey is a country with mild climate where four seasons coexist due to its geographical location. Daily average temperature values in summer months (June, July, August, September) can exceed 25 °C. All living organisms can be exposed to heat stress, especially in the Mediterranean and Aegean regions where the humidity and in Southeastern Anatolian Regions where temperature is very high. When assessed for animal production, heat stress can cause significant yield losses in dairy cattle grown in these regions. While some criteria are used to determine and evaluate heat stress, the most commonly used parameter is temperature-humidity index (THI) value. Data obtained from the Siirt meteorology department and from the meteorological stations in the districts were used to determine the temperature humidity index values for Siirt provinces and districts. According to this, temperature humidity index values of Siirt Merkez, Pervari, Baykan, Kurtalan, Şirvan and Eruh districts were 72.43, 67.64, 71.80, 72.34, 71.67 and 68.87, respectively. In the study, the temperature-humidity index values of Siirt province and its districts exceeded 65 or 72 threshold values in June, July, August, and September. However, in terms of heat stress, it is understood that Pervari and Eruh districts are statistically (p<0.05) more suitable for dairy cattle farming than other districts. As a result, in Siirt conditions, adequate cooling systems must be used at times when heat stress occurs for a sustainable dairy cattle farming.

Keywords

• Temperature-Humidity Index
• heat stress
• dairy cattle farming