Effects of melatonin implantation on cashmere yield, fibre characteristics, duration of cashmere growth as well as growth and reproductive performance of Inner Mongolian cashmere goats

Table 2 Effect of melatonin implantation on the duration of cashmere growth and cashmere growth rate in Inner Mongolian cashmere goats¹

Group	Initiation date	Cessation date	Duration of growth, days	Cashmere growth rate, mm/d
Control	July 2, 2013^a	March 27, 2014	270^b	0.36
Melatonin	May 18, 2013^b	March 22, 2014	307^a	0.37
S.E.M²	4.03	6.03	5.14	0.015
P-value	<0.01	0.42	<0.01	0.29

¹Values are means of nine replicates per treatment. Means with different superscripts (a and b) within a column differ (P < 0.05)
²S.E.M = Standard error of the mean