UNIT: SERICULTURE

Introduction: There are many kinds of natural silk which are commercially known and produced. Among them Mulberry
silk is the most important and contributes as much as 95% of the world production. In sericulture, commercial rearing of
the mulberry silk butterfly and larvae is done. The larva is called silk worm. Silkworm Bombyx mori, is the source for
production of fabulous silk and sericulture industry, which has been domesticated more than 4000 years ago.
Silk is the product of pair of salivary glands present in thoracic cavity of the larvae of especial moth.
The study of cultivation of the food plants for silk producing caterpillars, their rearing and post-harvest handling of the
harvested cocoon or the silk they produce is sericulture. Sericulture or silk farming thus includes cultivation of food plants
for the good quality leaves of high nutritive value.
In simple words, Sericulture is the process of cultivating silkworms and extracting silk from them. The rearing of
silkworm and post harvest handling of silk threads.
Taxonomy of Mulberry silkworm
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Family: Bombycidae
Genus: Bombyx
Species: B. mori

IMPORTANCE & SCOPE OF SERICULTURE

1. Queen of fiber: Silk is well known as Queen of fibre, which is admired by people throughout the world for its beauty,
color and comfort. Ever since the discovery of silk, it has played an important role in the history of man. Even today, silk
is universally sought by the world's top fashion designers. Japanese use silk for making their national dress 'Kimono'.
2. Employment opportunities: Silkworm rearing utilizes waste manpower from the age of 8 to 80 years. This provides
employment opportunity for all age and generates extra income utilizing the extra time of employees as well. There is no
doubt that silkworm rearing supports rural people. fosters agricultural industry and finally promotes national economy.
3. Industrial Value: Filament of mulberry silkworm is used for water absorption, dyeing, thermo tolerance insulation and
luster. Raw silk is used for parachutes, tire lining, electric insulation, artificial blood vessels and surgical structure.
4. Medicinal Value: Silkworm pupa is used for oil extraction, protein extraction, and amino acid vitamin B2 preparation.
Diseased (muscardine) silkworm larvae and pupae are used for medicine, phytol is raw material found in silkworm which
is used for vitamin E and K preparation.
5. Economic Value: Every part of mulberry plant is economically important, silkworm larvae feed on mulberry leaves,
fruits are used for wine preparation, bark is used for high grade fiber making, tree trunk and branches are used for fire
wood and farm tool handles. Mulberry tree have some medicinal value too.
6. Organic Matter: Excreta of silkworm larvae are used for chlorophyll extraction. It is good source of organic matter
and it can also be used as food for pig, cattle, sheep and fish.
7. Vegetative Cover: Mulberry planting cover the barren land, prevent soil erosion and provide extra green foliage to
livestock.
Silkworm in Nepal
The credit of discovery of silk thread and its properties goes to Chinese Empress, SiLing Some 4000 years ago and the
name silk is in her honor.
 Japan, China, Korea, Italy, France, Russia, Brazil and India are the chief silk producing countries at present.
 In Nepal attempts were made during the Regime of King Tribhuwan (1911-55).
 Expert of India established silkworm nursery and planted few nursery plants at Birgunj.
 Juddha Samsher organized Eri silkworm exhibition during 1940-45 at Kathmandu and silkworm and silk from Jhapa
was brought.
 Cottage industry department established its own mulberry farm at Tripureshwor but dropped out in 1956.
 In 1966, Entomology section of Department of Agriculture and Research carried out preliminary study.
 In 1974-75 Industrial Entomology Project was lunched and later transferred to Khopasi, now its running Sericulture
Development program.
 Now Nine Sericulture Development Offices are conducted in Nepal.

Mulberry Cultivation
Mulberry (Morus in Latin) is the main feed plant of Bombyx mori L. Among silk moth, mulberry silkworm (Bombyx
mori) is monophagous i.e. its larvae feed only on leaves of the mulberry tree Morus spp. There are over 200 species of
mulberry varieties. It is produced in China, Korea, Japan, India, Russia, France, Latin, America and Africa. Mulberry is
the basic food for silkworm, and the bulk of silk goods in the world is produced from mulberry silkworms. Therefore,
producing mulberry leaves on scientific basis is essential for organizing sericulture on sound economic lines. Under
intensive cultivation practices in tropical countries, leaves of about 30 tons per hectare can be harvested per year.
The study of scientific cultural practices of mulberry plants (Morus spp.) is called Moriculture.

Sapling production and nursery management

Propagation
Mulberry can be propagated by seeds (sexual propagation) or cuttings (asexual propagation).
1. Sexual propagation: In sexual propagation, mature seeds are collected, washed and dried. An area under shade is dug,
manure and prepared for seedling nursery. Then viable seeds soaked in hot water for a day to soften a hard testa for easy
and successful germination are sown in rows. Seedlings are thinned when they grow to a height of 3.5 to 5 cm. They
would be subject to sun light during cool hours. Transplanting is done with a distance of 22.5 cm three months after
sowing. These seedlings grow for one to two years are then transplanted to field or used for grafting.
2. Asexual propagation: This can be done by cutting, grafting or budding.
Selection of mother plant: Mother plant should be true to genetic character and free from insect pest and pathogen.
Nursery bed preparation: Soil should be well pulverized and free from insect pest and pathogen. size for nursery bed : 10-
15 cm raised bed, 1m width and length – as required or depends upon size and shape of land.

Manure for nursery: 40-50 kg FYM compost, 50 gm Urea and 500 gm Ammonium Sulphate should be required for
(3m×1m) nursery bed.

Cutting: Cuttings are most commonly used in the asexual propagation of mulberry. Nutritious, high yielding, fast
growing, pests, diseases and drought resistant leaf cuttings should be used.

Time of cutting : October last to December end ( Kartik 15th to paush 15th )

- Properly matured (6-8 month old) and thick stem with active and well-developed buds.

- Cuttings of 15-20cm long, slant cut with three to four to five active buds

- At distance of 10-15cm and after 8 months, cuttings are ready to transplant

-For poor rooting plants, certain growth regulator hormones are applied for e.g., Indole Acetic Acetic (I.A.A.), Indole
Butyric Acid (I.B.A.), Naftalin Acetic Acid (N.A.A.), and Dychlorophenoxy Acetic Acid (D.A.A.).

Grafting: Grafting is an act of placing a portion of one plant(bud or scion) into or on a stem, root, or branch of
another(stock/rootstock) in such a way that aunion will be formed and the partners will continue to grow. The branch that
is inserted is known as scion and the plant in to which another plant is inserted is stock. The stock is usually an indigenous
plant that is well acclimatized to the local conditions. Selection of stock and scion is very important. Three types of
grafting is usually done in mulberry plant: shoot grafting, root grafting and bud grafting.

Budding: Budding involves removing one bud from stock and putting in to another stock. It is used only when the
material is scarce. Patch budding, t-budding and ring budding (flute) are the types of budding. In addition to grafting and
budding, air and ground layering are used to propagate mulberry plants.

Variety : Improve variety of mulberry are Kanwa-2, Khopasi-1, Khopasi-3 etc but in Nepal only Kanwa-3 are cultivated.

Manures and fertilizer :

Terai/Plain region: Irrigated: 533.1 kg Urea: 304.3kg Dap:300kg potash/ ha. and

Rainfed: 266.5 kgUrea: 152.2kg Dap:150kg potash/ ha

Mid hill region: Irrigated : 366.7 kg Urea: 173.9kg Dap:200kg potash/ ha and

Rainfed : 183.4 kg Urea: 86.96kg Dap:100kg potash/ ha

Planting : Mulberry sapling should be transplanted in rainy season ( Ashadh jun/july). Number of sapling needed for one
ropani area 700 plants. Planting method are depending upon

Silkworm Rearing House and Equipment

Silkworms are reared in a specifically built house with adequate ventilation, light which should be rodent proof.

(a) A silkworm rearing house should be build away from farm animals' housing to avoid drifting of chemicals during
spraying.

(b) Should be near the mulberry field in order to minimize the transportation distance thus cutting down on wilting of leaf.

(c) Doors and windows should be North-South direction to avoid direct sunlight into the room which could raise the room
temperatures and thus cause leaves to dry fast.

The size of the rearing house is determined by size of mulberry orchard and amount of silkworm to be reared. For
example, a small scale farmer with

 A 1/4 acre of mulberry orchard needs a rearing house of at least 7m x 5 m (25 ft x 15 ft). Such a house can
accommodate 2 cases (40,000) of silkworms.

Silkworm Rearing Equipment

The minimum economic unit is 1/4 acre of Mulberry which can rear two cases of silkworm (40,000 silkworms). One
requires the following equipment:

1. Rearing beds 2. Bed cleaning nets 3. Old newspapers or brown paper 4. Leaf picking bags
5. Chopping knives 6. Chopping boards 7. Chopping table 8. Feathers
9. Foam rubber strips 10. Ant wells 11. Knapsack sprayer 12. Secateur

2. 13. Mountages for spinning, -260 partitions and 26 rotary frames: Mountages can be made from timber, carton, hard
paper, plywood or wire.

Management of Silkworms

Disinfection: Silk worms are prone to infection if proper disinfection of the rearing house and rearing equipment is not
done properly. Disinfection is done before rearing as a precaution against pathogens, which remain in the rearing house by
using 2% formalin solution.

Lifecycle of a Silkworm
The silkworm passes through 4 distinct stages i.e. egg, larva, pupa and adult during its life cycle. The duration may last
for 6-8 weeks depending on the prevailing climatic conditions. The egg period for the incubated eggs may last for 11-14
days, the larval period 24-30 days, the pupal period 12-15 days and the adult stage 6-10 days. This means that a farmer
who receives hatched silkworms can rear, harvest and sell cocoons in about 5 weeks unlike majority of other enterprises
that take much longer production period.
Temperature & Humidity for rearing silkworm
Egg Incubation and Hatching

Silkworm rearing starts with silkworm egg incubation. For healthy

development and uniform hatching; eggs are incubated under
optimum temperature 250C and humidity 80% - 85%. Under these
conditions eggs are expected to hatch within 10 - 12 days.

When the newly hatched larvae appear they should be gently and
carefully transferred to the rearing bed and covered with paraffin
paper or clean old newspapers. Covering preserves leaf moisture.
Brushing newly hatched Silkworms

There are two acceptable methods of brushing:

1. The hatched worms are brushed with a feather from the egg card directly onto the rearing bed. Care must be taken not
to injure the worms.

2. Chop tender (2nd and 3rd leaf) mulberry leaves into small pieces approximately equal to the size of the hatched
silkworm larvae and sprinkle over the egg card. The hatched silkworms will crawl onto the chopped leaves and start
feeding. Later the cards are removed and larvae still left on paraffin paper or newspaper are tapped gently onto the rearing
bed. When all larvae are on the rearing beds, then the first feeding is given.

Young age silkworm rearing

The young age silkworm rearing or chawki rearing is a vital aspect of sericulture industry for the development of healthy
larvae and harvesting of successful cocoon crop. The important aspects of young silkworm rearing management are a
suitable separate rearing house or room, well maintained mulberry garden with assured irrigation facility and adequate
agro-inputs. All these aspects of young age rearing ensure best result with regard to crop stabilization and improvement in
cocoon yield.

Environmental Conditions for young silkworm

-Temperature: 20-280C; 250C for late age silkworm; 26-280C for good quality cocoon
- Humidity: 85-90%
- Light: Min. 16hrs. light per day

Late Age Silkworm Rearing

The rearing of Third, fourth and fifth stage is called "late age or adult silkworm rearing".The third, fourth and fifth instar
silkworm larvae differ from earlier stage silkworms in many [Link] of leaf protein into silk within the silk
glands occurs in these instar. So, the leaf fed to the silkworms should have high protein content. The late age silkworms
moult or shed their skin two times, the fourth moult to facilitate the growth of the larvae. The late age silkworms consume
large quantity of leaf.

Characteristics Of Late Age Silkworms

-Low tolerance to high temperature, high humidity and poor ventilation.

-Requires coarser and matured leaves rather than tender leaves. Amount of mulberry leaves ingested and digested greatly
increases.

-Reduction in feeding affect the cocoon size and larval duration is prolonged.

-More resistant to disinfectants and other chemicals. Also susceptible to pests because of increased larval size.

Rraring Methods

It is a process of feeding the right quantity of mulberry leaves to silkworms. The second stage silkworms after moult are
transferred to late age rearing house. It is done by different methods depending on the space availability economic
condition of the farmer and the availability of labor, which are given below:

1. Tray Rearing: In wooden/ bamboo trays of convenient size (3-4'diameter) and worms are fed individual mulberry
leaves plucked from the mulberry tree/bushes. The bamboo trays are arranged in stands made of wood/ Bamboo/ Iron with
10-12 tiers.

-More leaf labor intensive for activities like plucking, feeding, bed cleaning,
-Very popular with small scale and marginal farmers, as it needs less space for conducting rearing.

-Common in rearing-cum-dwelling houses.

Feeding is done 3-4 times every day and cleaning of the rearing bed, removing old leaves and litter is done every day
Cleaning of bed is done using nylon nets of mesh size 2"× 2". Larval bed space is maintained at each instars depending on
the silkworm breed.

2. Shelf (Rack) Rearing: In this type of rearing, whole shoot or branch with mulberry leaves are used for feeding the
silkworms. A shoot rack of 5 ft width and as long as rearing house with 3-5 tiers are used for rearing silkworms. The gap
between the tiers is kept at 2 feet to facilitate easy feeding of larvae. The height of the rearing rack will be 6-7 ft. and the
bottom tier will be one ft above ground level Shoot rearing racks are made of wood, iron or bamboo and can be easily
assembled by the farmer If more than 3 tier system is followed, it is difficult to monitor the growth of silkworms, but,
more larvae can be accommodated in the rearing house. While assembling the rack, a distance of 2 ft is made between the
wall and the rack and 4ft between the racks so that sufficient work space is available to work in the rearing house.

3. Floor Rearing: This method is followed traditionally in Kashmir and some parts of China. Here, the difference is that,
rearing is conducted on the floor using mulberry shoots/ branches. Rearing bed of 5 ft width and as long as rearing room is
made on either side of the floor on old newspaper. Before spreading the newspaper, a thin layer of lime is dusted on the
floor to prevent the attack from ants. Feeding is done as in shoot feeding method and no cleaning of bed is practiced.
Since no rearing racks are used for rearing, it is highly economical.

Mature worm and mounting

-On the sixth or seventh day of fifth instar, the silkworms show less appetite and discharge hard dark brown colored faces
which are soon replaced by soft light brown ones, which indicate that spinning stage has set in..

-The skin becomes transparent gradually due to growth of silk gland which occupies almost the whole body, when the
entire gut remains emptied. Silkworm discharge liquid excreta at the time of cocooning. Hence, it is necessary that good
ventilation is provided in the mounting room to drive away moisture.

-When maturation sets in, larvae crawl about looking for a place to make a cocoon by spitting out the liquid silk through
spinneret located below the mouth.

-Silk material is secreted and immediately fixed and hardened when silkworm touch spinneret to any solid matter.

-When silkworm moves, the silk materials are drawn out from the spinneret to the point where the spinneret touches next.
-A silkworm can spin silk filament length ranging from 500 m to 1500 m depending on the breed. Preparation for
transformation into pupa inside the cocoon shell begin as soon as spinning is completed.

Mounting: Spinning a cocoon is the final process of silkworm rearing. The process of transferring matured larvae to a
suitable frame to spin cocoon is called mounting. After mounting, larva takes 48 hours for complete spinning of cocoon
depending on the environmental conditions. Hence, protection of larvae for 3- 4 days after mounting has a profound
influence on quality of cocoons. Hence, in a mass rearing when 40% of the larvae show maturation, all the larvae can be
collected and mounted at the same time. The following points are to be remembered:

- Mounting should not be delayed when larva get matured.

- Mounting should be done in a place where it can be handled easily
- Mounting place should be kept dry with good ventilation.