III - B. Sc. ZOOLOGY SEMESTER - VI
SKILL BASED SUBJECT - PAPER - IV: SERICULTURE AND APICULTURE UNIT – II
Mulberry cultivation - Preparation of land, Propagation of mulberry plants, Irrigation and Pruning.
Harvesting and Storage of mulberry Leaves.
Pests of mulberry plants.
Rearing of Silkworm - Rearing room, Incubation of eggs, Rearing of worms. Rearing appliances, Feeding, Cleaning, Spacing, Mounting and Harvesting of Cocoon.
• Harvesting
The method of leaf harvest depends on the type of rearing practiced. It is preferable to harvest the leaves during morning hours. There are three methods of harvesting of mulberry leaves Leaf picking
• Individual leaves are harvested with or without petiole. Leaf picking starts 10 weeks after bottom pruning and subsequent pickings are done at an interval of 7 - 8 weeks.
Branch cutting
The entire branches are cut and fed to the worms. Before that, topping is done to ensure uniform maturity of the lower leaves.
• The branches are cut at ground level by bottom pruning. Shoots are harvested at an interval of 10-12 weeks and thus 5 to 6 harvests are made in a year.
Time of harvest
It is preferable to harvest the leaves during morning hours.
Preservation of leaves
Use leaf preservation chamber or wet gunny bags to store the leaves or cover the bamboo basket with wet gunny bags to keep it cool and fresh.
Pests of Mulberry Plants
Rearing house/Room
•
Mulberry silkworm rearing, being completely domesticated, demands specified environmental conditions like temperature (24-28 C) and relative humidity (70-85%).•
It is therefore necessary to evolve measures for economic cooling through selection of proper material for wall and roof fabrication, orientation of building, construction method, design, etc.•
Further, enough space must be available to carry out leaf preservation, chawki rearing, late age rearing and moulting.•
It should also be convenient enough to conduct effective cleaning and disinfection.•
The size of the rearing house depends upon the quantum and type of rearing.•
A floor area of 400 sq ft. can provide rearing space for 100 dfls (dfl: Disease Free Layings; 1 dfl = 500 larvae)•