Silkworm rearing and the sericulture industry

Sericulture is the technique of silk production. It is an agro-industry playing an eminent role in the rural economy of India. Silk fibre is a protein produced from the silk glands of silkworms. Five varieties of silkworms are reared in India for producing this natural fibre. Bombyx mori, the silkworm, feeds on the leaves of Morus, to produce the best quality of fibre among the different varieties of silk produced in the country. Antherea assama produces the famous muga silk. This variety is confined only to the Brahmaputra valley of India in the world. Tasar silk is a product of Antherea mylitta, which feeds on Terminalia tomentosa grown in the thick jungles of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa. Antherea royeli and Antherea perniyi has been recently introduced to produce the oak tasar silk, Phylosamia ricini, the eri silkworm, which feeds on Ricinus communis, is raised in Assam and Orissa.


Ag.
Technologies
(Sericulture)