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Sericulture Notes for IBPS AFO & NABARD - Agriinsights

Sericulture Notes for IBPS AFO & NABARD
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Sericulture in India

Sericulture is the cultivation of silkworms to produce raw silk. Sericulture's main activities are growing food plants to feed the silkworms that spin silk cocoons and reeling the cocoons to unwind the silk thread for value-added advantages such as processing and weaving.
  • Sericulture is supposed to have originated in China.
  • As a subsidiary industry to agriculture, Sericulture is well adapted to boosting the country's rural economy.
  • Bombyx mori is the most widely used silkworm species.
  • Wild silks are known as Vanya silks.
  • Silk is recognized as the "Queen of Textiles" and "BIOSTEEL" due to its strength.
  • The silk fiber is a protein generated from silkworm silk glands.

India raises five types of silkworms:

  • Mulberry silkworm (Bombyx mori) feeds on mulberry (Morus alba) leaves to produce the best quality silk fabric. It is widely produced in Karnataka, West Bengal, Jammu, and Kashmir.
  • Tasar silkworms (Antheraea paphia) eat Terminalia tomentosa, which grows in the forests of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Orissa.
  • Oak tasar silkworms (Antherea prolyei) which feed on oak trees, were introduced from other nations.
  • Muga silkworm (Antherea assama) is exclusive to India's Brahmaputra Valley and produces the famous muga silk.
  • Eri silkworm (Phylosamia ricini) which feeds on castor (Ricinus communis) is raised in Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Orissa commercially.
India has the distinction of producing all four varieties of silk
  • After China, India is the world's second-largest producer of silk.
  • Today, China and India are the two largest producers, accounting for more than 60% of global production each year.
  • India has the distinction of producing all four varieties of silk, which are generated by various species of silkworms: 
    • Mulberry silk (91.7%); 
    • Tasar silk (1.4%); 
    • Eri silk (6.4%); and 
    • Muga silk (.5%).
  • Muga is produced only in Assam.

Silk - Production Stage

Silk Production

  • Silkworms grow on the leaves of mulberry, Mahua, sal, ber, and Kusum trees in India.
  • Mulberry cultivation covers around 4.5 lakh hectares of land in India. 
  • Silk production is mostly constrained to areas between 15 and 34 N latitudes.
  • Karnataka produces the rawest silk (65%), followed by Andhra Pradesh (170/0), West Bengal (8%), Tamil Nadu (5%), Assam (2.5%), and Jammu and Kashmir (1.2%).
  • South India is the country's major silk-producing region, and it is also recognized for its famed silk-weaving enclaves such as Kancheepuram, Dharmavaram, Arni, and others.
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Tags - Sericulture notes, Sericulture notes for bsc, sericulture notes for afo, sericulture notes for upsc, sericulture notes tnau
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