PRACTICUM
TOPIC: a study on the importance of sericulture
INTRODUCTION
Sericulture, or silk farming, is the
rearing of silk worms for the production of silk. Bombyx mori is the most widely used and
intensively studied silk worm although there are commercial species of silk
worms. Seiculture has become an important cottage industries in countries such
as Brazil, China, France, India, Italy, Japan, Korea & Russia. Today China
and India are the two main
producers, with more than 60% of the world’s annual production. Sericulture is
both an art and science of raising silk worm for silk production. India is a
home to a vast variety of silk secreting fauna which also includes an amazing
diversity of silk moths.
NEED AND SIGNIFICANCE
There are lot of varities of silk worms
in our India.These silkworms produce different types of silk that showing
different quality.In addition to the diverse silk worm races , there are vast genetic
resources of mulberry , tasar , muga and eri host plants spread over diverse
geographical locations. Through this study we can understand which are our
common silk worms in India.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The present
investigation aims to find out the
importance of sericulture , it was entitled as “ The study on the importance of
sericulture”
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1.To find out the different types of silk worm.
2.To find out the importance of silk worm.
3.To find out the production of silkworm.
METHODOLOGY ADOPTED
The present study it was decided to adopt
observation method.
PROCEDURE ADOPTED
For collecting data necessary for identifying
the importance of seri culture .It is generally associated with the analysis of
the text books , internet and discussion with experts and teachers to know the
various aspects associated with the topic .
DATA COLLECTION
Seri culture is both an art and science of
raising silk worms for silk production .
Silk was a weavable fibre was first discovered by the Chinese . Silk was
a profitable trade commodity in china.
Sericulture is an agro – based industry .
HISTORY OF SERICULTURE
Once upon a time in an ancient kingdom of
china there lived a queen Xi- Ling , wife of
emperor Huang – Di . One day she sat under the mulberry tree by spinning
tea and admiring the spring flowers, something fell into her tea cup . On the
top of the tea strain on her dress she spotted a lovely web of the most
exquisite threads she had ever seen before. She understood that is the silk threads
come from the silk worms cocoons where it fell from the mulberry tree . In
china the knowledge of silk spread far and wide. Silk worm eggs and the technology of making silk , was
brought to India by Buddist monk . Tippu sulthan introduced sericulture to
Karnataka .Today it is the biggest silk worm producing centre in India .
LIFE CYCLE OF A SILK WORM
The egg develop in to the silkworm larva,grab
or caterpillar.They eat for 20-30 days,consuming large amounts of leaves.The
caterpillar moults through four changes of skin.
The silkworms spins a cocoon
for protection ,to permit the development of the pupa. The cocoon takes about
three days to be fully complete and is a similar size to a peanut shell. The drysalis
emerges from the cocoon as a moth. In cultivated silk, the grub is terminated
while still inside the cocoon so that the long filaments are maintained. The
colour of the silk is determined by the diet of the larva and seasonal
influences. Mulberry leaves produce the preferred lighter coloured cocoons, but
in the wild silkworms will eat other plants, producing all variety of colours. The
moth mate and the female lays more than 350 eggs. The moth then die. In the
wild, this cycle occurs once a year, but under scientific breeding it can occur
up to three times in a year. It is slow and difficult process to produce silk
fibre. Around 12 x kilos of cocoons will only produce about 1 x kilo of
reelable silk and 1 x kilo of un reelable spinning silk.
SERICULTURE TECHNOLOGY :SILKWORM TYPES
There are five major types of silk of
commercial importance, obtained from different species of silkworms which in
turn feed on a number of food plants.Except mulberry, other varieties of silks
are generally termed as non mulberry silks.India has the unique distinction of
producing all these commercial varieties silks.The following are the varieties
of silks produced by various silkworms.
1.
Mulberry
2.
Tasar
3.
Oak
Tasar
4.
Eri
5.
Muga
SERICULTURE
– SILK PRODUCTION
The production
of silk generally involves two processes.
1.
Care
of the silkworm from the egg stage through completion of the cocoon.
2.
Production
of mulberry trees that provide leaves upon which the worms feed.
The silkworm
caterpillar builds its cocoon by producing and surrounding itself with a long,
continuous fibre , or filament. Liquid secretions from two large glands within
the insect emerge from the spinnerct, a single exit tube in the head, hardening
upon exposure to air and forming twin filaments composed of fibroin, a protein
material. A second pair of glands secrete sericin, a gummy substance that
cements the two filaments together. Because an emerging moth would break the
cocoon filament, the larva is killed in the cocoon by steam on hot air at the
chrysalis stage.
Silk is a
continuous filament within each cocoon, having a usable length of about 600 to
900 meters. It is freed by softening the binding sericin and then locating the
filament end and unwinding, or reeling, the filaments from several cocoons at
the same time, some times with a slight twist, forming a single strand. Several
silk strands, each too thin for most uses, are twisted together to make thicker
stronger yarn in the process called throwing, producing various yarns differing
according to the amount and direction of the twist imparted.
CONCLUSION
Sericulture can
be relaunched throughout the country due to the implementation of the strategy
of silkworm rearing in family.Sericulture modules and also identifying and
exploiting the silk biotech potential. Collaboration with traditional sericultural
countries in the area as well as the ones from ISE and BACSA can guarantee the
relaunching of this field activity.Traditional activities are the most
efficient ways to increase the interest in sericulture in the future.
REFERENCE
1.
Sericulture/silk
production
2.
Silkworm
facts, information, pictures/Encyclopedia.com articles about silkworms.
AISWARYA P NAIR
NATURAL
SCIENCE
