Effect of Spring Goshoerami Mulberry Leaf Extract on Second Commercial Cocoon Crop under Temperate Climatic Condition

Abstract

Nutrition plays an important role in silkworm rearing. It improves the growth, development, health and feed consumption, thereby improving the commercial traits. As reported, the mulberry leaf under Kashmir climatic condition during Summer/autumn season is nutritionally poor. In Kashmir Valley 90% of silkworm rearers mostly do rearing only once in a year i.e during spring season and lesser number of rearers goes for second rearing during summer/ autumn season because of less productivity and poor quality cocoon crops. Fortification of leaves by supplementing nutrients and using them for feeding the silkworm is a useful technique to increase their economic value. Several attempts have been made to enhance the cocoon yield and silk content through supplement of amino acids on mulberry leaf. However supplement of amino acids on mulberry leaf may not be economical and is not easily assessable to farmers. Silkworm, Bombyx mori L., is a monophagous insect that drives all required nutrients for its growth and development from mulberry leaf. Hence the present study was undertaken to study the efficacy of fortification of spring leaf extract of Goshoerami on growth and commercial traits of double hybrid FC1 (CSR6×CSR26) × FC2 (CSR2×CSR27) of silkworm Bombyx mori L. during second commercial rearing. The results showed, that application of aqueous extract of spring mulberry leaf fed silkworm larvae shows significantly higher in terms of body weight, cocoon weight, shell weight, yield and silk filament length in all the treatments over the control. However the highest body weight (44.143 g/10) mature larval, Single cocoon weight (1.967g), single shell weight (0.471g), shell ratio percentage (23.921 %) and silk filament length (1,159.66 mtr) were recorded at 10% fortification. In order to promote the use of spring leaf extract for fortification among the silkworm rearers further studies are required in consultation with Department of Sericulture of the U T of Jammu and Kashmir.