Abstract
Mainly due to limited genetic resources available and also urgent need for hybrids suitable to local conditions, conventional theories and regular methods for bivoltine silkworm breeding are not easily applicable in such a tropical country as Sri Lanka which is recently planning to scale-up the silk industry. A simplified but practical methodology was introduced to overcome such constraints. Through application of such modified informal breeding methods, two hybrids named DP0308 and DP0314 were selected for cocoon production. Details of the altered method of germplasm improvement in the silkworm are presented, along with combining ability and heritability estimates for six parental pure lines in a half-diallel cross.