• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.58-63
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• 2015

An experimental rearing of tropical tasar silkworm, Antheraea mylitta Drury was conducted to study silkworm-food plant-interaction and thereby to search for an alternate silkworm food plant. The silkworm-food-plant-interaction was studied with six different food plant species viz. Terminalia tomentosa, Terminalia arjuna, Terminalia belerica, Terminalia chebula of Combretaceae family and Lagerstroemia speciosa, Lagerstroemia parviflora of Lythraceae family. The rearing performance of silkworm on Lagerstroemia speciosa in terms of cocoons per DFL and silk ratio was found comparable with Terminalia tomentosa and Termonalia arjuna, the primary tasar silkworm food plant species. These three plant species also possessed better results in terms of physiological (leaf moisture content and net photosynthesis rate) and biochemical (Chlorophyll, protein, carbohydrate and crude fibre contents) characteristics to support silkworm rearing than Terminalia belerica, Terminalia chebula and Lagerstroemia parviflora. The correlation study between silkworm rearing performance and food plant's constituents indicates commercial perspective of Lagerstroemia speciosa as an alternate food plant for tasar silkworm rearing.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.346-354
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• 1990

In order to provide basic references for the design of heating on simple silkworm rearing house, the actual change of heating load coefficient by progress of adult silkworm rearing day from the reared in silkworm rearing house, the heating load coefficient by types of silkworm rearing houses and the heating requirement and the maximum heating load by types of silkworm rearing houses were determined. The results obtained from the study were as follows : 1. The average heating load coefficients of NS, OS and CC type simple silkworm rearing houses were $24.1KJ/m^2-hr-^{\circ}C$, $19.8KJ/m^2-hr-^{\circ}C$, and $10.8KJ/m^2-hr-^{\circ}C$, respectively. 2. The change of heating load coefficient by progress of silkworm rearing day after reared into simple silkworm rearing house could be expressed as Fig. 4. 3. Heating degree-hour for adult silkworm rearing in Suweon district was calculated as $951.6^{\circ}C-hr$ for spring season and $610.5^{\circ}C-hr$ for autumn season. 4. Yearly heating requirement of the NS type was estimated twice more than that of the CC type. Thus, some kinds of reinforced thermal adiabatic facilities is desirable for NS type. 5. The time for maximum heating load was turned out at the 4th instar during the spring season and after the mounting during the autumn season. 6. This study was performed in Suweon district. However, the estimated and analyzed data could be adapted to the major silkworm rearing district if their meteorology data were adjusted.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.67-72
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• 1972

It was first succeded in rearing the silkworm on the artificial diets in Japan in 1960. Since then, the researches on the artificial diets have been carried out intensively but the artificial diets have not been applied to the silkworm rearing practically till now. There are difficulties in rearing the silkworm on the artificial diets, such as uneven silkworm growth, higher production cost and decay. The results were not satisfactory, but the author hopefully expects that the artificial diet rearing would be possible for maintaining normal silkworm growth throughout improvement of diet composition, rearing techniques and aseptics add to the diets. Especially the author considered that the aseptic rearing will contribute to the research of sericultural science. Within a few years, the artificial diet rearing would be applied to the practical silkworm rearing.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.115-126
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• 2015

The tropical climate prevailing in India adversely affects temperate bivoltine silkworm rearing and causes crop loss especially during summer. Identification of high temperature tolerant bivoltine breeds by screening for thermotolerance in the silkworm, Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) is an essential prerequisite for the development of thermotolerant bivoltine breeds / hybrids. Therefore, in this study, 20 silkworm breeds were reared at different temperatures (25 ± 1℃,32 ± 1℃, 34 ± 1℃ and 36 ± 1℃) for 6 h every day from 3^rd d of 5^th instar to till spinning. Significant differences (p < 0.01) were found among all the rearing traits over temperature. Based on pupation percentage, SK4C and BHR3 were identified as thermotolerant bivoltine breeds. Hierarchical clustering analysis based on rearing traits at tested temperatures grouped 20 silkworm breeds in four clusters which included one cluster each of susceptible and tolerant, and two clusters of moderately tolerant silkworm breeds. This suggests that clustering based on rearing data at high temperatures by using Euclidean distance can be an effective approach in classifying the silkworm breeds on their thermotolerance capacity. The identified breeds would be used for development of thermo tolerant bivoltine silkworm breeds / hybrids.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.16-21
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• 2021

The silkworm cocoon has recently attracted the attention of researchers because of its usefulness as a biomedical material (e.g., usage in the development of the membrane for guided bone regeneration and usage as a starting material for the fabrication of natural silk nonwoven fabric). The silkworm variety and strain have been reported as one of the important factors affecting the structure and properties of silk materials. This study examines the morphology and the molecular conformation of the silkworm cocoon at different cocoon measurement points, as well as the effect of the silkworm strain and rearing season on the morphology and crystallinity of the silkworm cocoon. The results show that the morphology of the outside of the cocoon does not differ depending on the cocoon measurement points, but that of the inside does. The silkworm cocoon crystallinity is not affected by the cocoon division. Interestingly, the crystallinity of the outside of the Jam101 cocoon differs depending on the rearing season, whereas it does not in other silkworm strains.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.141-146
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• 1974

This study was carried out to observe the possibility of special rearing of young silkworm for a simple cooperative rearing in the indoor vinyl house. The results of this study are as follows. 1. Temperature and humidity were regulated reasonably in the indoor vinyl house in comparison with general rearing and covered rearing with damp-proof and all workings in it were more convenient. 2. Duration of silkworm life was same in the covered rearing with damp-proof and indoor vinyl house, but general rearing was longer spring rearing silkworm period, 5 hours and autumn young silkworm period. 6 hours than indoor vinyl house. 3. In the mortality ratio, missing larvae of general rearing was more than any other treatments in spring and autumn. There was no difference between covered rearing with damp-proof and indoor vinyl house rearing, but missing larvae seemed to be a little indoor vinyl house. 4. In the individual cocoon ratio there was no significance in spring and autumn, but best cocoon ratio was high in the special rearing and good and low cocoon ratio was high in the general rearing. 5. In the cocoon weight of 10,000 3rd moulted silkworm. cocoon weight of general rearing was less than any other treatments in spring rearing season, and that of covered rearing with damp-proof and indoor vinyl house rearing It was same result. 6. There was no significance in the cocoon layer ratio in spring and autumn, but that of covered rearing with damp-proof and indoor vinyl house was high in comparison with general rearing. 7. As showed above, it is considered that the rearing of indoor vinyl house is worth as special rearing of young silkworm for simple cooperative rearing because it showed good records with three times feedings a day in comparison with general rearing and covered rearing with damp-proof.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.130-137
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• 1994

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the reasonable rearing technique of Japanese oak silkworm under the different rearing condition as environment, feeding materials and rearing methods. The results are summerized as follows. The optimum temperature for the indoor rearing of Japanese oak silkworm was 25~26$^{\circ}C$ a in young silkworm and 22~23$^{\circ}C$ in grown silkworm, and generally in the condition of variable day/night temperature the growth of silkworm was faster than in that of constant temperature. The optimum relative humidity for it's growth was 80~90% at young silkworm stage and 60~70% at grown silkworm stage. The photoperiod was not affected to the growth of Japanese oak silkworm. The earlier brushing, the shorter the young silkworm stage, and the cocoon quality improved compared to the later brushing time. As a feeding materials aok (Auercus acutissima Crruthers) leaves were better than those of chestnut tree (Castanea Crenata Siebold & Zuccarini) and feeding value of cultivated oak tree leaves was better than that of natural oak tree leaves. The moving time when revealed the better cocoon production of Japanese oak silkworm from indoor condition to outdoor was 15 days after hatched, and the cocoon production was decreased by the earlier moving to outdoor.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.103-106
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• 2003

Among silkworm diseases, white muscardine is the most virulent and contagious disease caused by Beauveria bassiana and common during winter and rainy seasons. The disease is managed at present by practicing the silkworm body and rearing seat disinfection to prevent the spread of white muscardine during silkworm rearing as the available methods do not cure the silkworms against white muscardine. The use of systemic fungicide was suggested recently to control white muscardine. The present study investigated the practicability of application aspect of systemic fungicide as spray, It is observed that 3 times feeding of systemic fungicide through mulberry leaf, fed immediately after third, fourth moult and on $4^{th}$ day of final instar as most effective in suppressing the multiplication of the fungus in silkworm. Spraying of the systemic fungicide on mulberry in the rearing house, air-dried and feeding was suggested as suitable application method. Alternately the spraying of the systemic fungicide on mulberry in mulberry garden 6 hrs prior to feeding was also suggested as a method for the control of white muscardine in silkworm rearing.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.191-196
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• 2003

Silkworm body and rearing seat disinfection is an integral part of effective silkworm rearing as it prevents the spread of various diseases through secondary contamination in the rearing bed. Many bed disinfectants are recommended by various research institutes in India. In the present study, eight bed disinfectants viz., Vijetha, Labex, Resham Jyothi, Sanjeevini, Suraksha, Reshamkeet Oushadh, Dithane M45 and Captan recommended by various Sericultural Research Institutions in the country against the spread of common diseases of silkworm were tested to determine their comparative efficacy. For the study, all the treatment batches were introduced with fixed number of specific diseased larvae so as to maintain a constant source of pathogen in the bed and then followed by treatment with respective bed disinfectants. Percent mortality/infection due to each disease was recorded to determine efficacy of bed disinfectant treatment against respective disease. The results show that all the bed disinfectants tested have considerable efficacy against the spread of various diseases in the rearing bed. However, Vijetha was distinctly superior in its efficacy against all four major diseases of silkworm. The study emphasize the role of bed disinfectants in silkworm rearing and the fact that they should be judiciously selected based on the efficacy of the bed disinfectant and the type of disease prevalent in a particular season and area.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.4-11
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• 2022

In this study, cocoons from different silkworm strains and rearing seasons were collected and immersed in water at elevated temperatures to investigate the effect of a wet treatment on their morphology and crystallinity. Untreated cocoons exhibited different crystallinities depending on the silkworm strain and rearing season; however, no distinct changes in their morphological structure were observed. Furthermore, after wet treatment, the differences in the crystallinities of cocoons disappeared. In addition, wet treatment of degummed silk (i.e., fibroin) did not change its crystallinity. These results indicate that different crystallinities of the untreated cocoons collected from various silkworm strains and rearing seasons are due to the different characteristics of sericin in the cocoons.