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Silkworm Diseases and their Management

Preprint · October 2018

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.22177.45927

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Mudasir Gani
Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir
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transmission (from surface contaminated eggs at the time of hatching)
Symptoms :
Retarded growth of larvae, delayed moulting, loss of appetite. In the advanced stage of Silkworm diseases and
infection, the larvae become flaccid with vomiting and anal discharges, the colour of the larvae
changes to rustic brown or red with black spots
6. Aspergillosis their management
Aspergillosis is a fungal disease in silkworm which occurs during Chawki stage (I & II instar
worms).
Causative agent :
Aspergillus flavus and A. tamarii
Route of infection :
Skin, the conidia from infected silkworm / alternate hosts contaminate rearing environment,
rearing house & rearing bed. Infection starts when conidia comes in contact with silkworm body
Predisposing factors :
High humidity and high temperature
Symptoms :
Infected larvae stop feeding, become lethargic and the larvae die soon due to aflatoxin
produced by the fungus in the host. Aerial hyphae appear a day after death and later conidia
cover the body giving particular colour according to the Aspergillus species (dark green in case
of A. flavus and dark brown in case of A. tamarii)

Pebrine Aspergillus flavus Aspergillus tamarii

General measures for the prevention and management of silkworm diseases :
 Practice two times thorough disinfection of rearing house, its surroundings and appliances
with any recommended disinfectant (Asthra / Sanitech / Serichlor / Serifit / Decol)
 Select carefully the disease free layings (dfls)
 Maintain personal and rearing hygiene during silkworm rearing
 Collect the diseased larvae at early stage of infection and ensure their proper disposal
 Maintain optimum temperature and humidity in the rearing house
 Feed good quality mulberry leaf, avoid overcrowding in the rearing bed and provide proper
ventilation in the rearing house
 Apply bed disinfectants as per schedule and quantity (Ankush / Vijetha / Rakshak / Resham
Jyothi)
 Feed Amruth (botanical based curative formulation against silkworm diseases) as per
schedule and quantity

For further details contact :
Director
Central Sericultural Research and Training Institute, Central Silk Board, Ministry of Textiles,
Govt. of India, National Highway - 44, Galandar, Pampore - 192 121, Kashmir, J & K, India
Phone: 01933 - 222839 / 223215 / 223176 Fax: 01933 - 223579
Email: csrtipam.csb@nic.in Web site: www.csrtipam.res.in
Mudasir Gani, Sahadev Chouhan, Rajesh Kumar, Mir Nisar Ahmad and
M. K. Ghosh
Central Sericultural Research and Training Institute,
Central Silk Board, Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India, National Highway - 44,
Galandar, Pampore - 192 121 (J&K)
 The success of silkworm rearing mainly depends on the protection of crop from the diseases.
Despite the ideal climate, superior quality of mulberry leaves and restricted number of rearings
in North India, the occurrence of diseases is a common phenomenon. These diseases affect
Bombyx mori L. in different stages of its life cycle that leads to serious damage and significant
financial losses to farmers. Each disease has its own specific signs and symptoms. This
pamphlet is a quick and ready reference to silkworm diseases and their management.
1. Grasserie
Grasserie disease is the most serious viral disease in silkworm. It is also known as nuclear
polyhedrosis, milky disease or hanging disease.
Causative agent: B. mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV)
Route of infection :
Ingestion - BmNPV enters through mouth with the contaminated leaf into the silkworm body,
multiplies inside, ruptures the skin, oozes the milky white haemolymph and spreads the
infection to other individuals
Predisposing factors :
High temperature, low humidity and their sudden fluctuations, inadequate disinfection of
rearing house and appliances, excess moisture, bad ventilation, overcrowding, starvation
Symptoms :
Shining and fragile skin, restlessness, swollen inter-segmental regions, rupture of skin, oozing
of milky white haemolymph and hanging of larvae by their prolegs
2. Viral Flacherie
The BmIFV and BmDNV do not produce any highly visible external symptoms and mostly
interfere with the growth, development and reduce the reproductive capacity of silkworm.
Causative agent : B. mori Infectious Flacherie Virus (BmIFV) and B. mori Densovirus
(BmDNV)
Route of infection :
Ingestion
Predisposing factors :
Same as grasserie
Symptoms :
BmIFV: Gradual reduction in size, retarded growth, reduction in body weight, transparent
thorax, flaccid condition of body, dissolved alimentary canal followed by vomiting of digestive
juice
BmDNV: Body flaccidity, thorax transparency, diarrhoea and pale yellow alimentary canal
Septicemia: Serratia marcescens
Toxicosis: Bacillus thuringiensis
Route of infection :
Ingestion, Wounding - direct entry of bacteria in the silkworm haemocoel can occur after
breaking of the cuticle
Predisposing factors :
High temperature, high humidity, feeding poor quality mulberry leaves, unhygienic conditions,
overcrowded rearing and poor ventilation
Symptoms :
The larvae become flaccid, the growth of infected larvae retards, become inactive and vomit gut
juice, digestion in the infected larvae gets disturbed, voids foul smelling semi-solid excreta
(chain type excreta), faeces become soft with high moisture content and rectal protrusion
occurs, cephalothoracic region becomes translucent
Septicemia: Dead larvae turn red in colour; Toxicosis: Diseased larvae paralyse, dead
larvae turn black in colour, rot and emit foul smell
4. Muscardine
Muscardine disease in silkworm is caused by many species of entomopathogenic fungi such as
Beauveria bassiana, Metarrhizium anisopliae, Nomuraea rileyi, Spicaria prassina. They are
often named for the colour of the conidial layer each fungus leaves on its host.
Causative agent :
White muscardine by Beauveria bassiana, Green muscardine by Metarrhizium anisopliae and
Nomuraea rileyi
Route of infection :
Skin, the conidia from infected silkworm / alternate hosts contaminate rearing environment,
rearing house and rearing bed
Predisposing factors :
High humidity and low temperature
Symptoms :
The infected larvae become inactive, stop feeding, experience vomiting, loose elasticity and
die. The fungus leaves the body of its host covered in powdery conidia (white in case of
Beauveria and green in case of Metarrhizium and Nomuraea) and finally the body hardens

Bacterial disease Bacterial Bacterial White Green

of digestive tract septicemia toxicosis muscardine muscardine

Grasserie Grasserie BmIFV BmDNV 5. Pebrine

3. Bacterial Flacherie
The diseases caused by bacterial pathogens in silkworm is collectively known as flacherie due
to the flaccid nature of the diseased larvae. Bacterial diseases of silkworms are divided into
three major types namely bacterial diseases of the digestive tract, bacterial septicemia and
bacterial toxicosis. Flacherie is also caused by the combined infection of bacteria and viruses.
Causative agent :
Bacterial diseases of digestive tract: Streptococcus faecalis, S. faecium; Staphylococci sp.
Pebrine is the most dreaded disease of the silkworm where the spores can survive outside the
host for several years.
Causative agent :
Several kinds of microsporidia such as Nosema bombycis, Vairimorpha sp., Pleistophora sp.
and Thelophania sp.
Route of infection :
The disease spreads through ingestion of mulberry leaves contaminated with the pebrine
spores and also by transovarial (from infected mother moth to embryo) and transovum

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