SERICULTURE

NAME :- RONAK B. LASHKARI

IAR NO :- 12694
M.SC BIOTECHNOLOGY

1
INTRODUCTION
 The word sericulture is derived from Greek word “sericos”. “seri” means silk
and “cos” means culture.
 The rearing of silkworm for production of silk is called sericulture.
 Sericulture involves mass scale rearing of silkworm in order to obtain silk.
 Silk is secreted by silk gland of the silkworm and it is a fibrous protein of
insect origin.
 Silk fiber contain two type of protein namely fibroin (80%) and sericin (20%).

2
HISTORY
 China is the origin of sericulture.
 The silkworm was discovered by Chinese princess xi-lingshi.
 Thereafter Hislig chi discovered raising of silkworm and reeling of silk to
make garments.
 Later sericulture spread throughout the China.
 Afterwards the sericulture is spread in Korea , Japan and India.
 In 1857 ,world sericulture industry suffered from Pebrine disease.
 The silk road was an ancient trade route that linked the western world
with middle east and Asia . At those time silk was transported along this
road.

3
SILKWORM
 The insect which produce silk is called silkworm.
 Bombyx mori is the most widely used species of silkworm.
 Moriculture :- Moriculture is the science of Mulberry cultivation to rear
silkworm for silk production.
 Bombyx mori feed specifically on Mulberry leaves.
 Different types of silk of commercial importance are obtained from
different species of silkworm which in turn feed on number of food plant
except Mulberry leaves. This varieties of silk are termed as non –Mulberry
silk.

4
TAXONOMIC POSITION OF SILKWORM
 Phylum : Arthropoda
 Subclass : Pterygoid
 Division : Endopterygota
 Order : lepidoptera
 Superfamily : Bombycoidae
 Species : Mori
 Organism :- Bombyx Mori

5
TYPES OF SILKWORM
 There are different type of silkworm.
 1. Mulberry silk worm
 2. Tasar silk worm
 3. Oak silk worm
 4. Eri silk worm
 5. Muga silk worm

6
1.MULBERRY SILK WORM
 Scientific name :- Bombyx mori
 Host :- Mulberry plant
 The bulk of commercial silk produced
in the world come from this variety
and silk generally refers to as
Mulberry silk.
 Mulberry silk comes from the
silkworm Bombyx mori which feeds on
Mulberry plant.

7
2. TASAR SILK WORM
 Scientific name :- Antheraea mylita
 Host :- Arjun , Asan and saal
 Tasar silk is generated by the
silkworm Antheraea mylita which
mainly feed on plants of Asan and
Arjun.
 It is less lustrous than mulberry silk
and copperish in color.

8
3. OAK TASAR SILKWORM

 Host :- Antheraea proyeli

 Host plant :- oak plant
 It is a fine variety of tasar generated
by the silkworm Antheraea proyeli.
 They feed on plants of oak
 China is the major producer of oak
tasar in the world.

9
4. ERI SILKWORM
 Scientific name :- Philosamia ricini
 Host :- castor leaves
 Eri silk is the product of domesticated
silkworm philosamia ricini that feed
on castor leaves.
 Eri culture is a household activity
practiced mainly for protein rich pupae
(a delicacy of tribal).

10
5. MUGA SILKWORM
 Scientific name :- Antheraea
assamensis
 Host plant :- som
 Muga obtained from semi-
domesticated silkworm Antheraea
assamensis.
 This golden yellow color silk is pride of
Asam state.
 Muga culture is specific to the state of
Asam and integral part of the
tradition and culture of the state.

11
LIFE CYCLE OF SILKWORM
 1.Eggs:- The lifecycle of silk moth starts when a female moth lay eggs.
Eggs are size of small dots. A female moth lays more than 350 eggs at a
time.
 2.Silkworm ( caterpillar) :- A hairy silkworm arises after the eggs
crack .In this stage silkworm feed on Mulberry leaves and growth of
silkworm happens.
 3.Cocoon :- The silkworm spin a protective Cocoon around itself .It is
the size of small cotton ball and is made up of a single thread of silk.
 4. Pupa :- It is the motionless stage . In this stage people kill pupa by
plunging the cocoon into boiling water and unwind the silk thread.
 5. Moth :- At this stage pupa changes into a adult moth . The female
moth lays eggs after mating and thus the lifecycle of silkworm begins
again.
12
LIFE CYCLE OF SILKWORM

13
SERICULTURE: STAGES OF SILK
PRODUCTION
 The silk moth lay eggs.

 The eggs hatch and the larva feed on mulberry leaves.

 When the silkworm are about 25 days old , they are 10,000 times heavier
than when they hatched. They are now ready to spin a silk cocoon.
 The silk is produced in the two gland in the silkworm’s head and then
forced out in the liquid form through opening called spinnerets.
 The silk solidified when come in contact with the air.
 The silkworm encloses itself in a cocoon in 2 to 3 days.
 Due to quality restriction ,the amount of usable silk in each cocoon is
small.

14
SERICULTURE: STAGES OF SILK
PRODUCTION
 As a result 5500 silkworms are required to produce 1 kg of silk.
 The harvesting of silk from these cocoon is the final stage of sericulture.
 First, the pupae inside the cocoon are killed by boiling the cocoon and
exposing it to steam and dry heat . This process is called stifling.
 The silk filament are removed from dead cocoon via process called reeling.
 Thus, raw silk is obtained from the silkworm and the sericulture process is
completed.

15
REFERENCES:-
 A. (2022, July 12). What is Sericulture? The Silkworm Rearing Process
Explained! BYJUS. https://byjus.com/chemistry/sericulture/
 (2022a, April 22). Silkworm - The Life Cycle of Silkworm | Processing of Silk.
BYJUS. https://byjus.com/chemistry/silkworm/
 Sericulture: Definition, History, Process, Species, Examples. (2021, February 25). Toppr-
guides. https://www.toppr.com/guides/chemistry/synthetic-fibres-and-plastics/sericulture/
 Ndua&T, K. F. (2019, June 2). Sericulture in
India. https://www.slideshare.net/ravindra43/sericulture-in-india-148619579
 U. (2016, August 13). life cycle of silkworm. https://www.slideshare.net/uoyogn/life-cycle-of-
silkworm

16
THANK YOU