CONTENTS

Sr. No. Content Details Page No.

Title Page

Certificate

Declaration

Acknowledgement

Abstract

List of Figures

List of Tables

1 Introduction 1

1.1 Types of Sericulture 3

2 Industrial Significance of Silk 6

3 Silkworm and Family 10

4 The Life Cycle of Silkworm 11

5 Traditional Method of Reeling Silk 12

6 Silk Production in India 14

6.1 Geographical Indication of Indian Silk 16

7 Challenges and Recommendation of 17

Sericulture

8 Policies Initiatives taken for The 18

Development of Silk Industry

9 Summary 19

10 Glossary 20

11 References 21
 LIST OF FIGURES
Sr. No. Figures Page No.
1.1 Types of Silkworms 3

1.2 Mulberry Silkworm 3

1.3 Muga Silkworm 4
1.4 Eri Silkworm 4
1.5 Tasar Silkworm 5
1.6 Different types of Silkworms 5
2.1 Sericulture Activities 6
3.1 Silkworm Eggs 9

4.1 Different Stages in the Life Cycle of 10

Silkworm
4.2 Life Cycle of the Silkworm 11
5.1 Traditional Method of Reeling Silk 13

6.1 Different Kinds of Silk Produced in India 14

6.2 Distribution of Sericulture across the 15

States of India
6.1.1 Trends in Global Raw Silk Production 16

LIST OF TABLES
Sr. No. Tables Page No.

1 Kinds of Silk Worms 9

2 Indian States Holding GI Tag of 16

Silk
 1. INTRODUCTION

The word Sericulture has been derived from the word “Su” (Si) which means
silk. Sericulture, the art and science of growing silkworm, food plants, rearing
silkworms and production of silk is basically an agro-industry and an
economically rewarding enterprise consisting of several sets of activities and
play a predominant role in shapingthe economic destiny of the rural people
(Dewangan et al., 2011). Sericulture, is divided in two sectors namely farm
and industry. The farm sector involves growing silkworm’s food plants,
rearing silkworm to produce cocoons and eggs. Reeling, twisting, dyeing,
printing, finishing, knitting form the industry sector (Srivastav et al., 2005).
Sericulture, the production of silk worms and thus ultimately of silk fibre
(Ganga & Chetty, 1991), has become a promising rural activity in India
because of its minimum gestation period, minimal investment, maximum
employment potential and quick turnover for investment (Kasi, 2000,
2009a & 2009d). Out of 6.39 lakh villages in India, sericulture is practised
in about 69,000 villages (Central Silk Board, 2002; Geetha & Indira, 2011;
Lakshmanan et al., 2011). Sericulture activity brings regular income to the
community without any bias of caste, creed, gender, or religion. A remarkable
feature of this activity is its egalitarianism sericulture farmers, rich and poor,
earn the same income from it. women has a crucial role in the activities of
sericulture, it equally creates opportunities and make them independent
socially, economically, politically, and otherwise (Goyal, 2007; Pillai &
Shanta, 2011; Thomas et al., 2010). Sericulture is an extremely labour-
intensive industry and occupies a pivotal position from the point of providing
employment and additional income to weaker sections (Best & Maier, 2007).
India enjoys the availability and practice of mulberry and non-mulberry
sericulture like tasar, eri, muga and oak-tasar varieties (Savithri et al., 2013).
The tasar silk industry has acquired a big role in improving tribal
socioeconomic condition besides generating substantial rural employment
(Suryanarayana & Srivastava, 2005; Rao, 2007). There are 258 well
recognized tribal communities, notified as scheduled tribes in India (Sinha,
2003). There are more than 58 countries practicing sericulture in the world.
Sericulture is the rearing of silkworm to produce silk. The term “Sericulture”
1
is made up of two Greek words “Sericos” means “Silk”, and “culture” refers
to “rearing”. The rearing of silkworms is an artificial or domesticated
condition for the production of raw silk by the means of raising caterpillars
(larvae), particularly those of the domesticated silkworm (Bombyx mori). It is
a principal economic activity in many developing countries like China, India,
Brazil, Vietnam, and Thailand. Amongst the silk-producing insects belonging
to Bombycidae families, nearly 95% of commercial silk production is by
mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori (Cherry, 1987; Ganga, 2003; Yokoyama,
1963). The species was domesticated from its wild relative Bombyx mandarina
and succeed the other silk-producing insects for its large cocoon size, rapid
growth rate, efficient digestion, monophagous feeding preference, and quality
silk production (Arunkumar, Metta, & Nagarjun, 2006; Bajwa, Ahmed, Shah,
& Adnan, 2017; Ganga, 2003; Shivanshankar, Chandan, & Nagananda, 2012).
Sericulture plays a major role in rural employment, poverty alleviation and
earning foreign exchange. A lot of entrepreneurial opportunities are available
in variousfields of sericulture. It is practiced is various states viz., Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal and states like Madhya
Pradesh and Maharastra have also started practicing Sericulture. The non-
mulberry (also called Vanya silk) sericulture is practiced in Assam, Jharkhand,
Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. More than 6 million people are involved in
sericulture activities. Sericulture has emerged as a meaningfull and viable
agro-based cottage industry. It is being practicing in more than 30 countries
across tropical and temperate regions produce silk, their combined production
adds up to about 85,000 Metric Tonnes of raw silk in a year. Presently China,
India, Japan, South Korea and Brazil are the leading silk producing countries.
Japan which was once a leading silk producer until 1978. At present it is
producing less than that of India and occupies only the third place in world
raw silk production and slowly shifted to other commercial enterprises. China,
rank first in the world raw silk production an account for 57, 432 Metric
Tonnes, among tropical countries, India is rank second in the world mulberry
raw silk production of the major producer of silk an accounting for 15, 305
Metric Tonnes of raw silk from 1,79, 065 hectares of mulberry garden annually.

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 1.1 TYPES OF SERICULTURE
India is blessed with cultivation of all the four commercial varieties of silks
viz., mulberry, tasar, eri and muga and their food plants. India is the only
country producing muga silk in the world and thus enjoys monopoly in its
production.

Figure 1.1 Types of Silkworms

i) MULBERRY

Mulberry silk is considered to be qualitatively

superior. Mulberry is the food plant of mulberry
silkworm, Bombyx mori. Bivoltine silk is
qualitatively superior to multivoltine silk. India
produces 90% of its silk in multivoltine form.
Mulberry silk is considered to be superior in Figure 1.2 Mulberry Silkworm
quality as compared to other varieties. Bombyx mori, the mulberry silkworm
feeds on mulberry leaves (Fig.1.2). About 92% of the total production of the
country consists of mulberry silk. Mulberry sericulture is practiced in
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Karnataka,Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, West Bengal
and Jammu & Kashmir.

ii) Muga

Muga silkworm, Antheraea assama is unique in secreting an unusual golden

yellow colored lustrous silk (Fig. 1.3). Muga production is the prerogative of
India and the pride of Assam state.

India is the only country that produces muga silk.

Muga contributes only 2% to the country’s total
raw silk production. Muga worms are not reared
in side rooms / houses like mulberry silkworm.

Figure 1.3 Muga Silkworm

The popular name ‘Muga’ is an Assamese word which indicates the brown
color of the cocoon. The distribution Extends from western Himalayas to
Nagaland, Cachar district of Assam and South Tripura. It is obtained from
semi-domesticated multivoltine silkworm. These silkworms feed on the
aromatic leaves of Som and Soalu plants are reared on trees similar to those
of tasar. The muga silk, is used in products like sarees, mekhalas, chaddars,
etc., and is costly.

iii) ERI

The name Eri is derived from the Assamese

word “ERA” meaning Castor oil plant, the main
food of eri silkworm. It originated in India. This
silkworm, Philosamia ricini, which feed on the
foliage of castor is also called Erunda or Endi
(Fig.1.4). Figure 1.4 Eri Silkworm
Apart from the economic importance of Eri silk,
the pupae are consumed. Ericulture is a household activity practiced mainly
for protein-rich pupae, a delicacy of the tribals. Eri is a multivoltine silkspun
from open-ended cocoons, unlike other varieties of silk. Ericulture is mainly
concentrated in areas of North Cachar, Mikir hills, Kamrup and eastern
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Goalpara in Assam, North Tripura, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur and Purnia in
Bihar, Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri in West Bengal and West Manipur. Now, it
is being practiced commercially in other parts of the country also. The silk is
used indigenously for preparation of Chaddars (wraps) for their ownuse by
the tribals.

iv) TASAR

Tasar silkworms are reared in the tropical and

temperate zones. Four species of the genus
Antheraea are used in commercial production. The
tropical silkworm -A. mylitta D. (India) and the
temperate silkworms -A. proyli J. (India), A. pernyi
G.M. (China and the USSR) and A. yamamai
G.M.(Japan) are especially important in tasar
production. Figure 1.5 Tasar Silkworm

Tasar (Tussah) is copperish colored, coarse silk mainly used for furnishings
and interiors. It is less lustrous than mulberry silk, but hasits own feel and
appeal. Tasar silkworm, Antheraea mylitta (Fig.1.5) mainly thrives on the food
plants Asan and Arjun. The rearing is conducted on the trees in the open. In
India, tasar silk is mainly produced in the states of Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and
Orissa, besides Maharastra, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. Tasar culture
is the mainstay for many tribal communities in India.

Figure 1.6 Different types of silkworms

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 2. INDUSTRIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF SILK
Sericulture is not restricted to the agricultural activities of mulberry
cultivation, silkworm rearing and seed production, but opens up into the
post-cocoon sectors of silk reeling, twisting, weaving, dyeing, printing and
garment manufacture.

Figure 2.1 Sericulture Activities

The practice of sericulture is beneficial to the rural population in many

ways and its importance is elaborated as follows-

High Employment Potential:

Nearly 80 lakh persons are engaged in sericulture activities in India and
statistically, it generates an Considering the employment potential, it
employment of 11-man days per kg of occupies an important place in the
raw silk production (CSB, 2022). It Five-year plans and in poverty alleviation
involves various personnel at Programs of the country. One acre of
different levels of processing till it mulberry garden provides job to 2.1
persons round the year.
reaches the consumer including the
Silk rearers, farmers, reelers, twisters
and weavers.This sector employs one man throughout the year for
producing every 3.07 kg of silk produced and used in handlooms. This
6
potential is very high and no other industry generates this kind of
employment, especially in rural areas. It is because of this reason that
sericulture is practiced as a tool for rural reconstruction.

Provides vibrancy to village economies:

A large chunk of income goes back to the villages from the cities of which
56.8 % goes to cocoon grower, 6.8% to the reeler, 9.1% to the twister, 10.7%
to the weaver and 16.6% to the trade.About 57% of the gross value of the final
product in the industry (silk fabrics) flows back to the cocoon growers.

Low Gestation, Low Investment and High Returns:

Mulberry takes only six months to grow for commencement of silkworm
rearing. An investment of only Rs. 12,000 to 15,000 (excluding cost of land
and silkworm rearing house) is sufficient to undertake mulberry cultivation
and silkworm rearing in one acre of irrigated land. Mulberry once planted will
support silkworm rearing for 15-20 years depending on inputs and
management provided. Five crops can be taken in one year under tropical
conditions. By adopting recommended package of practices, a farmer can
attain net income levels up to Rs. 30,000 per acre per annum.

Women Friendly Occupation:

Sericulture activities starting from mulberry garden management, leaf
harvesting and silkwormrearing are more effectively taken up by women. Even
the post- cocoon activities like silk reeling, twisting and weaving are largely
supported by them. Basic feature of this farm based economic enterprise is
the involvement of women as it is an occupation by and for women and their
contribution in sericulture industry is to the tune of 60 %, mostly in
silkworm rearing and reeling (Anitha et al., 2013; Chouhan et al., 2016).
Thus, women constitute over 60% of those employed in sericulture
industry.

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 Suitable for weaker section of the society:
The average holding size of agricultural land has declined from 1.01 ha in 1992
to 0.592 ha in 2013. The marginal ownership category (0.002 ha -1.000 ha)
has registered an increasing trend from 52.98 per cent households in 1971-
72 to 75.41 per cent households in 2013 (National Sample Survey
Organization, 2013). As sericulture is highly suitable to small and marginal
farmers, because of its higher income generating nature with comparatively
less investment, sericulture is one of the solutions for tackling the concerns
of shrinking land holding sizes of farmers. (Doubling Farmer’s income –
Volume 8, 2017).

Eco-friendly Activity:
As a perennial crop with good foliage and root-spread, mulberry provides
green cover and contributes to soil
One acre of mulberry cultivation
conservation. Waste from silkworm generates employment for 5 people
rearing can be recycled as inputs to throughout the year. Wastes generated
the mulberry garden. Being a labour out of one-hectare mulberry cultivation
intensive and predominantly agro- and silkworm rearing produces 5,000 kg
of vermi-compost per year.
based activity,smoke-emitting
machinery is not involved.
Development programs initiated for mulberry plantation are mainly in
upland areas, vacant lands, hill slopes where unused cultivatable land is
made productive and also in watershed areasdue to its deep-rooted perennial
nature.

Versatile enterprise:
Mulberry, the food crop for silkworm, is a hardy and perennial crop. It can be
cultivated in a wide range of soil and agro-climatic conditions both in rainfed
and irrigated areas. Sericulture can also be integrated with certain other
agricultural crops, livestock, vegetables and plantation in the integrated
farming system for optimum use of the available resources to maximise the
productivity and thereby net farm income on a sustainable basis.

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 3. SILKWORM AND FAMILY

There are more than 500 species of silkworm in the world, although only a few
are used to produce cloth. In which two families are well known.
1. Bombycidae- bombyx mori
2. Satuniidae- eri, tasar, muga
Today, man has understood that there
are many indigenous varieties of wild
silkmoths found in nature. The blind,
flightless moth, Bombyx mori, lays 500 Figure 3.1 Silkworm eggs
or more eggs in four to six days and dies
soon after (Fig.3.1). The silk thread produced by Bombyx mori will be smooth,
fine and round. Today, the moth of the silkworm Bombyx mori has lost its
power to fly and is only capable of mating and producing eggs for the next
generation of silk producers.

Table 1 Kinds of Silk Worms

9
 4. THE LIFE CYCLE OF SILKWORM

It is interesting to know how the silkworm develops and when it startsspinning

the silk thread. The silkworm passes through four stages in its life. After the
silkworms hatch from the eggs, the baby worms feedday and night on fresh,
hand-picked and succulent mulberry leaves until they pass second moult. A
fixed temperature has to be maintained throughout. After the second moult, a
whole branch of mulberry has to be fed to the worms on the shoot rearing
racks. Thousands of feeding worms are kept on these racks till they complete
all the four stages. The silkworm sheds its skin each time it passes from one
stage to the other. The silkworm multiplies its size by10,000 times within a
month, changing colour and shedding its whitish-grey skin four times. The
silkworms feed until they enter thecocoon (also called Pupal) stage.
While spinning the cocoons, the worms produce a jelly-like substancein their
silk glands, which hardens when it comes in contact with air and spin cocoons
around them. After four to five days in a warm, dry place, the cocoons are ready
to be unwound. The total life cycle of silkworm completes in about 25 to 35
days depending upon the race and climatic condition (Fig.4.1).

Figure 4.1 Different stages in the life cycle of Silkworm

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Now, let us take a brief look at what happens after cocoon harvest. First, the
cocoons are baked to kill the pupae. The cocoons are then dipped into hot
water to loosen the tightly woven filaments. These filaments are unwound onto
a spool. Each cocoon is madeup of a filament between 600 and 1,000 meters
long. Five to eightof these super-fine filaments are twisted together to make
one thread.
Finally, the silk threads are woven into cloth or used for embroidery work.
Clothes made from silk are not only beautiful and lightweight, they are also
warm in cool weather and cool inhot weather.
Reeling silk and spinning were always considered household duties for women,
while weaving and embroidery were carried out in workshops as well as at
home. In every silk-producing area in the country, the women in sericulturists’
families devote a large part of the year to the feeding, tending and supervision
of silkworms and to the unravelling, spinning, weaving, dyeing and
embroidering of silk.

The life cycle of mulberry silkworm completes

in 45-55 days, consists of stages egg, larva,
pupa and moth. Egg stage is lasting for 9-10
days, larval stage which is 24-28 days, pupal
stage 8-10 days and moth stages 3-4 days.

Figure 4.2 Life Cycle of the Silkworm

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5. Traditional Method of Reeling Silk from Cocoon, Meliser
Gerber- Silk Story
STEPS:

1. Sericulture or Harvesting : Simply known as mulberry cultivation,

this is the process of gathering silkworms and harvesting their cocoons
to collect the materials needed for silk production.
2. Stifling and Sorting : After the completion of the spinning process,
the silkworms will enclose themselves in the silk strand they
produced.

3. Boiling : The cocoons are then placed in boiling water to help soften
them and easily find the fiber strand’s end needed for unwinding.

4. Deflossing : After the boiling process, the cocoons might still have
loose fibers or a fuzzy layer that contains uneven and broken filaments.

5. Reeling and Twisting : The next step is to unroll the cocoon and
combine the silk filament to turn the cocoons into threads and create
a single silk strand.

6. Dye Application or Treatment : Most popular silk thread dyeing

method is with the use of natural dyes, usually indigo fruits or leaves.
The leaves or fruits are placed in water to make a dye solution. The
bundled threads are then soaked in the solution.

7. Spinning : The spinning step helps unwind the dyed silk fibers so that
they lay flat in preparation for weaving.

12
8. Weaving : This step involves the process of interlacing two thread sets
to create a lock and develop a sturdy, uniform fabric.

9. Printing (Optional) : Some silk pieces need a particular design or

pattern.

10. Finishing : The finishing step is important since it gives the fabric
its sheen. Some chemical treatments can also help make the fabric
crease-proof and resistant to fire.

Figure 5.1 Traditional Method of Reeling Silk

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 6. SILK PRODUCTION IN INDIA

India has the unique distinction of being the only country producing all the
five known commercial silks, namely mulberry, tropical tasar, oak tasar, eri
and muga, of which muga with its golden yellow glitter is unique and
prerogative of India.
Mulberry sericulture is mainly practiced in states such as Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh, Assam and Bodoland, West Bengal,Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu who
are the major silk producing states in the country. North East has the unique
distinction of being the only region producing four varieties of silk viz.,
Mulberry, oak tasar, Muga and Eri. Overall NE region contributes 18% of
India’s total silk production.
India is the second largest producer of silk in the world. Among the four
varieties of silk produced in 2020-21, Mulberry accountedfor 70.72%, Tasar
8.02%, Eri 20.55%, and Muga 0.71% of the total raw silk production.

The estimated employment generation under sericulture in the country was

8.7 million persons during 2020-21 compared to 9.4million persons in 2019-
20, indicating a reduction of 74%. (Source: -central silk board)

Figure 6.1- different kinds of silk produced in india

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Figure 6.2 Distribution of Sericulture across the state of India

15
6.1 GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION OF INDIAN SILK

Sl.No. Types of Silk States

1 Baluchari Saree West Bengal
2 Salem Silk Tamil Nadu
3 Arani Silk Tamil Nadu
4 Molakalmuru Karnataka
5 Ilkal Sarees Karnataka
6 Muga Silk Assam
7 Orissa Ikat Odisha
8 Kancheepuram Silk Tamil Nadu
9 Mysore Silk Karnataka
10 Chanderi Fabric Madhya Pradesh
Table 2: Indian states holding GI tag of silk.

Figure 6.1.1 Trends in global raw silk production

16
7. CHALLENGES AND RECOMMENDATION OF
SERICULTURE
CHALLENGES :
➢ Depleting groundwater resources and shortage of irrigation water.
➢ Fragmented nature of sericulture industry.
➢ Scarcity of skilled/trained manpower.
➢ Global warming and climate change/uncertainty effects.
➢ Urbanization and shrinking cultivated land in traditional/rural areas.
➢ Inadequate supply of quality eggs and shortage of cold storages.
➢ The emergence of new pests and pathogens.
➢ Inconsistency in cocoon quality due to use of defective montages.
➢ Non-availability of sufficient automatic reeling units.
➢ Underutilization of by-products.
➢ Acute shortage of trained field and extension staff.
➢ Inadequate supply of improved reeling machines (ARMs).

RECOMMENDATION :
The following measures would be recommended for adoption in order to
counter the highlighted challenges and enable growth and prosperity of the
sericulture industry in India:
➢ The government should set clear policies and strategies that aim at
promoting the sericulture industry in India.
➢ The Sericulture Research and Extension institutes should create
regionally adaptable breeds in order to enhance silk quality and
productivity. Farmers should progressively be trained and well
equipped with proper quality control measures and tools during
silkworm rearing.
➢ The government and financial institutes should motivate and
empower silk production by providing affordable and easily
accessible financing mechanisms to the farmers and processors.
➢ Private investors in the industry should be highly encouraged and
motivated to boost the sector.
➢ Creation and promotion of local and international markets should be
practiced by developing structures and organizations that sensitizes
and streamlines the marketing of silk products.

17
8. Policy initiatives taken for the development of silk
industry:

Sericulture is the functional area under the Ministry of Textiles.Some of

the recent policy initiatives taken by the Ministry to promote sericulture
are as follows:

National Silk Policy 2020

“Silk Samagra” policy launched by government of india,
allocated rs. 2161.68 crore for three years i.e. 2017-18 to
2020-21.
Mahila kishan sashaktikaran pariyojna (MKSP)
Scheduled castes sun-plan (SCSP)
Tribal sub plan (TSP)
Sericulture extension system
Forest Conservation Act has been amended to treat non
mulberry sericulture as forest activity enabling the farmers
to undertake Vanya silkworm rearing the natural host
plantations in their forests.
Anti-dumping duty on Chinese raw silk – The Director
Generalof Antidumping & Allied Duties (DGAD), New Delhi
has recommended imposition of antidumping duty on
Chinese rawsilk of 3A Grade & below in the form of fixed duty
of US$ 1.85 per Kg on the landed cost of imported raw silk
(Notification No.14/17/2014/DGAD dated 4-12-2015).
CDP-MGMREGA convergence guideline have been finalized
anissued jointly by the MOT and MORD. These guidelines
will help sericulture farmers to avail assistance from
MGNREGA scheme. (Source: - Ministry of Textiles,
Government of India)

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 9. SUMMARY

Sericulture, being an agro-based commercial enterprise involves

cultivation of food plants and rearing of silkworms. There are different
types of silkworms producing different types of silks.
India is the only country that produces muga silk in the world. Sericulture
originated in China and was distributed to different parts of the world
through the “silk route”. Silkworm passes through different stages in its
life cycle, like egg, larva, pupa and adult. Sericulture is an eco-friendly
enterprise generating sufficient income and employment to the farmer’s
family. It also earns foreign exchange for the country by way of exporting
silk and fabric to different countries. The silk is graded internationallyfor
quality, based on several cocoon and raw silk characters.
Shell ratio and denier are the important quality parameters that are looked
into while grading the silk. Quality is also determined by the race of
silkworm and leaf quality. The farmers are linked with research institutes
for addressing their problems and ensuring the transfer of technology.
The major activities of sericulture comprises of food-plant cultivation to
feed the silkworms which spin silk cocoons and reeling the cocoons for
unwinding the silk filament for value added benefits such as processing
and weaving.
India is the second-largest producer of silk after China accounting for
about one-third of the global raw silk output. China and India together
share 91% of the total raw silk production.
Sericulture is an age-old agro-based industry in India, being in vogue for
more than 500 years. The country produces all commercially known silk
varieties - Mulberry, Tasar, Muga and Eri.

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 10. GLOSSARY

Bivoltine : is a type of silkworm which completes two

life cycle per year in natural condition.
Indigenous : Native to a particular country.
Monopoly : refers to a single producer of a particular
product e.g. Muga production in the world
is monopolized by India.
Multivoltine : is a type of silkworm which completes
more than 3 life cycles per year in natural
condition.
Research : refers to the organizations involved in the
System technology generation.
National : A project funded and popularized by the
Sericulture government of India for the development
Project of sericulture in India.

Skill : refers to the correct way of doing a

particular Activity e.g. mixing water with
acid, preparation of disinfectant solution.
Sericulture : refers to the cultivation of mulberry
and rearing of silkworm to produce
cocoon.
Feedback : refers to the opinion of the farmers about
new technology popularized among
them. This will help the researchers in
formulating or withdrawing their
technology.

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