IJSR - International Journal of Scientific Research

Dhiramani Bhuyan; M.C. Sarmah; K. Dutta

Volume : VI, Issue : I, January - 2017

A study on the seasonal variation of the post cocoon parameters of eri silk worm Samia ricini (Donovan) reared on Kesseru Heteropenex fragrance (Roxb.) Seem

Dhiramani Bhuyan, M. C. Sarmah, K. Dutta

Abstract :

The multivoltine eri silk worm is a polyphagous insect and castor is its main host plant followed by Kesseru. Reå of eri silk worm is traditionally done in the rural areas of Assam as well as in some north eastern states of India. The silk worm being a domesticated insect is reared indoors by the reares and is fed with collected leaves from the wild or the homestead gardens. No exclusive food plant cultivation is done for eri worm reå and therefore eri silk production decreases during the winter months as castor leaves are very much scanty during the spell of the year. Though Kesseru is the second primary host plant for the silk worm, reå of the worm on Kesseru leaves are done only to keep the seed crop during the winters. Season specific post cocoon data for eri silk worm reared on Kesseru are less available. Therefore an attempt has been done in this paper to produce some season specific data regarding this. The post cocoon parameters of the eri silk reared on Kesseru at different seasons was compared and no significant difference was found between the quality and quantity of the silk produced at various seasons.