Sericulture

Subject – Agriculture

Context – ‘Cocoon production in Karnataka down by 50%’

Concept –

Sericulture is the cultivation of silk rearing of silkworms. It is an agro-based industry.
It involves the raising of food plants for silkworm, rearing of silkworm for production of cocoons, reeling and spinning of cocoon for production of yarn, etc. for value-added benefits such as processing and weaving.
Silk is known as the queen of textile and “BIOSTEEL” because of its strength.
India is the second largest producer of silk in the world after China (China is said to be the origin of sericulture).
India has the distinction of producing all the four types of silk i.e.
- (a) Mulberry silk (91.7%);
- (b) Tasar silk (1.4%);
- (c) Eri silk (6.4%); and
- (d) Muga silk (.5%) which are produced by different species of silkworms.
Mulberry silk is produced extensively in the states of Karnataka, West Bengal and Jammu & Kashmir.
- Similarly, Tasar silk worms are reared traditionally by the tribes of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa and Jharkhand;
- Muga and Eri silk are produced exclusively in Assam.
- The food plant of silkworms is Mulberry for producing Mulberry silk.
Except for mulberry, other non-mulberry varieties of silks are wild silks, known as vanya silks.
South India is the leading silk producing area of the country and is also known for its famous silk weaving enclaves like Kancheepuram, Dharmavaram, Arni, etc.

Central Silk Board

Central Silk Board is a statutory body established under the Central Silk Board Act, 1948.
It functions under the aegis of Union Ministry of Textile.
It is a national organization for overall development of silk sector in India.