An Overview on Problems - And Prospects of Mulberry Sericulture in Karnataka, India

Author : Dr. H. M. Ashashree

Sericulture is an industry that helps to raise the economic level of the people in the rural areas, has a huge potential for employment generation, provides more benefits to the agricultural allied activities and farmers in a short period of time and also provides foreign exchange. Mulberry is an outstanding bio-energy, drought resistant tree/shrub which could be grown in different types of soil both under irrigated and rain fed conditions. In addition to being fed to silkworms, mulberry is used in industry, medicine, aqua-culture, agro-forestry, social forestry, watershed management and drought prone area development programmes. In sericulture, the most important factor is the cultivation of elite mulberry varieties exhibiting desirable agronomical and commercial traits. It is an established fact that about 60% of the total cost of silk production is attributed to mulberry production alone. Therefore, it is very important to select high yielding varieties with better quality leaves. In mulberry cultivation, attention must be given to both quality and quantity of leaves. They must be high yielding with low inputs. However, they must be able to produce still higher yields with better agronomical inputs.