General Sericulture

By Dr Rohith L Shankar | University of Mysore, Mysuru

Learners enrolled: 368

Silk is fibrous protein of animal origin. A number of organisms secrete silk, which used by them for anchorage, entangling their prey or forming a protective sheath with or without other materials. Nearly 400-500 species are known to produce silk but only very few are commercially exploited. Silk is classified into insect silk and non insect silk. Insect silk is commercially more important. The majority of silk producing insects belong to the Order Lepidoptera, Super family Bombycoidea and Families Bombycidae or Saturniidae. Nearly 75% of commercial insect silk comes from the mulberry silkworm, Bombyx mori and is known as mulberry silk. Commercial silk from all other sources is collectively called non-mulberry silks or vanya silks or wild silks.

The silk obtained from the different sources particularly that obtained from the mulberry silkworm is a natural fibre used in textile. It is soft, smooth and lustrous and holds a prestigious place among textile fibres to the extent to be called the ‘Queen of Textiles’. Mulberry silkworm is a monophagous insect, which feeds only on mulberry leaves. Mulberry includes a number of species and varieties. They differ in their suitability for silkworm rearing because of their varying nutritious value and palatability for the silkworm. Mulberry sericulture involves the cultivation of mulberry to produce leaf, rearing of silkworm to convert leaf to cocoon, reeling of cocoons to obtain silk yarn and weaving to convert yarn to fabrics.

The silk is obtained from both insect and non-insect fauna. The insect fauna mainly comprises of mulberry and non-mulberry silkworms. In India, mulberry silk contribute to an extent 75% and it is a natural fibre used in textile industry. It is soft, smooth and lustrous and holds a prestigious place among textile fibres and commonly called as the ‘Queen of Textiles’. Mulberry silkworm is a monophagous insect, which feeds only on mulberry leaves. Mulberry includes a number of species and varieties. Mulberry sericulture involves the cultivation of mulberry to produce leaf, rearing of silkworm to convert leaf to cocoon, reeling of cocoons to obtain silk yarn and weaving to convert yarn to fabrics.

Summary

Course Status :	Completed
Course Type :	Elective
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	12 weeks
Category :	Biological Sciences & Bioengineering
Credit Points :	4
Level :	Undergraduate
Start Date :	15 Jul 2019
End Date :	30 Sep 2019
Enrollment Ends :	10 Sep 2019
Exam Date :	09 Nov 2019 IST

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

Page Visits

Course layout

Week – I | 1. Introduction to Sericulture | 2. Origin and History of Sericulture | 3. Silk Route |

Week – VII | 24. Different Types of Cocoon | 25. Cocoon Testing and Grading | 26.Types of Cocoon Boiling |

Week – IX | 31. Twisting and Weaving | 32. Raw Silk Testing and Grading | 33. Silk ‘Queen of Fibers’ |

Week - X | 34. Power loom | 35. Cocoon Marketing and Silk | 36. Women in Sericulture |

Books and references

Reading material	Author	Type of publication (article/notes)	Content Abstract	Number of pages
Manual on Sericulture.	FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin, Rome. (1987)	Text Book	1. Mulberry cultivation 2. Silkworm Rearing 3. Silk reeling 4. Non-mulberry silks	131
Handbook of Practical Sericulture. Central Silk Board, Bangalore,	Ullal, S.R. and Narasimhanna, M.N. (1994)	Text Book	Mulberry cultivation, silkworm rearing, etc.	213
Handbook of Sericulture Technologies. Central Silk Board, Bangalore.	Dandin, S.B., Jayant Jayaswal and Giridhar, K. (2003)	Text Book	Mulberry cultivation, silkworm seed production, silkworm rearing and silk technology, etc.,	287
Principles and Techniques of Silkworm Seed Production. Discovery Publishing House, New Delhi.	Tribhuwan Singh and Beera Sarathchandra (2004)	Text Book	Activities of grainage, silkworm egg production processes, etc.	349.
Introduction to Sericulture. Oxford and IBH Pub. Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, p	Ganga, G. and Sulochana Chetty, J. (2010)	Text Book	Origin and history of sericulture, central Silk board, mulberry sericulture, morphology and anatomy of Bombyx mori, silkworm rearing etc.,	302

Instructor bio

Dr. Rohith L Shankar, Principal Investigator for General Sericulture course under Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) currently working as Assistant Professor in the Department of Sericulture, Yuvaraja’s College, University of Mysore, Mysuru. I have obtained Bachelor’s degree in Life science, Master’s and Doctoral Degrees in Sericulture from the University of Mysore, Mysuru. I have also done post doctoral studies in the field of seri-biotechnology in Animal Sciences College, Zhejiang University, China. In addition I have obtained Diploma in Office Management and HRM. I have passed National Eligibility Test conducted by Karnataka State Govt. for eligibility to become Lecturer. I have about twenty three years of research experience and twenty years of teaching experience in Sericulture. My fields of specialization include Insect Breeding and Genetics, and biochemical aspects in allied subjects. I have Undergone hands on training programme in pest management and gene expression studies and also worked as a Junior Research Fellow in a leading tissue culture laboratory, In-Vitro International Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore. I have published 23 research articles in leading National and International journals; I have participated in more than 40 National/International Conferences/Seminars and presented around 15 research articles. I am having a life membership of academic bodies like Indian Science Congress, Kolkata and Karnataka Vigyan Parishat, Bangalore. I have also associated in the development of curricula for undergraduate and post graduate courses in Sericulture. I have been serving as an external examiner in Sericulture in different universities. Presently guiding a student leading to a Ph.D degree in the area of Silkworm breeding.