Silkworm Food Plant Production Technology
Mulberry Crop Production Technology
Nursery raising
- Season: June-July and November-December.
Land Preparation
- Select elevated, flat, well drained light textured, deep loamy or clay loamy soil.
- Give deep digging two times in both the directions.
- Give a fine tilt after 10-15 days of digging.
- Divide the total land into 8 feet wide stripes of convenient length.
- Provide drain of 1.5 feet width between the stripes.
- Apply FYM @ 20 MT/ha.
Preparation of cutting
- Use eight month old twigs as planting material.
- Prepare cutting of 15 cm (6 inches) length and 1-1.5 cm diameter with 4-5 active buds.
- Store the cutting in shade wrapping with a wet gunny bag.
- Frequently sprinkle water if transplantation is extended/postponed.
Planting Techniques
- Provide 10 cm spacing between rows and 10 cm between cuttings.
- Make holes with a stock in the soil to insert cuttings.
- Plant the cutting in erect position.
- Press the soil firmly around the cuttings.
- Provide mulching with dried mulberry twigs, thatch etc.
- Irrigate the nursery once in a week during dry period.
Maintenance of mulberry nursery
- Irrigate the nursery once in a week during dry period.
- Keep the nursery bed clean.
Disease and pest management in the mulberry nursery
- Spray 0.1% rogor against thrips, mite and tukra.
- Spray 0.1% bavistin against powdery mildew.
Uprooting
- After six to eight months; saplings become ready for uprooting/ transplanting.
- Irrigate the nursery beds prior to uprooting.
- Uproot the saplings with a spade or pick-axe.
- Sprinkle with water in case for shorter duration preservation.
- Pack the sapling in convenient size with wet gunny bag to avoid desiccation of roots if long distance transportation is required.
Plantation in the main field
Season: May- June.
Land preparation
- Prepare the land to a depth of 30 cm by ploughing and cross ploughing with powder tiller or tractor during pre monsoon showers.
- Level the land if necessary.
Preparation of pits
- Dig out pits of 35cm x 35cm x 35cm at spacing of 90cm x 90cm spacing.
- Apply 3 kg FYM per pit and incorporate in soil properly.
- Apply 5 kg Titafen per pit to check termite attack.
- Plant the cuttings/ saplings during May- June in the pit and press the soil firmly around the sapling.
- Mulch the base of the cutting/ sapling with dry leaves/ thatch/ weeds/mulberry twigs.
- Water the cutting/ sapling immediately after transplanting.
Crop management practices
- Give a light hoeing after one month of plantation to eliminate weed and for aeration.
- Give two more weeding and light digging at an interval of one month.
- Irrigate the saplings as and when necessary.
- Apply FYM @ 10 MT/ha/year.
- From 2nd year onwards apply NPK @ 150:75:75/ha/year in two splits after one month of pruning.
- Three leaf harvests can be taken from BC-259 in a year; during April- May, July-August and October-November.
- Prune the plants twice in a year during June & November at 30 cm above ground level.
Source
- Package of practices of Muga, Eri and Mulberry Sericulture for North Eastern region of India, 2005, Central Muga Eri Research & Training Institute, Lahdoigarh, Jorhat, Assam.
- Directory of Sericulture Technology 2008, Karnataka State Sericulture Research and Development Institute, Bangalore- 560 062.