What is sericulture

Introduction Do you know; what is sericulture? The Sericulture has a long and colorful history unknown to most people. For more than two thousand years the Chinese kept the secret of silk altogether to themselves. It was the most zealously guarded secret in history. What is Sericulture? Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. The caterpillars of the domestic silkmoth (also called ‘Bombyx Mori) are the most commonly used silkworm species in sericulture. Other types of silkworms (such as Eri, Muga, and Tasar) are also cultivated for the production of ‘wild silks’. Sericulture starts by raising silkworms and then processing the fibers they produce. Silk fibers are combined into silk thread. The thread can then be twisted into silk yarn or woven into silk cloth (fabric). What are the Challenges Faced in Sericulture? Silk farmers practicing sericulture are met with several challenges that could potentially destroy their harvest. They are also prone to many health hazards. Silkworms are vulnerable to several diseases such as pebrine and flacherie. Also, several pests threaten the healthy growth of silkworm larvae. Some important challenges faced in sericulture are listed below. • The pebrine disease can infect the eggs, resulting in their death before the hatching of the larvae. Any larvae affected by this disease develop dark spots and become lethargic. • Viral infections in the larvae may result in the shrinkage of their bodies. They may ...

Recent Examples on the Web Once their cocoon is complete, the sericulture process traditionally includes killing the silkworm by boiling or steaming it alive. — Ryan Egglestone, Discover Magazine, 12 Jan. 2021 The process of harvesting these cocoons for silk is called sericulture, and has existed for thousands of years. — Ryan Egglestone, Discover Magazine, 12 Jan. 2021 Although ahimsa silk production includes many of the traditional sericulture practices, harvesting doesn’t involve killing the worms. — Ryan Egglestone, Discover Magazine, 12 Jan. 2021 These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sericulture.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.

Silk is known as one of the most luxurious fabrics on the planet. It also has the distinction of being the only fabric that is grown by raising insects to do the dirty work. Sericulture is the combination of the farming of silkworms and the production of silk. It is a time-honored tradition, first started in China approximately 5,000 years ago. Still, as industrious and unique as this process might be, it is hardly cruelty-free. But does that also mean that Sericulture is the production of raw silk by means of raising domesticated silkworm caterpillars. According to Britannica, sericulture involves two processes: The first is raising the silkworm from an egg to the larval stage, up until the completion of its tiny silk cocoon. They are typically fed mulberry leaves, which is why silk is often called mulberry silk. Once the pupal stage begins, however, all bets are off. The caterpillar in the cocoon is never allowed to complete their metamorphosis into a silk moth; instead, the completed cocoon is steamed via hot air, killing the worm so that the silken fabric can be extricated and woven into fabric. The boiled worm, meanwhile, is unceremoniously discarded. Because of the mass amounts of resources and cruelty involved in making silk, sericulture is not a very eco-friendly process. It might be able to trace its roots back to an agrarian Chinese society, but the silk farmers of today are not the same as they were 5,000 years ago. According to Ecocult, silk farms use an astoni...

In the Bayo Foundation’s effort to move towards a farm-to-fiber model, we’ve discovered many fascinating worlds of local, natural and sustainable production – one of which is sericulture. Sericulture is the process of farming silkworms. Learning about it is uncovering the magic that happens when nature, farmers, scientists, government workers, and business people join hands. Our story with sericulture starts in Barangay Cuba in Benguet, up in the mountains of Luzon. The Sericulture Process Sericulture starts with the cultivation of Mulberry trees, the leaves of which are the silkworm’s food. Our partner community of male farmers grow the trees to be the best quality they can be. This is important because silkworms are infamously particular with what they eat (they prefer leaves to be fresh and dry), and because it can reflect on the silk’s quality once it is harvested. Our partner community of female farmers then tend to and feed the silkworms. After twenty-one days, they spit out silk cocoons which are turned into fiber and thread. Silk Quality The type of silk made in Benguet is known to be of excellent quality. It has been identified as one of the top kinds of silk because it’s produced in cool temperatures, which is a very favorable condition for sericulture. The Bayo Foundation also partners with the Philippine Textile Institute (PTRI) who helps validate the quality of the cocoons Sustainability One of the main objectives of the Bayo Foundation is to fully transition ...

Sericulture Sericulture is a very important domestic industry in many countries. India and China are the world’s leading producers of silk. The silk output of these two countries combined accounts for over 60% of global production. Table of Content • • • • • • What is Sericulture? Sericulture is the process of cultivating silkworms and extracting silk from them. The caterpillars of the domestic silkmoth (also called ‘Bombyx Mori’) are the most commonly used silkworm species in sericulture. Other types of silkworms (such as Eri, Muga, and Tasar) are also cultivated for the production of ‘wild silks’. An image detailing the different types of silkworms is provided below. What is Silk Made up of? Silk is a fibre made up two different The presence of pigments (such as xanthophyll) in the sericin layer of the fibre imparts colour to the silk. Each type of silk has a distinct colour, as tabulated below. Type of Silk Colour Mulberry Silk Yellow/Green Eri Silk Creamy-White/Brick-Red Tasar Silk Copper-Brown Muga Silk Golden What is the Process Followed in Sericulture? For the production of mulberry • Moriculture – the cultivation of mulberry leaves. • Silkworm rearing – promoting the growth of the silkworm. • Silk reeling – the extraction of silk filaments from the silkworm cocoons. Finally, the silk filaments are woven together to form a thread. These threads are often plied together to form a yarn. Moriculture Moriculture refers to the cultivation of mulberry plants, w...

• العربية • Asturianu • Azərbaycanca • বাংলা • Български • Català • Čeština • Deutsch • Español • Esperanto • Euskara • فارسی • Français • 한국어 • Հայերեն • हिन्दी • Bahasa Indonesia • Italiano • ქართული • Қазақша • Latina • മലയാളം • नेपाली • 日本語 • Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча • پنجابی • Polski • Português • Română • Русский • Simple English • Slovenčina • Српски / srpski • Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски • Suomi • தமிழ் • Татарча / tatarça • ไทย • Türkçe • Türkmençe • Українська • اردو • Tiếng Việt • 粵語 • 中文 The silk is woven using a loom. Production [ ] The silkworms are fed with Single filaments are combined to form Sustainable Silk [ ] Peace silk [ ] The most popular substitute for traditional silk is peace silk, also known as ahimsa silk. The primary factor that makes this form of silk more ethical is that moths are permitted to emerge from their cocoons and fly away before they are properly boiled. It denotes that no moth is ever cooked alive during manufacture. However, there is a big disadvantage to be aware of. Domesticated silkworms used to make silk have undergone thousands of years of selective breeding, yet they are not "manufactured" to emerge from their cocoons. They are unable to defend themselves against predators since they cannot fly or see clearly. They typically die very rapidly after emerging from their cocoons as a result. Wild silk [ ] The cocoons of Tussar silkworms, which are found in open woodlands, are used to produce wild silk, also known as Tussar silk. ...