Mountages used in Sericulture for Quality Cocoon Production of Mulberry Silkworm, Bombyx mori L.

Abstract

Mulberry silkworm starts spinning of cocoons with the support of mounting material. Mountages should provide sufficient and uniform space for spinning to form cocoons. The fabrication and types of mountages depends on locally available and cheap materials in the respective places. If the material and structure of mountages are not proper, it will affect shape and size of cocoons besides increasing double, deformed and soiled cocoons thereby wastage of silk in the form of floss. Most common mountages used in India particularly in Southern parts and West Bengal are bamboo chandrika, screen type bamboo mountage, collapsible plastic mountage and bamboo strip mountages whereas North India or North West Indian states due to lack of adequate rearing space and rearing equipment farmers on maturity they do not pick the worms, but simply keep/ spread the locally available material like paddy/ wheat/ mustard straw or any type of plant material over the rearing bed so as to allow the worms to crawl over the mounting material for spinning of cocoons.