Cocoon Yield Pattern and Analysis of Water, Soil and Leaves from Mulberry Gardens Irrigated with Polluted Water Around Bangalore, India

Sericulturists in the vicinity of Bangalore city irrigate their mulberry gardens with Vrishabhavathy stream water, which is polluted with domestic and industrial wastes from the city. To investigate the effect of pollutants on silkworm crops, a detailed field survey was conducted to study the cocoon yield pattern of the crops raised on mulberry irrigated with wastewater as against irrigation by bore/open wells. The villages along the stream were grouped into five test batches at about a distance of $5{\sim}8$ km from each other. The seasonal yield data with relevant information were collected through questionnaires from 117 rearers using stream water and 35 rearers using bore/open wells, the latter serving as control group. The average yield for 100 layings was 46 to 57 kg in the control group whereas in test groups, it ranged between 34 to 51 kg in the first test group and 22 to 38 kg in the rest. The difference in yield was $9{\sim}19$ kg depending on the season between control and test batches. In summer, this difference was higher, with high co-efficient of variation in test groups ($33{\sim}52$%). Further, water, soil and leaf samples were collected from selected rearers and were analyzed for zinc, copper, iron, lead and nickel. Results indicated significantly higher contents of these metals in samples from gardens using wastewater when compared control samples. Significantly (p<0.05 & p<0.01)) higher levels of zinc ($24{\sim}122$ ppm) and iron ($208{\sim}683$ ppm) were noticed in mulberry leaves during summer followed by winter and rainy season. The significance of high content of heavy metals in mulberry leaves and cocoon yield pattern of this area in relation to the quality of irrigation water is discussed.