• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.27-32
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• 2004

With an objective of evolving quantitatively and qualitatively superior bivolitine silkworm hybrid of Bombyxmori L. for tropics with shorter larval duration without compromising on productivity traits, a breeding programme was initiated at this institute during 1997 by utilizing breeding resource material from the institutes Germplasm collection. The breed SD7 is characterized with plain larvae spinning white oval cocoons and SD12 is characterized by sex-limited larval markings spinning white dumb-bell cocoons. After fixation, these breeds along with other newly evolved breeds were subjected for hybrid evaluation in the laboratory. Based on the hybrid studies, the hybrid SD7${\times}$SD12 was selected and evaluated for one year comprising three major sea- sons (6 trials) of tropics viz., Pre-monsoon (characterized by high temperature, low humidity and without any rain fall), Monsoon (characterized by moderate temperature, heavy rain fall with high humidity) and post-monsoon season (characterized by low temperature and low humidity with frequent rain fall) to know the fluctuations in the larval duration. The evaluation studies indicated that the hybrid is having shorter larval duration with productive merits. The hybrid SD7${\times}$SD12 recorded survival percent of 92.74, shell weight of 46.7 cg, shell ratio % of 24.0 and filament length of 1,200 meters with a shorter larval duration of 24 hrs; when compared to productive hybrid CSR2${\times}$CSR5(control). The breeding methodologies and hybrids usefulness for tropics were discussed.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.7-14
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• 2006

A breeding programme was initiated during 2001 to introduce sex-limited larval markings to a productive multivoltine breed - BL67 from an inbred sex-limited line, MY1 (SL) maintained at Central Sericultural Research and Training Institute, Mysore. Introgressive hybridization, recurrent backcrossing for six generations followed by sib-mating resulted in synthesis of a new multivoltine silkworm breed BL67 (SL) with sex-limited larval markings. The new breed was studied for combining ability by crossing with eight bivoltine breeds viz., $NB_4D_2,\;CSR_2,\;CSR_2 (SL),\;CSR_2,\;CSR_4,\;CSR_8,\;CSR_{18}\;and\;CSR_{19}$. General combining ability effects of the new breed showed its superiority over the popular Pure Mysore by expressing significant GCA effects for six out of twelve characters whereas the results are on par with the original multivoltine breed. The hybrid $BL67(SL){\times}CSR2(SL)$ excelled in several quantitative characters such as pupation rate (90.2%), cocoon weight (1.97 g), cocoon shell weight (40 cg), cocoon shell ratio (20.3%), filament length (918 m), denier (2.96), raw silk percentage (14.96%) and neatness (90 p). Studies on cocoon size variability revealed that the cocoons of $BL67(SL){\times}CSR2(SL)$ were found comparatively uniform showing less standard deviation of 6.55 and co-efficient of variation of 3.91 %. The suitability of newly developed breed for easy grain age operation and commercial exploitation with promising hybrid have been discussed.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.131-141
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• 2013

At the interface of reducing agricultural income and increasing unemployment in agrarian economy of rural India, this article summarizes and evaluates the state of mulberry sericulture in northwest India, which includes Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. In $11^{th}$ plan period (2007-2012), there was an addition of 6 196 ha (217.09 %) of mulberry acreage at annual linier growth rate of 33.44%. However, total silk production could increase only by 54.64 MT (78.57%) at annual linier growth rate of 15.59 %, due to 43.93% (10.82 kg/ha) reduction in silk productivity at negative growth rate of -13.46%, annually. And now, average raw silk productivity in north-western states of India remains at 13.81 kg/ha, which is lower by 452.93 % (76.36 kg) in comparison to the national average of 100.90 kg/ha. Paper summaries the reasons for increasing cocoon yield gap at farmer's level and discuss the ways and means to increase raw silk productivity to improve the livelihood delivery of mulberry sericulture in northwest India.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2008

The present study was carried out with the aim to evaluate the viability of layings (delivery of fertilized and unfertilized eggs) with egg laying duration of elite bivoltine races. The temporal aspect of mating in terms of egg layings duration may also have impact on the number of eggs laid, pattern of egg laying and their viability. After different interval of egg laying duration, moth of Bombyx mori are removed from oviposition site after they have completed egg laying. Present investigation confirmed that there are no significant difference in relation to the occurrence of viable (fertilized) and non viable (unfertilized) eggs and duration of oviposition. Percentage of unfertilized eggs varied from 2.41 to 3.42% in case of CSR-3, 2.59 to 3.62% in case of CSR-6, 2.82 to 3.66% in case of CSR-16 and 2.58 to 3.40% in case of CSR-17 in different treatments. The occurrence of unfertilized eggs are also not significant in the different treatments specially in those eggs which were laid 24 hours after oviposition and kept for 4 months hibernation schedule.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.31-39
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• 2015

Antheraea mylitta Drury (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) is a commercial silk producing forest insect of India, but it has never been experimented in Uttarakhand state in spite of the huge availability of its forestry host plants. This is the first study on A. mylitta in Uttarakhand. The goal of this study is to introduce forest based commercial rearing of A. mylitta, in tropical forest areas of Uttarakhand to reduce poverty among forest dependent people. In current study, we assessed the effect of seven forest tree species, rearing seasons, and their interactions on cocoon productivity of Daba (bivoltine) ecorace of A. mylitta in the New Forest of FRI, Dehra Dun during 2012 and 2013 and collected the data that was analysed by two-way completely randomized block factorial design. Post HOC Tukey's HSD test was carried out to compare the homogeneous pairs of means. We also carried out Evaluation Index analysis to rank the tested forestry host plants for better growth and development of A. mylitta under the climatic condition of Uttarakhand. Analysis of variance indicated that cocoon yield of A. mylitta differed significantly between rearing seasons (DF=1, F=88.24, p<0.05) and host plants (DF 6, F= 368.63, p<0.05); however, their interactions were found insignificant (DF=6, F=0.99, p>0.05). In first rearing season of July-August, there was higher cocoon yield than the second season of September-November. Results indicated that Terminalia alata fed larvae showed significantly higher cocoon yield (164.11 cocoons/300 larvae); followed by, T. tomentosa (148.89 cocoons), T. arjuna (140.00 cocoons) and Lagerstroemia speciosa (129.47 cocoons) fed larvae. Whereas, Lagerstroemia tomentosa fed larvae that was used by the first time in India, showed lowest cocoon yield (48.81 cocoons), followed by T. chebula (72.53 cocoons) fed larvae. Cocoon yield of T. tomentosa and T. arjuna fed larvae of A. mylitta did not differ significantly with each other.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.61-67
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• 2010

The bivoltine tropical tasar ecoraces of Antheraea mylitta Drury produces cocoons for seed production under seed crop rearing (July-August with $22{\sim}30^{\circ}C$ temperature and 50~70% relative humidity) and for silk production under commercial crop rearing (September-December with $17{\sim}27^{\circ}C$ temperature and 60~80% relative humidity). To consider the impact of hybrid vigour on egg, larva, cocoon and silk related commercial traits, the $F_1$ hybrids made among Daba, Jata and Raily ecoraces were assessed successively for three years. The hybrid vigour in the $F_1$ hybrid of Daba$\times$Jata ($T_7$) was positive for egg fertility (+23.1%), shell weight (+25.6%), silk yield (+79.0%) and filament length (+68.1%), with filament of high denier (11.98d) and reduced larval span (-7.1%). The Jata$\times$Daba ($T_8$) hybrid has shown negative heterosis in egg fertility (-8.0%) compared to the other F1 hybrids, Daba$\times$Raily ($T_9$) and Raily$\times$Daba ($T_{10}$), when they rise simultaneously during the commercial crop season. The better performance of parental ecoraces ($T_4$ to $T_6$) in their commercial traits during commercial crop over parents of seed crop ($T_1$ to $T_3$) and the superior performance of $F_1$ hybrids ($T_7$ to $T_{10}$) over parents of commercial crop ($T_4$ to $T_6$) during commercial crop season indicates the apparent hybrid vigour in tasar $F_1$ hybrids. As the Daba$\times$Jata ($T_7$) and Jata$\times$Daba ($T_8$) $F_1$ hybrids have shown highest hybrid vigour, their rearing during commercial crop can optimize the silk productivity and commercial sustenance of the tasar silk industry.