• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.197-202
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• 2003

The hot climatic conditions prevailing particularly in summer are not conducive to rear these high yielding bivoltine hybrids throughout the year, In order to select efficiently the breeds with high temperature tolerance, it is very important to analyze critically the impact of high temperature on many silk yielding attributes of silkworm races. Keeping the above in view, the present study was undertaken to determine the effect of high temperature $(36 {\pm} 1^{\circ}C)$ and high humidity $(80 {\pm} 5% Relative Humidity)$ on the rearing performance of pure races, foundation crosses, single hybrids and double hybrids of bivoltine silkworm, Bombyx mori L. The robust bivoltine breeds, CSR18, CSR19, 8HT and 5HT, eight foundation crosses, eight single hybrids and eight double hybrids involving these breeds were chosen as materials in this study.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.183-190
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• 2003

An attempt was made to identify superior bivoltine silkworm hybrid suitable for monsoon and spring season of Uttar Pradesh. Breeds with superior cocoon characters and their more popularity in an area were major parameters on basis of which breeds from different regions were selected. Six bivoltine hybrids of silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) of different geographical regions were reared in monsoon (three hybrids) and spring season (three hybrids) during 2000-2002 i.e., for three years at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow. Their performances were analyzed statistically for nine characters. The analysis made on a number of traits viz., hatching percentage, larval duration, pupation rate, yield /10000 larvae (by no.), yield /10000 larvae (by weight), cocoon weight, cocoon shell weight, cocoon shell ratio, showed the superiority of one bivoltine hybrid out of the three bivoltine hybrids studied in each season. $SH6{\times}{NB_4}{D_2}$ was found to be superior in major cocoon parameters in both the seasons i.e., monsoon and spring season of Uttar Pradesh.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.109-112
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• 2006

The use of commercial silkworm hybrids resistant to important silkworm diseases is economical and better option particularly in tropical areas. This necessitated the evolution of productive bivoltine silkworm breeds non-susceptible to $BmDNV_1$. Non-susceptibility to $BmDNV_1$, infection was found to be controlled by a single recessive gene, nsd-l or a dominant gene, Nid-l. A major dominant/recessive gene confers resistance to $BmDNV_1$, from potent donor parents have been transferred to 10 productive but susceptible bivoltine silkworm strains through conventional breeding methods. By utilizing these breeds prepared 25 hybrids $(5{\times}5)$ and hybrid evaluation was carried out to identify most promising hybrids resistant to $BmDNV_1$. All these hybrids are inoculated with $BmDNV_1$ inoculum along with productive control hybrid $CSR2{\times}CSR4$ and reared under standard rearing procedure. Based on inoculated rearing and test reeling results, two most promising hybrids $(CSR18DR{\times}CSR29DR\;and\;CSR21DR{\times}CSR50DR)$ were selected for commercial exploitation. The selected hybrids have shown a survival rate of >85% with productive traits, where as control hybrid have shown 11.1% survival with inferior cocoon traits. The methodologies adopted were discussed.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.115-126
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• 2015

The tropical climate prevailing in India adversely affects temperate bivoltine silkworm rearing and causes crop loss especially during summer. Identification of high temperature tolerant bivoltine breeds by screening for thermotolerance in the silkworm, Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) is an essential prerequisite for the development of thermotolerant bivoltine breeds / hybrids. Therefore, in this study, 20 silkworm breeds were reared at different temperatures (25 ± 1℃,32 ± 1℃, 34 ± 1℃ and 36 ± 1℃) for 6 h every day from 3^rd d of 5^th instar to till spinning. Significant differences (p < 0.01) were found among all the rearing traits over temperature. Based on pupation percentage, SK4C and BHR3 were identified as thermotolerant bivoltine breeds. Hierarchical clustering analysis based on rearing traits at tested temperatures grouped 20 silkworm breeds in four clusters which included one cluster each of susceptible and tolerant, and two clusters of moderately tolerant silkworm breeds. This suggests that clustering based on rearing data at high temperatures by using Euclidean distance can be an effective approach in classifying the silkworm breeds on their thermotolerance capacity. The identified breeds would be used for development of thermo tolerant bivoltine silkworm breeds / hybrids.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.129-132
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• 2001

Biometabolic assessment was made in early and late embryonic stage (just before hatching) of one poly, one bi and their hybrids (DP, YPe, DP ${\times} Ype, and YPe ${\times} DP respectively ) of Bombyx mori to observe the racial differences. Protein and nucleic acid (RNA and DNA) concentrations were recorded to be significantly higher in bivoltine breed (YPe) and also in the hybrid than the polyvoltine (DP) strain in both the stages of embryonic development. The single egg weight of polyvoltine race was lower as compared to that of bivoltine and the hybrid studied. Age specific changes in all the biomolecules were evident where protein and RNA concentrations were elevated sharply in prehatched larvae while in case of DNA it was observed to be just reverse. The differences in protein, RNA and DNA composition between breeds and hybrids reflect the racial variations in biometabolic demands responsible for differential growth and development of the breeds and hybrids.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.15-20
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• 2003

The present investigation was carried out to study the possible cause for reciprocal difference in silkworm hybrids. By utilising the polyvoltine race Pure Mysore (PM) and newly evolved breeds (CSR2, CSR5, CSR16 and CSR17), the direct and reciprocal crosses of polyvoltine ${\times}$ bivoltine and also bivoltine hybrids were studied. The hybrids of polyvoltine ${\times}$ bivoltine (direct) are superior to their reciprocal crosses in respect of cocoon yield, cocoon weight and filament length. The reciprocal crosses of polyvoltine ${\times}$ bivoltine are superior to their direct crosses in respect of fecundity and short larval duration. No significant differences were observed in the characters like cocoon shell ratio, raw silk percentage, denier, reelability and neatness in both polyvoltine ${\times}$ bivoltine direct crosses and their reciprocals. The expression of cocoon characters as a function of sex revealed that direct crosses (polyvoltine ${\times}$ bivoltine) showed higher cocoon weight, pupal weight, shell weight and longer filament length in females than the reciprocal crosses (bivoltine ${\times}$ polyvoltine), where as these characters in males were almost the same in both direct and reciprocal crosses, indicating that the sex-linked genetic factor played a more important role. it was clear that difference in cocoon yield observed in reciprocal crosses of polyvoltine ${\times}$ bivoltine was due to the low cocoon and shell weight in females which was turn due to presence of early maturity genes (Lme) linked with sex-chromosome (X) which effect on larvae period of the silkworm. In bivoltine hybrids, i.e., both direct and their reciprocals crosses, all the characters viz., hatching percentage, larval duration, survival, cocoon weight, cocoon shell weight, cocoon shell ratio, raw silk percentage, filament length, denier, reelability and neatness did not show any significant difference (except number of eggs laid by moth) which could account for presence of same maturity genes (Lm) in both direct and reciprocal crosses. it was clear that reciprocal differences occur when the hybrids are prepared from the parental strains with different voltinism.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.59-65
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• 2002

Parthenogenetic development, hybrid vigour and cocoon shape variability were studied in bivoltine F1 hybrids of the silkworm, Bombyx mori L. Considerable breed differences were observed in parthenogenetic ability. Among the parental breeds, CSR18 exhibited maximum parthenogenetic development (79.65%) followed by CSR4 (67.90%). Among bivoltine F1 hybrids, CSR18 ${\times}$ CSR4 showed highest parthenogenetic development (73.32%) followed by CSR2 ${\times}$ CSR4 (55.43%). Study on hybrid vigour demonstrated that CSR18 ${\times}$ CSR19 expressed maximum significant hybrid vigour for all the seven economic characters over Mid Parent Value (MPV) followed by CSR2 ${\times}$ CSR4 and CSR18 ${\times}$ CSR4 exhibiting significant heterosis for six characters. Cocoon shape measurement study revealed that among ten bivoltine F1 hybrids, cocoons of three hybrids were found comparatively uniform. Importance of this study to know the level of paythenogenetic development, hybrid vigour and cocoon shape variability in different bivoltine F1 hybrids have been discussed.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2007

Three newly authorized bivoltine silkworm hybrids namely, $CSR2{\times}CSR4$ (productive single hybrid), $(CSR6{\times}CSR26){\times}(CSR2{\times}CSR27)$ (productive double hybrid) and $CSR18{\times}CSR19$ (robust single hybrid) were chosen for the present study. These hybrids were subjected to different temperature and humidity treatments i.e., $25{\pm}$1^{\circ}C and RH $65{\pm}5%$ (control), $30{\pm}1^{\circ}C$, with combinations of low relative humidity (RH $65{\pm}5%$) and high RH ($85{\pm}5%$) at different stages during rearing and spinning of silkworm larvae. The larvae of after 3rd moult were subjected to different thermal and humidity stress till the assessment of cocoon traits. The comparative rearing and reeling performance clearly indicated that the deleterious effect of high temperature and high RH was more pronounced for the majority of traits such as cocoon uniformity, cocoon weight, shell weight, shell percentage, reelability, filament length, raw silk percentage raw silk recovery denier and waste percentage on silk weight than other temperature and RH treatments and this effect was almost similar for all three silkworm hybrids studied. The present investigation clearly indicate that the deleterious effect of high temperature and high RH was more pronounced on rearing and spinning of silkworm larvae than other temperature and RH treatments and similar effect was noticed for all the three silkworm hybrids studied. The cocoon characters can be improved by providing ideal environmental conditions even during spinning stage of larvae affected with high temperature and RH. The study also suggest that high temperature and low humidity has greater effect during rearing stage than spinning stage.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.97-104
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• 1998

Mainly due to limited genetic resources available and also urgent need for hybrids suitable to local conditions, conventional theories and regular methods for bivoltine silkworm breeding are not easily applicable in such a tropical country as Sri Lanka which is recently planning to scale-up the silk industry. A simplified but practical methodology was introduced to overcome such constraints. Through application of such modified informal breeding methods, two hybrids named DP0308 and DP0314 were selected for cocoon production. Details of the altered method of germplasm improvement in the silkworm are presented, along with combining ability and heritability estimates for six parental pure lines in a half-diallel cross.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.79-85
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• 2010

Eight bivoltine inbred lines of silkworm Bombyx mori L. viz., AP8, AP10, AP17 and AP18 with marked female and plain male larvae and AP1, AP54, AP71 and AP72 with all plain larvae synthesized from Chinese commercial hybrids were evaluated for their general combining ability (gca), specific combining ability (sca) and reciprocal effects for eight quantitative traits. The line AP18 was found to be best general combiner by virtue of significant positive and positive gca effects for seven out of eight traits studied followed by the lines AP10, AP8 and AP17. Seven hybrids recorded significant positive and positive sca effects for all the traits under study reflecting the interaction of alleles, additive and non additive gene action and dominant effects expressed by genes. Among the 28 reciprocal hybrids, AP54$\times$AP18 and AP1$\times$AP17 revealed significant reciprocal effects for the six traits followed by AP54$\times$AP8 for five and AP10$\times$AP71 for four traits.