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AP silk producers emulate Chinese model for rearing cocoons

Learning lessons from the Chinese! It’s not about dumping but adding value to the existing product and bringing newer varieties especially in those areas where the Chinese are leaders. The novel idea is adopted by sericulture department of Andhra Pradesh as China is a leading producer of bivoltine silk in the world.

To lead the revolution in quality silk production in the country, Andhra Pradesh farmers are gearing up to learn the pattern of cocoon production from Chinese. The teaching concepts are unique in nature even when there are rumours about dumping of silk by Chinese companies despite anti-dumping duties levied on these products. Following the footsteps of Chinese, the sericulture department is now working towards ‘soil to silk’ and ‘silk to fabric’ projects in Andhra Pradesh, the industry sources said. In a move to evolve beneficial races in silk, which are fit for exports, the sericulture department had invited two Chinese farmers this year to Andhra Pradesh State Sericulture Research and Development Institute (APSSRDI), located near Hindupur in Anantapur district. The institute is an autonomous body on a governing council chaired by the principal secretary, department of agriculture, government of Andhra Pradesh. The institute focuses on evolution of high yielding mulberry varieties and improved cultivation practices apart from development of superior silk worm races.

The net result from the Chinese training has led to the development of three new strains of better quality and four more varieties are in the pipeline, the officials said. The varieties are as per international standards and in great demand. However, the officials refused to say the value of these new races. Besides Chinese visiting India, 4 scientists from the Institute have in turn, visited China to understand the cropping patterns of mulberry trees, cocoon production and disease-free egg laying (DFLs). From the institute’s developments, two bivoltine varieties - Kalpataru, and Hemavathy and mix of multi and bivoltine varieties Swarnandhra have shown excellent results in field trials producing international grade silk.

Meanwhile, according to the indicators of the department, a major thrust has been initiated to improve the production of DFLs and the acreage compared to other indicators. The institute’s main aim is to develop superior silkworm races and better rearing technology apart from establishment of linkages of research and extension.