SILK INDUSTRY

The Indian Silk industry has shown significant growth both domestically and internationally fuelled by new innovations in the field. The ability of the industry to grow is combined with huge innovation opportunities coupled with the skills of the craftsman.

The India silk industry is an integral part of the Indian Textile Industry and is among the oldest industries in India. The silk industry in India engages around 60 lakh workers and it involves small and marginal farmers.

India is the second largest producer of silk, taking care of about 18 percent of world production. But what is so remarkable is the fact that the requirement of raw silk in India is much higher than the current production. So there is considerable scope for increased production of raw silk in the country a way out of the conflict of interests between exporters and producers of silk raw silk.

Today the Indian silk industry is already a major player in the global scenario and growth prospects for the sector appear to be bullish. Measures such as promoting further economic and technological research activities in various aspects of sericulture, standardization and quality control of products from silk are needed. Rationalization of the marketing and stabilization of the prices of silk cocoons and raw silk could expand rapidly than ever.

COCOONS

The cocoon is made of a thread of raw silk from 300 to about 900 meters (1,000 to 3,000 feet) long. The fibers are very fine and lustrous, about 10 micrometers (1/2,500th of an inch) in diameter. About 2,000 to 3,000 cocoons are required to make a pound of silk (about 0.4 kg). At least 70 million pounds of raw silk are produced each year, requiring nearly 10 billion pounds of cocoons.
More than 90 percent of silkworm cocoon are cultivated to produced in white color. But now some special silkworm species are raised to produce cocoon in yellow, pink and blue colors, not dyed one

Demineralizing has the potential to be used in the silk sector enabling wet reeling of Wild Silk moth cocoons by removing the mineral layer present in these cocoons. This technique is not like degumming where the gum of the fibroin fibres is removed what would lead to a tangled cocoon.^[1] With "demineralizing" the gum and structure of the cocoon is kept intact enabling the cocoons to be wet reeled.^[2] This could allow a new silk industry in areas which have not the conditions or infrastructure for raising the domesticated silk worm Bombyx mori, possibly generating a revolutionary new income stream and alleviating poverty^[3]

SILKWORM LIFE-CYCLE

Silkworms are a species of insect (Bombyx Mori) that is domesticated, meaning they are dependent on humans for survival.Silkworms live happily in the breeding box you provide for them and do not attempt to escape, they lack fear of predators and are used to being handled by humans.The availability of Silkworm Chow makes this a project that can be undertaken at any time of the year.Silkworms grow and cocoon in around 6-8 weeks. In the hotter months of the year the larval (worm stage) can be as short as 21 days. Time from hatching to cocooning (the larval/worm stage) depends on ambient temperature and food availability.  If  worms are kept at a even and adequate temperature and have constant access to food they will grow fast.  Silkworms remain in their cocoons for approximately 10 days before emerging as moths.The Silkworm moths generally do not fly and will usually stay in the breeding box (Male moths may fly briefly or leave the breeding container in search of a female). The Silkworms moths live for approximately 3 days, but can survive up to two weeks.The empty cocoons when prepared correctly, make glossy white silk. This is excellent for Art/Textile projects where students discover the transformation from cocoon to silk. It is also fun to prepare!

SERICULTURE IN INDIA

1. India is the 2nd largest producers of silk after China.
2. It is the biggest consumer of raw silk & silk fabrics.
3. It trends in international silk production.The sericulture has better prospects for growth.
4. India has a distinct advantage of practicing sericulture all through year, yielding a stream of about 4-6 crops as result of its tropical climate.
5. India has encouraged states like Jharkhand, Orissa, Assam, Maharashtra, Andra pradesh.

SERICULTURE

Sericulture is the science of silk production.It deals with a series of events that include rearing of silk worms on mulberry plants, collection & processing of silkworm cocoons to extract raw silk fibers from them & production of commercial silk.There are several commercial species of silkworms but most common is 'Bombyx mori '

THE LEGEND :-According to well-established Chinese legends, Empress Hsi Ling Shi, wife of Emperor Huang Ti, was the first person to accidentally discover silk as weavable fiber.
One day, when Empress was sipping tea under a mulberry tree, a cocoon fell into her cup & began to unravel.The Empress became so enamored with the shimmering threads, she discovered their source, the Bombyx mori silkworm found in white mulberry.The Empress was said to be the first to develop sericulture.Nearly 3 millennia, the Chinese had a global monopoly on silk production.
PROCEDURE:-

• The female moth lays many tiny eggs.

• After some days a tiny black caterpillar hatches out of its egg.

• The caterpillar eats mulberry leaves & grows bigger & bigger. It grows faster in 25 days

• during cocoon phase, caterpillars produce a secretion of two glands located in their head & when this secretion comes in contact with air it solidifies into fine threads of silk.

• The caterpillar spins a cocoon of silk threads around itself approximately 1000 yards.

• The cocoons are not allowed to become adult moths during commercial silk production process.

• They are collected from the mulberry plant and are immersed into boiling water in order to facilitate the extraction of silk from cocoons.