Abstract
Larvae of Bombyx mori were reared on various kinds of dietary protein (soybean, mushroom and mixture of them) using semi-artificial diet. Larvae fed on semi-artificial diet containing soybean all over the 5 th instar larvae gave the highest records on the larval duration, weights of larvae, silk gland, pupa, cocoon and cocoon shell, as well as number of deposited eggs. The same diet gave the lowest mortality percentages. The lower weights were calculated from larvae fed on mushroom diet. Insignificant differences were recorded on the pupal stage duration. Same trend of results were indicated for the larvae fed on the same materials till the 5 th day of the last instars then fed on natural diet.
Highlights
Mulberry is the primary host plant of silkworm Bombyx mori L. which is exploited on commercial scale for production of silk
Ito and Inokuchi, (1981) and Horie and Watanabe, (1983) found that larval growth was largely dependent on the dietary proteins
Horie and Watanabe (1983) found that the increase in the body weight of the silkworm larvae and fresh silk glands were largest in the larvae fed on soybean meal diet
Summary
Mulberry is the primary host plant of silkworm Bombyx mori L. which is exploited on commercial scale for production of silk. The effects of various kinds of dietary protein on growth of the silkworm Bombyx mori L. were determined using semi-synthetic diets. Akhtar and Asghar, (1972) used casein or its component amino acids mixture as a source of protein in the semi-synthetic diet for silkworm Bombyx mori larvae. Horie and Watanabe (1983) found that the increase in the body weight of the silkworm larvae and fresh silk glands were largest in the larvae fed on soybean meal diet. Moustafa et al (1997) studied the nutritional effect of tested level of mulberry leaf powder and dietary soybean in the semi-artificial diet. Moustafa et al (1997) studied the nutritional effect of tested level of mulberry leaf powder and dietary soybean in the semi-artificial diet. El-Sayed (1999) and El-Hattab (2002) studied the evaluation of various kinds of proteins in semiartificial diets of Bombyx mori larvae on some bio-physiological parameters
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