Mulberry Plantations Research Articles

Evaluating the Effects of Capacity Building and Training (CBT) on Sericulture Practices of Farmers in Rajouri District of Jammu and Kashmir, India

This study examines the effects of capacity building and training (CBT) on sericulture farmers in Rajouri district, Jammu and Kashmir UT. The research focuses on socio-economic and communication characteristics of sericulture farmers and evaluates the impact of CBT on their farming practices. A total of 25 sericulture farmers from sub-district Nowshera in Rajouri district were selected using simple random sampling. Data on registered farmers were obtained from the Department of Sericulture, Government of Jammu and Kashmir. Paired t-tests was employed to analyze the impact of CBT after implementation. The findings reveal significant improvements in various aspects of sericulture after CBT intervention. There was a notable increase in average seed intake, cocoon production, total family income, and income from sericulture. Furthermore, the mortality rate of silkworms decreased significantly after CBT training. The area under mulberry plantation and the number of mulberry plants also witnessed substantial increases post-training. Additionally, the application of disinfectant and the number of government schemes availed showed significant improvements. Overall, the study highlights the importance of CBT in enhancing the technical capabilities of sericulture farmers and improving their farming practices. The results underscore the significance of providing training in modern technology, integrated pest management, and disease management to enhance production outcomes in Sericulture.

Environmental Importance of Mulberry: A Review

Mulberry is a woody, deciduous tree that is economically important. It is regarded as a distinctive plant on the planet due to its widespread geological distribution across continents, ability to be cultivated in various forms, multiple uses of leaf foliage and positive impact in environmental safety approaches such as ecorestoration of degraded lands, bioremediation of polluted sites, water conservation, soil erosion prevention, and enhancement of air quality through carbon sequestration. Mulberry has a robust root system. Mulberry root systems can significantly improve soil shear strength and anti-erosive capacity. Mulberry plantations are extremely effective in suppressing sand storms and conserving water and soil. The review investigates the role of mulberry trees in carbon sequestration, ecorestoration, soil and water conservation, bioremediation of heavy metals and afforestation.

Establishment of seasonal high-quality silk cocoon cultivation based on special nutrient-rich mulberry plantations in areas with high groundwater levels in Uzbekistan

Establishment of seasonal high-quality silk cocoon cultivation based on special nutrient-rich mulberry plantations in areas with high groundwater levels in Uzbekistan

Effectiveness of special feeding mulberry plantations in optimal schemes depending on soil fertility and climatic conditions

Effectiveness of special feeding mulberry plantations in optimal schemes depending on soil fertility and climatic conditions

Influence of application of microbial consortium on established mulberry plantation under temperate climatic conditions

Influence of application of microbial consortium on established mulberry plantation under temperate climatic conditions

On-Farm Tree Mulberry Geometry: Biochemical, Growth and Yield Analysis in the Traditional Areas of Sericulture

Navigation from bush to tree mulberry plantation has been in force in recent years to conquer water scarcity and high-temperature impact in traditional areas. Despite no scientific recommendation, Seri-farmers are practicing varied geometry as per their knowledge and expediency wherein a systematic analysis of the growth, leaf quality, and yield parameters is lacking. Thus, tree mulberry gardens in traditional districts - Kolar and Chikkaballapura were selected to analyze the impact of varied geometry on biochemical, growth, and yield parameters of mulberry variety V1. Surprisingly, diverse geometry of 5'x5', 6'x6', 7'x5', 8'x4', 8'x8', 9'x5', 10'x5', 10'x10', and 12'x12' is in practice in the tree mulberry plantations of the study area. The foliage of tree mulberry raised under 12'x12' geometry possesses the highest total crude protein (30.81mg/100g), nitrogen (4.93%), phosphorus (0.39%), and potassium (1.66%) contents. Among growth yield parameters, 12'x12' geometry recorded the highest number of shoots per tree - 62, the number of leaves - 881, maximum shoot height - 157 cm, fresh weight of leaves - 4.18 g. However, leaf yield was recorded lowest (3.876 kg) in 12'x12' mulberry plantation over all the geometry where the number of trees accommodated per unit area was less. Further, the highest leaf moisture measuring 75.80% was recorded from 8'x4' mulberry plantation geometry. The data stated that the number of tree mulberry recorded was 3625 per hectare of plantation under 8'x4' geometry, giving rise to the highest leaf yield of 49209 kg per hectare per year with a gross return of Rs.761000. Computing all these data, we infer that rather than following capricious geometry for establishing tree mulberry plantation, we suggest following a scientific basis of geometry wherein mulberry crop quality and yield are steadfast to harvest cocoons qualitatively and quantitatively good.

Evaluation of mulberry varieties by initial phenological phases as a tool to increase the productivity of silkworm feeders

Relevance. The mulberry gene pool of the RS of Sericulture — branch «The North Caucasus FARC», is located in areas with various mechanical composition of soils. Monitoring and screening of the mulberry gene pool is a priority in the work of the station to preserve the general collection, select varieties for feeding mulberry silkworms in order to improve the feeding base of sericulture.Methods. The research was carried out on mulberry plantations of the Sericulture Station. The object of research: two fodder varieties — Georgia and PS-109, which have a high productivity potential for silkworm rearing. The evaluation of varieties was carried out according to the phenological phases of development, the yield of mulberry leaves and the yield of silk products, statistical data processing — according to the method of O.V. Yanzer, E.Yu. Terentyeva, forage testing on the Caucasus-1 breed — according to the method of A.A. Klimova.Results. A comparative description of the initial vegetation phases of Gruziya and PS-109 varieties growing in areas that differ in the mechanical composition of soils is presented. Different dynamics of leaf development has been established in the same variety from different areas. It is mathematically proved that the uneven development of the mulberry leaf blade from different sites reduces the yield of the leaf of the required quality by 19.6%, silk productivity — by 28.4%. Preliminary assessment of varieties based on the dynamics of the initial phases of mulberry development makes it possible to assess the volume and quality of the sheet in the pre-feeding period and ensure high productivity of mulberry silkworm feeds.

History and development prospects of silk farming in Uzbekistan

Mulberry silkworm seeds were smuggled to Central Asia by a Chinese princess married to Khotan Khan in the middle of the 4th century. By the 7th century, Khotan, Kusham and other Northern Silk Industry was the main labor activity of the population in the provinces of Turkestan. In the 7th century, as a result of the introduction of the technology of cocooning and gazlam weaving by Marv merchants for commercial purposes from Persia, it became more widespread in the territory of Central Asia. Uzbekistan is a country with a long history among the world's developed silk industry. Mulberry silkworm seeds entered Central Asia through the Khotan province in the middle of the 4th century, and have become one of the main occupations of the population until now. This article analyzes the history of sericulture in Uzbekistan, stages of development, and achievements in the field of research and production. It is planned to increase the total area of mulberry plantations in Uzbekistan from 48,720 hectares in 2019 to 77,422 hectares by 2021, and the number of individual mulberry rows to 79 million 515 thousand bushes. It is also planned to increase the number of boxes of silkworms from 350,000 boxes to 500,000 boxes, from 19,607 tons to 30,000 tons.

Effect of benomyl-mediated mycorrhizal association on the salinity tolerance of male and monoecious mulberry clones

Mulberry is an economically important crop for sericulture in China. Mulberry plantations are shifting inland, where they face high salinity. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) reportedly enhance mulberry's tolerance to salinity. Here, we assessed if additional adaptive advantages against salinity are provided by sex differences beyond those provided by mycorrhizal symbiosis. In a pot experiment, male and monoecious plants were exposed to three salinity regimes (0, 50, and 200 mM NaCl) and two mycorrhiza-suppressed conditions (with or without benomyl application) for more than 16 months. We noticed that salinity alone significantly decreased the mycorrhizal colonization rate, salinity tolerance, K+ concentrations, and the ionic ratios of all plants. Mycorrhizal association mildly ameliorated the salt-induced detrimental effects, especially for monoecious plants, and sex-specific responses were observed. Meanwhile, both sexes had adopted different strategies to enhance their salinity resistance. Briefly, mycorrhizal monoecious plants exhibited a higher net photosynthetic rate and lower translocation of Na+ from root to shoot compared with mycorrhizal males under saline conditions. Their salt tolerance was probably due to the Ca2+/Na+ in roots. In comparison, male plants exhibited lower Na+ acquisition, more Na+ translocated from root to shoot, higher root biomass allocation, and higher N concentrations under harsh saline conditions, and their salt tolerance was mainly related to the K+/Na+ in their shoots. In conclusion, our results highlight that AMF could be a promising candidate for improving plant performance under highest salinity, especially for monoecious plants. Cultivators must be mindful of applying fungicides, such as benomyl, in saline areas.

Spatial Differentiation of the Coupling Characteristics of Soil Carbon and Nitrogen on Mulberry Plantations in China

Soil is the most important carbon pool of the mulberry plantation ecosystem, so understanding the characteristics of the soil carbon pool in mulberry plantations provides an important basis for the research of carbon sinks in economic forest ecosystems and farmland ecosystems. In order to explore the spatial differentiation pattern of the relationship between carbon and nitrogen in mulberry plantation soil, this study analyzed the organic carbon content and total nitrogen content of the surface soil layer (0–20 cm) and the subsurface soil layer (20–40 cm) of 475 mulberry plantations in five major regions of China, Southwest China (SWC), Central South China (CSC), East China (EC), North China (NC), and Northwest China (NWC). The research showed seven key aspects of this system. (1) The soil organic carbon of mulberry plantations was significantly different at the two soil depths. The average content of organic carbon in the surface layer of mulberry plantation soil was 10.71±7.01g kg–1, which was 37.13% higher than that of the subsurface layer. (2) The soil organic carbon of mulberry plantations had significant differences in spatial differentiation, which was manifested as SWC>CSC>EC>NC>NWC. (3) The total nitrogen content in mulberry plantation soil had significant responses to the region, the soil layer depth, and the interaction between the region and soil layer depth. Among the regions, NWC had no significant difference between the surface layer and subsurface layer of the soil. EC had the maximum difference in total nitrogen content, with the total nitrogen content in the surface soil layer being 56.68% higher than that of the subsurface soil layer. The total nitrogen contents of the surface soil layers in the SWC and NC were 34.27% and 20.79% higher than those of the respective subsurface soil layers. (4) The mulberry plantation soil C/N ratios had a significant response to regional differences, as NWC>SWC> EC>CSC>NC, but this ratio had no significant response to soil depth. (5) Soil pH had significant spatial differentiation in relation to soil organic carbon and total nitrogen content in mulberry plantations. NWC had no significant correlation between pH and organic carbon or total nitrogen content, while CSC had a significant positive correlation between pH and both soil organic carbon and total nitrogen content. Other regions showed significant negative correlations between pH and both organic carbon and total nitrogen content. (6) There was a significant negative correlation between the C/N ratio of the surface soil layer and pH in mulberry plantations, which was mainly contributed by SWC, while the other regions' surface soil layers had no significant correlations between C/N ratio and pH. (7) There was no significant correlation between the C/N ratio and pH in the subsurface soil layer in mulberry plantations. These results reveal that in either the research on mulberry plantation carbon pools or the innovation of green and low-carbon planting technology in mulberry plantations, the spatial differentiation characteristics of soil must be considered. Furthermore, the spatial differentiation of soil organic carbon can be used as the basic foundation for the planning and design of mulberry afforestation or ecological restoration projects.

Prevalence, molecular characterization, and variety reactions of Neoscytalidium novaehollandiae on mulberries in Turkey

Turkey is one of noteworthy countries for both fruit genetic resources and amount of fruit production in the world. Mulberry is cultivated throughout Turkey, most commonly in Central, Northeast and Southeast Anatolia. Mulberry has a great market potential thanks to its fresh consumption and usage of processed food products. In June 2019, a disease was observed causing deaths in shoots and branches on mulberry trees in Malatya province of Turkey. The causative agent of the disease was identified as Neoscytalidium novaehollandiae according to morphological characteristics and sequencing of TEF 1-α gene (Accession no. MT362602 and MT362603), ITS (Accession no. MT195554 and MT195555) and LSU (Accession no. MT195552 and MT195553). Based on the concatenated sequences of the ITS, TEF 1-α, and LSU, a phylogenetic tree was built using Bayesian analysis. Reactions of nine mulberry cultivars against the disease (‘Ulukale’, ‘Ayaş’, ‘Ichinose’, ‘Poser’, ‘Kenmochi’, ‘Arapgir’, ‘Sarı aşı’, ‘Horum’ and ‘Istanbul’) inoculated with Malatya isolate of N. novaehollandiae were evaluated under growth chamber conditions. All-mulberry cultivars artificially inoculated with N. novaehollandiae isolate exhibited severe necrosis symptoms on woody tissues of tested plants. It was confirmed that N. novaehollandiae is a fungal pathogen associated with dieback and canker on mulberry trees in Turkey for the first time. New mulberry plantations could be endangered by this emerging new disease.

Characteristics of Tone River mulberry gardens in the Sawa District after the opening of railways

In this paper, the authors examine the characteristics of Tone River mulberry fields in the Sawa District after the introduction of rail transport during the Meiji and Taisho eras. Railways were opened in this area during the Meiji era, facilitating transportation of products and cultivation materials such as fertilizers to wider areas. Moreover, demand for cocoons, raw silk, and Isesaki Meisen-style silk fabrics had increased overseas as well as in Japan. This drove the popularity of sericulture in Japan, and many farmers bought "mulberry leaves" to make up for mulberry leaf shortages and "mulberry seedlings" to expand mulberry gardens. Mulberry plantations for the sale of mulberry leaves, mulberry plantations for the sale of mulberry seedlings, and mulberry plantations for rent began to crop-up among sericulture farmers in greater numbers than during the period before the opening of the railways. As a result, landscapes of mixed mulberry fields and paddy fields using different farming styles spread in areas where the risk of flooding was low and sericulture and silkworm egg farmers also owned paddy fields. In contrast, only flood-resistant mulberry gardens spread in the areas adjacent to the Tone River, where the possibility of flooding was high, resulting in a different type of mulberry landscape.

Weed Management in Mulberry (Morus alba): A Review

Mulberry leaf is a sole food of silkworm Bombyx mori on which it feeds and produces silk called mulberry or mori silk. Due to its quality, mori silk has huge demand in national and international market and earns a valuable foreign exchange for the country. Weeds are of great menace as they interfere with production and quality of mulberry leaf and also add significant amount to the cost of cultivation. The factors which are congenial for heavy weed growth in mulberry are continuous mono-cropping, wider spacing coupled with regular application of manures and fertilizers after each crop harvest for maintenance of plantation. The reduction in production and quality of leaf has direct correlation with production of cocoons and quality silk. If losses due to weeds can be reduced by half from present level of 30-40%, leaf yield of mulberry will increase by 9-12 MT ha-1 year-1 which can be utilized to produce 55-73.5 kg ha-1 year-1 more raw silk to enhance the silk production of country. The effective weed control involves identification of weed flora, method of weed control and judicious combination of effective weed control methods. Depending upon soil type, agro climatic and ecological conditions, the nature and intensity of weed flora, their competitiveness varies. A total of 57-141 weed species belongs to 28-44 families have been reported in mulberry field across the country. Manual weeding in mulberry is an age old practice in India, but it is a tedious, expensive and time consuming. Black polyethylene mulching alone has been found economically advantageous over manual weeding in mulberry plantation. However no single method viz., manual weeding, cover crop intercropping, herbicide and mulching found effective in weed control as compared to integrated method of weed control. Spraying of pre-emergence and early post emergence herbicides keeps the mulberry plantation in weed free conditions during the early stages. At later stage, when second flush of weeds attains peak after 30 days of pruning, spraying of herbicide is not possible due to chance of residual toxicity to the silkworm. Integration of pre herbicide followed by manual weeding at later stage or integration of hand weeding after pruning followed by either cover crop intercropping or mulching may helps to reduce damage due to weed, prevent silkworm from residual toxicity of herbicide and reduces manual weeding cost to some extent. Hence a brief review was presented to find out the influence of different weed management method in mulberry.

Distribution, diversity and roles of insects in mulberry plantation | JBES 2022

Distribution, diversity and roles of insects in mulberry plantation | JBES 2022

Monitoring of mulberry (Morus L.) plantations to identify samples that combine high productivity and decorativeness

Aim. The purpose of the research was to identify unique mulberry specimens in the existing plantations, adapted to the climatic conditions of the growth zone, with a different combination of economic characteristics. The collection of the dendrological park "Ustimivskyi", protective strips within the land use of the Ustymivska Experimental Station of Plant Production of Plant Production Institute nd. a. V. Ya. Yuriev of NAAS, private estates of residents of the villages of Ustymivka and Novobudova of the Globynska UTC of the Poltava region. Results and Discussion. Among the mulberry plants growing in the collection of the Arboretum, one can single out sample УП33 as the sweetest of the examined samples. УП21 has large fruits 2-3 cm long, pale pink, when fully ripe - purple; whole leaf, large, 20-25 cm long, dark green. On the territory of the introduction-quarantine nursery of the station, the sample КР1 grows, which has only male inflorescences and a leaf blade 15-18 cm long and is recommended as a decorative one. In the village Newly, the HC1 sample deserves attention - a tree with dark purple sub-fruits 2.5-3 cm long, the fruits are pleasant to the taste, the leaf is small, leathery. Sample HC2 has white subfruits up to 2 cm long, when fully ripe they are faintly sweet, but without a pronounced specific taste, the leaves are small, smooth on both sides. In 1952-1954, between the fields of the experimental station, for feeding silkworms, a forest strip was planted, where you can distinguish the ЛЯ4 sample with dark purple fruits up to 2 cm long with a neutral, but pleasant taste. In sample ЛЯ5, individual fruitlets in the subfruit are large, red-purple, which remain shiny when overripe. Among the samples growing in the homesteads of the residents of the villages of Ustymivka and Novobudoka, a number of samples can be singled out (УВ7, УВ14, УВ24, УН2, УБ1, НХ1), which combine high taste qualities and the size of the leaf plates. Conclusions. Along with basic varieties and species, seedlings with an interesting combination of economic and valuable traits are growing on the surveyed territories, which deserve further study and use in selection programs and greening of settlements.

Enhancing Mulberry (Morus alba, Linn.) Canopy Regrowth using Gibberelic Acid (GA3) and height Pruning Techniques

ABSTRACT
 Effects of pruning and growth regulator application on plant regrowth are significant to mulberry plant production. The utilization of different levels of gibberellic acid concentration(GA3) and height pruning technique investigated in mulberry 'Batac' variety in a mulberry plantation located in Ilocos Sur to determine its effects on plant regrowth in terms of the number of days to budding, number, and length of shoots, leaf senescence, biomass herbage, leaf growth ratio, and net assimilation rate, There were two height pruning strategies implemented like 0.50m and 0.75m and four different GA3 concentration like 0 ppm, 100 ppm, 200 ppm, and 300 ppm laid out in factorial randomized complete block design with three replications. The investigation revealed that mulberry plants applied with 300 ppm gibberellic acid yielded effective extensive leaf area in contrast to other treatments, including the treatments with no GA3 application. The application of GA3 on the mulberry plant after pruning either 0.50m or 0.75m advances plant growth in leaf augmentation and leaf deterioration. 300 ppm GA3 concentration produced the highest biomass herbage and yielded the highest mulberry foliage but enhanced leaf senescence tantamount to its speedy decline. There is no significant interaction between pruning heights and the different concentrations of GA3 applied to the mulberry plants. The highest profit was established by the highest concentration of GA3 with the highest net farm income, benefit-cost ratio, and rate of return per ¼ hectare mulberry farm.
 
 Keywords: height pruning, regrowth, assimilation rate, leaf deterioration, leaf growth ratio. Mulberry

The Search for the Kayendo: Recovering the Lowcountry Rice Toolkit

Abstract On a wintery day in 1916, African American workers on the Mulberry Plantation outside Charleston, South Carolina, used a peculiar, hand-carved wooden shovel with a paddle-like blade to clear ditches around rice fields. This article explores the origins and proliferation of that shovel, from the fulcrum shovel of West African rice farmers, to the long-handled scoops that enslaved rice workers used in the Lowcountry in the 1840s and 1850s, to the artifacts kept in museums in South Carolina today. While many questions about the evolution of the wooden shovel remain to be answered, this exploratory essay uses a wide array of sources to examine the transmission of a vital piece of material culture from the subsistence farms of West Africa to the massive rice labor camps of the South Carolina Lowcountry. As the article demonstrates in this journey through the archives, the historiography, museums, and even the old rice fields of Mulberry, the shovel fills a gap: from ditching to sowing, harvesting, and processing, historians now have evidence of West African origins of every stage of rice’s life cycle in the Lowcountry.

Balanced Fertilization for Improved Nutrient use Efficiency and Mulberry Productivity

Aim: To study the effects of balanced fertilization in improving leaf yield, quality and nutrient use efficiency in mulberry.
 Study Design: Experiment was conducted in randomized block design (RBD) consisting of 7 treatments in 3 replications.
 Place and Duration of Study: The present study was conducted at Central Sericultural Research and Training Institute, Berhampore ((Latitude 24º05ʹN & Longitude 88º15ʹE; 18 m > MSL), West Bengal, India in two seasons during 2018 (July-August; September-October).
 Methodology: Existing S-1635 mulberry plantation (10year-old; 60 cm × 60 cm spacing; net plot area: 32 m2) was utilized. Experiments were conducted in two seasons (July-August, 2018; September-October, 2018) in randomized block design (RBD) consisting of 7 treatments in 3 replications. The treatments in this study included, T1: 100% N-P2O5-K2O+S+Zn with Urea-SSP-10:26:26 + Bentonite Sulphur (8 kg ha-1) + Zinc Sulphate (1 kg ha-1) as BF; T2: 75% BF; T3: 100% N-P2O5-K2O alone (Urea-SSP-10:26:26); T4: 75% N-P2O5-K2O alone (Urea-SSP-10:26:26); T5: 100% N-P2O5-K2O alone (Urea-DAP-MOP); T6: 100% N-P2O5-K2O alone (Urea-SSP-MOP) as farmers′ practice (FP); T7: Nutrients omission plot (Control). The recommended fertilizer dose (100%) for irrigated mulberry production in the Eastern region is N-P2O5-K2O=67-36-22 kg ha-1 crop-1. All the fertilizers were applied in two equal splits on 15th and 30th day after pruning.
 Results: This study reveals the importance of balanced fertilization of mulberry with N, P, K, S and Zn for sustainable productivity, which is reflected by the maximum values for leaf yield attributes, chlorophyll content and leaf yield. Further, mulberry leaf quality (in terms of total soluble protein and total soluble sugar) significantly improved with balanced fertilization. Higher PFP and AUE were also recorded with fertilization with compound/complex fertilizers than with straight fertilizers; but the balanced fertilization exhibited remarkable enhancement.
 Conclusion: The results prove that balanced fertilization of N-P2O5-K2O @ 67-36-22 kg ha-1 (Urea-SSP-10:26:26) with Bentonite sulphur (8 kg ha-1) and zinc sulphate (1 kg ha-1) were effective in improving mulberry productivity through enhanced nutrient use efficiency. This could be useful for realizing maximum productivity in mulberry as an efficient nutrient management strategy in mulberry cultivation.

Nutrient management strategies for sustainable mulberry plantations

Nutrient management strategies for sustainable mulberry plantations

고려의 촌락, 민(民)의 주거지과 주거생활

Villages inhabited by people during the Goryeo Dynasty were located in the field of four conditions. They include land, water, firewood supply, and mulberry plantation. Among them, the most important consideration is farmland and water. Some of the remains of villages during the Goryeo Dynasty were located in alluvial areas along the river, where is believed to be the result of land and water acting as an important factor in the village’s location. Of course, there were villages in the hills. In this case, it would have been relatively easy to collect firewood, but the farmland was relatively small and it was difficult to secure water. During the Goryeo Dynasty, peasants lived in hollow dwellings(竪穴住居址). The average size is about 2 to 5pyeong(坪), and the shape is square and circular, but most of them are square. Considering the size of the residential area, it is confirmed that there was a superiority between villages during the Goryeo Dynasty, and that there was an economic superiority among the peasants in the village. During the Goryeo Dynasty, peasants mainly consumed grain, millet, and barley rather than rice. It was difficult for the peasants to eat meat, and protein was gained for peasants mainly through fish in rivers and seafood from the sea. The food, the peasants ate with grain, was vegetables. The widely grown and consumed vegetables were cucumbers, eggplants, and turnips. Peasantss were likely to boil or steamed in a pot, and cooked food was likely served on a plate and bowl. But there are not many receptacles like the plates and bowls in the excavated dwellings. I guess that the peasants hardly have any receptacles and they should have eaten the food without one. Peasants in the Goryeo lived the poorer life than we have thought.