Effect of different honey and protein sources on economic characters of silkworm Bombyx mori L.

Abstract

An experiment was undertaken to know the effect of different honey bee species (Apis cerana, A. florea, A. mellifera, A. dorsata and Trigona iridipennis) and protein sources (pollen, soya flour, red gram flour and horse gram flour) on the economic traits of silkworm Bombyx mori L. by using of different concentrations (1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5% and 6%). Among the different treatments, T. iridipennis honey at 5% showed better performance on the silkworm growth and its economic parameters viz., larval weight (3.44g), cocoon weight (1.59g), shell weight (0.372g) and shell ratio (23.46%) followed by soya flour and red gram flour. The supplementation of 5% soya flour showed highest silk filament length (1321.15m) which was found to be on par with T. iridipennis honey (1312.15m).