Effect of dietary vitamin supplementations on nutritional efficiency parameters of Bombyx mori L.

Abstract

The effect of feeding supplemented mulberry leaves dipped in different concentrations of selected vitamin to all the larval instars of (PM x CSR2) Bombyx mori L. four times in a day to ensure the dietary nutritional efficiency was worked out by standard gravimetric procedure. The concentrations of b-complex (0.5%), niacin (1.0%), pyridoxine (0.1%), folic acid (0.5%), ascorbic acid (1.5%) and multivitamins (2.5%) proved considerably effective showing highest efficiency conversion of ingesta/digesta to larva, shell and also digesta to cocoon, whereas, efficiency conversion of ingesta to cocoon was recorded lowest. Ingesta/digesta required to produce 1 g (I/g) cocoon/shell was recorded the lowest and digesta required to produce 1 g (D/g) shell the highest in different concentrations of selected vitamin. These findings indicated that nutritional efficiency parameters were prominently superior in folic acid (0.5% ) and ascorbic acid (1.5%) followed by other concentrations of vitamins when compared with untreated natural diet, indicating their superiority over natural diet. This shows that significant improvement in silk production is possible by feeding the silkworms with leaves fortified with dietary vitamin.