Evaluation of various bed disinfectants on larval mortality and cocoon parameters of Samia Cynthia ricini Boisduval (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae)

Abstract

The effectiveness of various bed disinfectants to overcome silkworm diseases for crop stability and high cocoon harvest was tested which revealed that application of vijetha during chawki and late instars in bed and bunch rearing recorded low larval mortality (18.86%), higher cocoon weight (4.50 g/cocoon), shell weight (0.61 g/shell), shell ratio (13.89%) and rate of pupation (88.25%) when compared to control. The high larval mortality (84.20%), low cocoon weight (1.20 g/cocoon), shell weight (0.15 g/shell), shell ratio (7.50%) and rate of pupation (40.26%) was observed where the worms were not dusted with any disinfectants. However, among bed and bunch rearing, the later was advantageous for better cocoon characters. Among all the disinfectants used, vijetha was distinctly superior in its efficacy.