Dear Sir
Traditionally, bamboo equipment have been used in sericulture. Baskets for gathering mulberry leaves, trays for feeding leaving to larvae, mountages for production of cocoons, trays for cocoon storage, stifling baskets for steaming of cocoons and some woven mats are the main uses of bamboo in sericulture. There are other minor uses in production of silk. Average requirement of these items per ha of mulberry is summarized in the table below.
Naturally grown species of bamboo mostly used in South India consist of a) Medri – Dendrocalamus strictus which is common in the deciduous forest zone which is dominant in the state
b) Dowga – Bambusa bambos growing in moister zone of peninsular India and
c) Marihal or Shame – Pseudoxytenanthera stocksii which is common in farms and homesteads in Konkan region.
Two other species commercially available are
i) reed bamboo – Ochlandra travancorica in Kerala state and
ii) reed bamboo – Ochlandra talbotti available in the moist pockets in western ghats. These two species are also used in weaving, but have little application in sericulture industry.
Regards
Kirti
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