Sericulture - wikipedia Sericulture Court Ladies Preparing Newly Woven Silk by Emperor Huizong of Song silkworm and cocoon Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, Bombyx mori ( the caterpillar of the domesticated silk moth ) is the most widely used and intensively studied silkworm. Silk was believed to have first been produced in China as early as the Neolithic period. Sericulture has become an important cottage industry in countries such as Brazil, China, France, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, and Russia. Today, China and India are the two main producers, with more than 60 % of the world 's annual production. Contents 1 History 2 Production 2.1 Stages of production 3 See also 4 References 5 External links History According to Confucian text, the discovery of silk production dates to about 2700 BC, although archaeological records point to silk cultivation as early as the Yangshao period ( 5000 -- 3000 BC ). In 1977, a piece of ceramic created 5400 -- 5500 years ago and designed to look like a silkworm was discovered in Nancun, Hebei, providing the earliest known evidence of sericulture. Also, by careful analysis of archaeological silk fibre found on Indus Civilization sites dating back to 2450 -- 2000 BC, it is believed that silk was being used over a wide region of South Asia. By about the first half of the 1st century AD it had reached ancient Khotan, by a series of interactions along the Silk Road. By 140 AD the practice had been established in India. In the 6th century the smuggling of silkworm eggs into the Byzantine Empire led to its establishment in the Mediterranean, remaining a monopoly in the Byzantine Empire for centuries ( Byzantine silk ). In 1147, during the Second Crusade, Roger II of Sicily ( 1095 -- 1154 ) attacked Corinth and Thebes, two important centres of Byzantine silk production, capturing the weavers and their equipment and establishing his own silkworks in Palermo and Calabria, eventually spreading the industry to Western Europe. Chinese sericulture process The silkworms and mulberry leaves are placed on trays. Twig frames for the silkworms are prepared. The cocoons are weighed. The cocoons are soaked and the silk is wound on spools. The silk is woven using a loom. Production Silkworm larvae are fed with mulberry leaves, and, after the fourth moult, they climb a twig placed near them and spin their silken cocoons. The silk is a continuous filament comprising fibroin protein, secreted from two salivary glands in the head of each larva, and a gum called sericin, which cements the filaments. The sericin is removed by placing the cocoons in hot water, which frees the silk filaments and readies them for reeling. This is known as the degumming process. The immersion in hot water also kills the silkworm pupa. Single filaments are combined to form thread, which is drawn under tension through several guides and wound onto reels. The threads may be plied to form yarn. After drying, the raw silk is packed according to quality. Stages of production The stages of production are as follows : The silk moth lays 300 to 500 eggs. The silk moth eggs hatch to form larvae or caterpillars, known as silkworms. The larvae feed on mulberry leaves. Having grown and moulted several times, the silkworm extrudes a silk fibre and forms a net to hold itself. It swings itself from side to side in a figure ' 8 ' distributing the saliva that will form silk. The silk solidifies when it contacts the air. The silkworm spins approximately one mile of filament and completely encloses itself in a cocoon in about two or three days. The amount of usable quality silk in each cocoon is small. As a result, about 2500 silkworms are required to produce a pound of raw silk. The intact cocoons are boiled, killing the silkworm pupa. The silk is obtained by brushing the undamaged cocoon to find the outside end of the filament. The silk filaments sec then wound on a reel. One cocoon contains approximately 1,000 yards of silk filament. The silk at this stage is known as raw silk. One thread comprises up to 48 individual silk filaments. Mahatma Gandhi was critical of silk production based on the Ahimsa philosophy `` not to hurt any living thing ''. He also promoted `` Ahimsa silk '', made without boiling the pupa to procure the silk and wild silk made from the cocoons of wild and semi-wild silk moths. The Human League also criticised sericulture in their early single `` Being Boiled ''. In the early 21st century the organisation PETA has campaigned against silk. third stage of silkworm silkworms on to Modern Rotary mountage silk cocoon in mountages Play media silk pavilion constructed with silkworms See also Good agricultural practices Magnanery Silk industry in Azerbaijan Silk industry in China References Jump up ^ Barber, E.J.W. ( 1992 ). Prehistoric textiles : the development of cloth in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages with special reference to the Aegean ( reprint, illustrated ed. ). Princeton University Press. p. 31. ISBN 978 - 0 - 691 - 00224 - 8. Retrieved 6 November 2010. Jump up ^ http://sjzntv.cn/news/ms/2015/10/2015-10-29240509.html 1977 年 在 石家庄 长安 区 南 村镇 南 杨 庄 出土 的 5400 - 5500 年 前 的 陶 质 蚕蛹, 是 仿照 家 蚕蛹 烧 制 的 陶器, 这 是 目前 发现 的 人类 饲养 家蚕 的 最 古老 的 文物 证据. Jump up ^ GOOD, I.L., et al. `` New Evidence for Early Silk in the Indus Civilization. '' Archaeometry, vol. 51, no. 3, June 2009, pp. 457 - 466. EBSCOhost, doi : 10.1111 / j. 1475 - 4754.2008. 00454. x. Jump up ^ Vainker, Shelagh ( 2004 ). Chinese Silk : A Cultural History. Rutgers University Press. p. 20. ISBN 0813534461. Jump up ^ Hill, John E. 2003. `` Annotated Translation of the Chapter on the Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu. '' 2nd Draft Edition. Appendix A. Jump up ^ `` History of Sericulture '' ( PDF ). Governmentof Andhra Pradesh ( India ) - Department of Sericulture. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2010. Jump up ^ Muthesius, `` Silk in the Medieval World '', p. 331. Jump up ^ Bezzina, Neville. `` Silk Production Process ''. Sense of Nature Research. Archived from the original on 29 June 2012. Jump up ^ `` Silk Making : How to Make Silk ''. TexereSilk.com. Retrieved 25 May 2014. Jump up ^ `` Mahatma Gandhi : 100 years '', 1968, p. 349 Jump up ^ Silk Moths Fly Free Kusuma Rajaiah 's Ahimsa project. Jump up ^ Silk saree without killing a single silkworm Another article about Rajaiah and his methods. Jump up ^ `` Down and Silk : Birds and Insects Exploited for Fabric ''. PETA. Retrieved 6 January 2007. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sericulture. Smithsonian sericulture history Silk Production Process Silk worm Life cycle photos Raising silkworms in your classroom, including photos Silk General History of silk Magnanery Sericulture Silk Road Silk waste Types Ahimsa silk Assam silk Atlas silk Byzantine silk Chinese silk Eri silk Japanese silk Lao silk Mysore silk Rajshahi silk Sea silk Thai silk Tussar silk Wild silk Industries Silk in the Indian subcontinent Silk industry in China Silk industry of Cheshire Products Saree Tenun Pahang Diraja Human interactions with insects Aspects of insects in culture In the arts Insects in art Beetlewing John Hampson Insects in film Insects in literature Insects in music List of insect - inspired songs Insects on stamps In fishing Fishing bait Fly fishing Artificial fly Fly tying Maggot Mayfly Mealworm In medicine Apitherapy Apitoxin Melittin Maggot Spanish fly Cantharidin In mythology Bee Butterfly Cicada Dragonfly Praying mantis Scarab Entomophagy ( as food ) Adults Ant Cicada Cricket Grasshopper Termite Larvae Bamboo worm Mealworm Mopani worm Palm weevil Rhinoceros beetle Silkworm Waxworm Witchetty grub Other aspects Biomimicry Cockroach racing Cricket fighting Entomological warfare Flea circus Insects in religion Jingzhe Economic entomology Beneficial insects Pest control Encarsia formosa Ladybird Parasitoid wasp Pollination Bees crops pollinated Bumblebee Honey bee western Beetles Flies Lepidoptera Products Beekeeping Bee pollen Beeswax Honey Propolis Royal jelly Other insects Carmine / Cochineal Polish Chitin Kermes Sericulture Silk Lac / Shellac Model organism Drosophila melanogaster Harmful insects Crop pests Aphid Boll weevil Colorado potato beetle Cottony cushion scale Japanese beetle Locust Phylloxera Western corn rootworm Livestock pests Botfly Horn fly Horse - fly Screwworm fly Tsetse fly Warble fly Biting / stinging Insect bites and stings Insect sting allergy Bed bug Bee sting Flea Horse - fly Louse Mosquito Wasp Wood - eating Deathwatch beetle Furniture beetle House longhorn beetle Termite Woodworm Other pests Home - stored product entomology Clothes moth Cockroach Housefly Pioneers Jan Swammerdam Alfred Russel Wallace Jean - Henri Fabre Hans Zinsser ( Rats, Lice and History ) Lafcadio Hearn ( Insect Literature ) Related Biology in fiction Human uses of living things Arthropods Birds Fish Fungi Mammals Microbes Molluscs Reptiles Plants Zoomusicology Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sericulture&oldid=865309332 '' Categories : Sericulture Agriculture in Asia Agriculture in China Agriculture in India Agriculture in Europe Chinese inventions History of agriculture Insects in culture Silk Silk production Silk Road Hidden categories : All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from January 2016 Use dmy dates from August 2013 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu Azərbaycanca বাংলা Български Català Čeština Deutsch Español Esperanto فارسی Français 한국어 हिन्दी Italiano ქართული Қазақша Latina नेपाली 日本 語 Polski Português Русский Simple English Slovenčina Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски தமிழ் Татарча / tatarça ไทย Türkçe Türkmençe Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 25 more Edit links This page was last edited on 23 October 2018, at 02 : 51 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what is the management and breeding of silkworms for the production of silk
Answer: Sericulture