Host Plant Production

The Department of Host Plant Production, College of Sericulture came into existence since the commencement of the college i.e. 9 February 2014 with the mandate of undergraduate teaching on host plants of commercial silkworms of India i.e. mulberry, eri, muga, tropical tasar and temperate tasar along with experimental research in sericulture. There are 4 (four) compulsory courses under this department as per 5th Deans Committee recommendations which are presently offered by the Department of Sericulture, Faculty of Agriculture, AAU, Jorhat.

Mulberry silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) is monophagous in nature i.e. it solely feeds on the mulberry plant. The non-mulberry silkworms i.e. eri (Samia ricini Donovan), muga (Antheraea assamensis Helfer), tropical tasar (Antheraea mylitta Drury) and temperate tasar (Antheraea proylei Jolly) all are polyphagous in nature. Based on host plant preference the host plants can be classified as primary, secondary and tertiary. The host plant of silkworms plays a significant role as the nutrient content of different food plant influence the larval growth of silkworm, which ultimately influences the economic traits - such as yield, cocoon weight, shell weight, silk percentage of the cocoon and the quality and quantity of silk yarn. The basic objective of the courses under this department is to provide value-based education in the field of scientific host plant production practices.