Vol. 11, Special Issue 8 (2022)

Author(s):
Arti Sharma, RS Bandral, Palvi Sharma, RK Gupta, Kamlesh Bali, Uma Shankar, Susheel Sharma and RK Pandey

Abstract:
Nutrition plays key role in improving growth, development, health, food consumption and conversion of silkworm (Bombyx mori L.). Feeding indices of silkworm is a crucial factor in converting the feed ingested to produce commercially important silk. In the present investigation, the silkworm bivoltine double hybrid FC₁ × FC₂ [(CSR₆ × CSR₂₆) × (CSR₂ × CSR₂₇)] was reared on fortified mulberry leaves with drone brood, protinex and their combinations. Protinex (10%) caused the highest positive significant effects on ingesta (45.17g), digesta (31.57g), approximate digestibility (69.89%), relative growth rate (0.041), reference ratio (3.321), consumption index (1.154), respiration (0.640), metabolic rate (0.060), Efficiency of conversion of ingesta (34.00%) and digesta (48.65%) to larva when compared to other treatments and control. This study has been indicated that the protinex (10%) exhibit the presence of more growth stimulant activity and can be used to increase the silk yield in commercial silkworm rearing.