INFLUENCE OF MICRONUTRIENTS FORTIFIED MULBERRY LEAVES ON LARVAL GROWTH AND COCOON PARAMETERS OF MULBERRY SILKWORM, Bombyx mori L

The present study was conducted to know the effect of micronutrients on the growth and cocoon characters of silkworm, Bombyx mori L. The mulberry leaves (Morus alba) were fortified with minerals such as, zinc sulphate, copper sulphate and ferrous sulphate at different concentrations (5,10,15,20 and 25 ppm) and fed to the silkworm. Among these five concentrations tested , it was observed that the zinc sulphate at 15 ppm, copper sulphate at 10 ppm and ferrous sulphate at 20 ppm registered higher mature larval weight, effective rate of rearing, cocoon weight, shell weight, shell ratio and filament length than the control and other treatments.