Role of Tasar Resham Dooth System in Accomplishing the Productivity, Quality and Self-Reliance in the Commercial Egg of Indian Tropical Tasar Silkworm, Antheraea mylitta Drury

The tropical tasarculture in India involve two and half lakh aboriginal families to produce vanya (tasar) silk by growing wild silk-insect as their cultural heritage and livelihood. However, the inadequacy in tasar commercial egg (on-time to match crop seasons) and quality, often results to uncertainty of silkworm rearing, hampering the crop economics and intensification of tasar industry. To overcome this situation, the sericulture department of Jharkhand state has introduced the tasar Resham Dooth System (RDS) to facilitate the tribal rearer groups in generating tasar seed cocoons and silkworm commercial egg on their own to practice tasarculture autonomously. The field study under Goilkera and Manoharpur areas of Jharkhand, India revealed that the implementation of RDS could accomplish the egg productivity as quantum of commercial egg produced, Dfl to Dfl and Dfl to cocoon ratios; quality as lesser disease, better hatching, cocoon and crop returns and higher crop success rate by the tribal tasar rearers. This resulted to self-reliance in tasar commercial egg and to carry-out silkworm rearings as per crop seasons, to augment the economics and expansion pace of tasar industry in the country.