Effect of Botanical Treatment to Bm Npv Polyhedral Bodies on Cocoon Parameters of Silkworm

The study on the “Effect of medicinal plant extract treatment on BmNPV polyhedra was undertaken in the Department of Sericulture UAS, GKVK, Bangalore-65. The treated polyhedral bodies with aqueous extracts of different medicinal plants viz., Adathoda vasica, Bougainvillea spectabilis, Phyllanthus niruri, Terminalia arjuna and Pongamia glabra administered to silkworm through mulberry leaves once during fourth and fifth instar larvae of PMxCSR2 revealed positive response on cocoon weight, shell weight, shell percentage and silk productivity. However P. niruri recorded higher cocoon, shell weights (1.59 and 1.65; 0.264 and 0.284) compare to control. The higher shell percentage of 16.51 and 17.20 %; were observed in P. niruri administered lots (10) and lowest of 14.45 and 15.95 %; was recorded for P. glabra (0 h). The shell percentage and silk productivity of PMxCSR2 administered with different hours of botanical treatment to BmNPV resulted significant change. However, maximum shell percentage and silk productivity of 17.36and 17.69 per cent; 3.08 and 3.27 cg/day and minimum of 14.99 and 16.03 per cent; 2.27and 2.78 cg/day were encountered for P. niruri and P. glabra at 7 h treated lots of fourth and fifth instar respectively followed by, B. spectabilis, T. arjuna, and A. vasica.