With the Baihetan Hydropower Station in Ningnan County, Sichuan Province storing water and generating electricity, some mulberry orchards have been submerged, labor shortages, increased labor costs, and lack of industrial stamina have become obstacles restricting the high-quality development of the sericulture industry in Ningnan. In order to realize the mechanization, scale and labor-saving transformation and upgrading of the sericulture industry, Ningnan County actively carries out artificial feed sericulture experiments and explores new paths for the sericulture industry.
In order to explore the feasibility and technical solutions of artificial feed breeding of silkworms, the Ningnan County Sericulture Department has conducted experiments in three areas including Songxin, Zhushou and Ningyuan. The experiment of “artificial feed breeding of small silkworms (1-2 instar silkworms) + leaf breeding of large silkworms” was carried out. There are three main silkworm varieties: 781×7532, Mingshan×Bishui, and Youshi No. 1. The test results showed that the cocoon yields of artificial feed breeding and mulberry leaf breeding were basically the same, and the experiment was initially successful.
According to technical personnel, raising silkworms with artificial feed mainly has the following advantages: First, it can reduce the cost of joint breeding of small silkworms. Since the artificial feed is raised in a sterile breeding environment and high-standard silkworm breeding facilities are provided, the silkworms only need to be fed once per instar during the co-breeding period, which can greatly reduce the cost of co-breeding. Second, it can enhance the physical fitness of silkworms and reduce the occurrence of silkworm diseases. Small silkworms are raised under sterile conditions, and there is no need to disinfect the silkworm body and silkworm seats every day. This saves labor and can effectively reduce the chance of contact between pathogens and silkworms, significantly reducing the occurrence of silkworm diseases. Third, it can increase the output value of mulberry leaves. After using artificial feed for breeding, feed is used in the 1st to 2nd instars, and the amount of mulberry used for full-age planting is significantly reduced, which can effectively improve the utilization rate of mulberry leaf output value. The fourth is an effective way to realize mechanization and factoryization of the sericulture industry. Compared with traditional sericulture, artificial feed breeding is a key technology for the development of mechanization and factory-based sericulture. The quality of the silk it produces is no less than that of traditional mulberry leaf sericulture, and can reach 6A.
However, there are still problems in raising silkworms with artificial feed. First, there is currently a lack of standards for feed production and a lack of artificial feed adaptive silkworm varieties suitable for different silkworm areas, resulting in unstable silkworm breeding effects. Second, the technical level of farmers who turn silkworms into mulberry leaf rearing from the third age is not high, resulting in a large gap in silkworm development, and there are many batches of large silkworms, which increases labor input.
Sericulture with artificial feed is an innovation in the technological revolution of sericulture. As the largest county in sericulture in Sichuan Province, Ningnan County will continue to move forward bravely. .
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