Silkworm egg production: CSB’s BSM PC-Chennur bags award

Bhagavanulu said that the centre was displaying outstanding performance consistently for quite a long time.

Mancherial: A basic seed multiplication and training centre belonging to Central Silk Board (CSB), in Chennur stood in the top in the country by registering production of 3.20 lakh tasar silkworm eggs in the last five years, bringing recognition to Telangana.

The CSB scientist-D MVK Bhagavanulu received an award for recording the highest production of the eggs at a programme held in Bangalore recently.

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Bhagavanulu said that the centre was displaying outstanding performance consistently for quite a long time.

The centre, one of 18 facilities created by the CSB at Yellakkapet village in Chennur in 1986, is supplying silkworm eggs to tasar cocoons farmers of not only Telangana, but Andhra Pradesh Maharashtra, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand states.

The scientist reasoned that the eggs manufactured at the centre were garnering huge demand from several parts for their outstanding quality.

He said that the farmers were able to register high profits by raising the tasar cocoons developed through the eggs procured from the centre. He stated efforts were being made to supply silkworm eggs to Uttar Pradesh, where tasar cocoons were damaged, soon.

Cocoons of Tasar, a variety of silk, contain many insects that are processed to produce exquisite silk thread used in manufacturing saris and other clothing.

They are cultivated on leaves of Terminalia Arjuna (Tellla Maddi) and Yeru Maddi trees spread in 2,100 hectares in Chennur area of Mancherial and 1,000 hectares of forests in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district.

The cocoons are traditionally grown by the tribals by camping in the forests as means of livelihood for many decades. The growers are able to earn somewhere between Rs 40,000 and 50,000 per annum by venturing into this unique occupation.