CATDOLL : CATDOLL: What are the main techniques of silkworm breeding?

1. What are the main techniques of sericulture?

During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, my country's sericulture production had developed greatly. The ancient Chinese silkworm breeding technology mainly included several important technical links: bathing seeds, warming seeds, collecting ants, feeding mulberry leaves, dividing foil, and cocooning.

Before silkworm eggs were hatched, the ancients would bathe them. Initially, silkworm eggs were simply placed in the river to wash in order to remove dirt from the egg surface. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, silkworm farmers in the Jiahu area switched to using a dilute salt solution, or lime water, or mulberry branch ash, or straw ash to bathe the eggs. Bathing with these solutions had a slight disinfecting effect on the egg surface. In ancient times, there was also a kind of sky bathing, which was to choose the coldest month of winter, take silkworm eggs, place them in a cage, and hang them on a mulberry tree, leaving them to frost, dew, rain, snow, and freezing. Through the sky bathing, the sick and weak eggs were eliminated at low temperatures.

Warming the seeds is to promote the hatching of silkworm eggs. In the Yangtze River Basin and the areas to the north, the following two methods are commonly used to warm the seeds: one is artificial heating indoors; the other is to use the sun's light and heat to warm the seeds. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, silkworm farmers in Jiangsu and Zhejiang mostly used human body heat to warm the seeds. Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages.

After being warmed up, the silkworm eggs hatch into ants. In order to collect ants, the ancients first thought of using brooms made of wormwood to sweep the ants, but later found that "sweeping with wormwood would hurt the silkworms", so they switched to using hair brooms, but there was still the problem of hurting the silkworms, so the ancients thought of the "mulberry harvesting method" of attracting them with mulberry leaves. In the Yuan Dynasty, farmers in northern China mostly used the method of turning and beating peach sticks, that is, turning over the silkworm seed paper, and gently beating the back of the paper with a peach stick, so that the ants and silkworms were shocked and fell off the silkworm seed paper. This method of collecting ants is now called the knocking method.

After collecting the ants, the silkworms need to be fed. Feeding silkworms is the key to raising silkworms. During the life of silkworms, when should they be fed more mulberry? When can they be fed less? How much mulberry should be given each time? There are particular requirements. The ancients discovered that the appetite of silkworms is related to the changes in their body color. The time and amount of mulberry can be determined according to the changes in the color of the silkworms. For example, the period when the color of the silkworms changes from yellow is the stage when the silkworms are soft after waking up, their digestive organs are weak, and their appetite is not strong. Therefore, during this period, they should be "fed carefully". This method of feeding mulberry meets the physiological requirements of the silkworms. The ancients also judged the sleeping and eating of silkworms based on the changes in the color of the silkworms' heads.

As the silkworms grow, they need to be desilted and separated to benefit their health. Desilting and separation are often carried out together. The main methods of desilting in ancient times include: manual desilting, netting and chaff removal. In ancient times, farmers in the north would separate the silkworms raised on a silkworm sheet into 2 sheets after the first sleep of the silkworms, 3 sheets during the second instar feeding period, 6 sheets after the third instar feeding period, 12 sheets after the third instar feeding period, 25 sheets after the third instar feeding period, and 30 sheets after the fourth instar feeding period.

After three or four sleeps, silkworms will eventually mature. Silkworms in the same silkworm bed often sleep and wake up at different times, so it is difficult for all of them to mature at the same time. For silkworms that mature at different times, it is best to put the silkworms that mature first on the cocoon first, and the silkworms that mature later on the cocoon. For silkworms that cannot mature at the same time, the method recorded in the "Guang Can Sang Shuo" of the Qing Dynasty is: when a small number of mature silkworms are found in the silkworm bed, a thin layer of mulberry leaves is spread on it. The immature silkworms will eat the leaves as usual, while the mature silkworms will not eat the leaves, but will climb onto the leaves and raise their heads as if asking for something. At this time, they can be picked out and sent to the cocoon. Later, the number of mature silkworms gradually increases. When there are too many to pick, willow branches are placed on the mulberry leaf layer. When the mature silkworms climb onto the willow branches, they are taken out and sent to the cocoon. This method is called "silkworm induction method".

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, in the Jiahu area, the main sericulture area, when mature silkworms were spinning cocoons on the cocoons, charcoal fire was used to heat the cocoons to make "cocoons faster and silk reeling easier". The silk was dry when it came out of the mouth of the silkworm, which was called "dry at the exit". The quality of this kind of silk was also good and was well received by people at that time.

2. Sericulture and disease prevention technology

1. The basic principle of silkworm disease prevention and control is prevention first, combined with fire prevention.

2. Choose the correct method of use according to the disinfectant: Silkworm houses, utensils, environment, etc. should be soaked or sprayed with clarified bleach containing 1% effective chlorine for disinfection, and kept moist for more than half an hour.

3. Pay attention to disinfection work at all stages of silkworm rearing.

1. Clean and disinfect before raising silkworms. Clean, dry and disinfect the silkworm room, silkworm tools and environment about a week before raising silkworms.

2. Disinfection at each age: Regularly disinfect the silkworm room, its interior and exterior and the environment with drugs; use "3.7" bran (3 parts lime mixed with 7 parts charred bran) to disinfect the eye silkworms at each age; use silkworm body and silkworm seat disinfectant to disinfect the silkworm bodies when starting silkworms (use bleaching powder containing 2% effective chlorine to prevent silkworm stiffness for silkworms starting from 1-3 ages, and use bleaching powder containing 3% effective chlorine to prevent silkworm stiffness for silkworms starting from 4-5 ages); put sick, weak silkworms and silkworms that do not make cocoons into disinfection tanks in time, and bury them in pits dug in batches; remove silkworm feces diligently during the adult silkworm period, and spread lime and other drying materials to keep the silkworm seats dry; do not throw or place silkworm feces at random at all ages, but dig pits and bury them in batches for high-temperature fermentation.

3. Disinfection immediately after silkworms are harvested: After the cocoon harvesting is completed each season, the silkworm rooms and silkworm tools should be disinfected, washed, dried and collected.

3. What are the methods and secrets of raising silkworms?

Choose healthy silkworms with high silk production, keep the room temperature at around 25℃ and the air humidity at around 60%. There should be no irritating odor in the silkworm room and attention should be paid to ventilation. Feed mainly fresh, waterless mulberry leaves, which can be increased or decreased according to the age of the silkworms. From the third age onwards, the sand should be removed once a day, and the silkworms should be placed on the cocoon at the right time. When the silkworms are old, they should be selected in batches and placed sparsely.

Young silkworms develop quickly, sleep quickly, and have a short sleep period, so it is better to put down the sleep net earlier; the fourth-instar silkworms have a long sleep period, so it is better to put down the net later. It is better to put them down earlier in hot and humid weather and later in low and dry weather. It is better to put them down earlier in the morning and later in the afternoon.

When a small number of (2-3) sleeping silkworms are seen on the silkworm nest, sprinkle chaff ash or fresh lime powder (to make the silkworms climb up quickly), add a sleeping net, and give mulberry leaves (ripe but slightly tender). When all the silkworms have climbed up, the process can be continued. If the sleeping net is added at night, mulberry leaves should be given once the next morning before the dormancy removal.

Report the number of silkworms

New mulberry-planting households can report the number of silkworms when the mulberry trees are about 0.7 meters high. Old households can report the number of silkworms when the first batch of silkworms in spring and autumn is about 0.5 meters high. Other batches report the number of batches when the silkworms are received. One silkworm needs 450 to 500 kilograms of mulberry leaves, and it takes about 25 days from reporting the number of silkworms to receiving the silkworms.

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The silkworm room should have a flat and clean floor, with convection windows in front and back, preferably ground-level windows. The doors and windows should be equipped with screens to prevent flies, and the ground-level windows should be equipped with wire mesh to prevent mice. Both greenhouses and cement rooms are acceptable (cement rooms are best in cold weather, and greenhouses are best in hot weather). Raising one silkworm requires about 30 square meters of silkworm rearing area and a 10 square meter dedicated mulberry leaf room.