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OAK TASAR SILKWORM REARING: ALEMKUMZUK Asstt. Sericulture Officer. 

The scientific name of the Oak Tasar silkworm is known as Antherea  prolyei. It is one of the four kinds of silkworm that reared by the rural people of India to produce silk fabric. This silkworm rearing is practise in temperate and sub tropical region only. The state of Manipur is popular for this culture. Our state also adopted this culture at Kohima and Phek districts. The department have three nos. of Oak Tasar farms at Kidema, Chesima and Kikruma along with seeds cocoons preservation center for the production of Dfl’s (silkworm eggs) assisted by the Central agencies stationed at Kikruma. This silkworm is wild type. They feed on the leaf of Oak tree (in local dialect is known as naga khat).

            To rear this silkworm, firstly a plot of land is required for the plantations of Oak trees (or even the silkworm can be reared in the wildly available oak trees in the forest). There after, the silkworm eggs can be procured through the department agencies. Then, the hatched silkworms is reared inside the room or in the selected trees covered by Nylon Net meant for rearing of young silkworms with utmost care, upto the III stage/instars and then the matured worms i.e. IV & V stage/ instars is allow to feed on matured leaves on the tree itself so that when they become ripe it will cocoon itself on the tree. After 4-5 days the cocoons on the tree is collected. The Farmers can sell the cocoons or they can produce  reeled silk yarn or produce gicha silk yarn through traditional method.

            The marketing channels fully assisted by the department to erase the problems of marketing face by the farmers and to encourage the rural peoples to take up the culture.

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