Vol. 8, Issue 8, Part K (2024)

The enrichment of mulberry leaves with supplementary compounds is an essential strategy for enhancing cocoon production in sericulture. This study examined the effects of fortifying low- and high-quality mulberry leaves with 5% aqueous extract, 5% water-ethanol (1:1) extract, and powdered leaf dust prepared from superior-quality leaves. Three quality grades of mulberry leaves poor, good, and superior from the V-1 and S-36 cultivars were evaluated using the FC1 × FC2 silkworm hybrid. The results revealed improvements, ranging from marginal to highly significant, in silkworm rearing parameters, including larval weight, cocoon weight, male and female pupal weights, and male and female shell weights, across all fortification treatments applied to poor-quality leaves. Among the treatments, fortification with the water-ethanol extract was the most effective, followed by powdered leaf dust and the aqueous extract. The findings suggest that poor-quality mulberry leaves can be effectively enhanced with leaf powder extracts in water, water-ethanol mixtures, or superior-quality leaf dust to mitigate quality-related challenges in silkworm rearing. Furthermore, powdered leaf preparations from good-quality leaves can be preserved during one season and utilized in subsequent seasons to address deficiencies in leaf quality.