The Synergistic Effect of Honey and Lemon Juice-Enriched Mulberry Diets on the Silk Gland Growth and Sericultural Productivity of Bombyx mori

Abstract

The study examined the synergistic impact of honey and lemon juiceenriched mulberry leaf diets on the silk gland growth and silk protein synthesis in Bombyx mori, together with the economic traits of sericulture. Our study demonstrated that individually and synergistically, the honey and lemon juiceenriched mulberry diets have significantly enhanced the silk gland growth and larval body growth and their critical size determinants during the 7-day fifth instar larval regime, without altering their time schedules. The additional impetus given to larval growth has been extended to silk protein synthesis in the anterior, middle and posterior regions of the silk gland. The sericultural productivity, measured in terms of silk gland protein synthesis, cocoon traits like green cocoon weight, shell weight, floss weight, floss-shell ratio, shell protein content and floss protein content, silk traits like the raw silk weight, denier and renditta and the number of eggs produced by the female moth yielded positive gains under improved nutritional conditions. Their positive impact of honey and lemon juice yielded a two-fold benefit to the sericultural industry. These two nutrients not only boosted the silk protein synthesis in all the three regions of the silk gland, but also reduced the synthesis of floss