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Working Project | Agriculture and Animal Sciences | India | Volume 11 Issue 12, December 2022

Development of Rural Women Entrepreneurs at Village Level for Production of Biological Control Agents for Management of Mulberry Insect Pest Mealy Bug and Silkworm Pest Uzi Fly in Karnataka

Divya S. H. | Rohith L Shankar | Vinutha N. | Shekhar M. A.

Abstract: Mulberry plant an only food crop of silkworm Bombyx mori is prone for attack by so many insect pests which cause considerable loss to the mulberry leaf yield and in turn affecting silkworm cocoon yield. The important insect pest attacking mulberry is mealy bug causing Tukra disease leading to huge crop loss that making the plants unproductive and poor in its quality to use them for feeding silkworms and silkworms are also prone for attack by an insect pest Uzi fly, Exorista bombycisis causing a huge loss to the silkworm cocoon yield. An IPM package developed through biological control components form important constituents are Coccinellid beetles against mealy bugs and Hymenopteran hyperparasitoids for Uzi fly management. These bio control agents though effective are not available due to lack of multiplication centers. A successful project work has been made to develop entrepreneurship for production of these bio control agents through imparting training in mass production technology to women self-help groups at different villages. To create market for their produce, the sericulturists of the entire district were enlightened about the use of bio control agents for management of important sericultural pests. The self-help group is successfully producing the biocontrol agents and selling it to fellow sericulturists and earning profit for the self-help group.

Keywords: silkworm, tukra disease, mealy bug, uzi fly, Exoristabombycis, biocontrol, self-helpgroup?s, IPM

Edition: Volume 11 Issue 12, December 2022,

Pages: 1037 - 1044