Sericulture Questions

Sericulture often referred to as silk farming, is the process of cultivating silkworms to produce silk. China is the leading producer of silk, followed by India. In India, silk farming is carried out in Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Sericulture Chemistry Questions with Solutions

Q1. The process of rearing a silkworm for silk is known as

(a) Agriculture

(b) Pisciculture

(c ) Sericulture

(d) None of the above

Answer: (c ) The process of rearing a silkworm for silk is known as sericulture.

Q2. A silkworm feed on

(a) Neem leaves

(b) Mulberry leaves

(c ) Blackberry leaves

(d) None of the above

Answer: (b) A silkworm feed on the mulberry leaves.

Q3. A lot of feeding is required at the

(a) Silkworm stage

(b) Cocoon stage

(c ) Egg stage

(d) Both (b) and (c )

Answer: (a) A lot of feeding is required at the silkworm stage.

Q4. The silkworm is a

(a) Caterpillar

(b) Larva

(c ) Cocoon

(d) Both (a) and (b)

Answer: (d) The silkworm is both caterpillar and a larva.

Q5. How many pairs of glands develop a cocoon?

(a) One

(b) Two

(c ) Five

(d) None of the above

Answer: (b) Two pairs of glands develop a cocoon.

Q6. What is sericulture?

Answer: The rearing of silkworms on a commercial scale to produce silk is known as sericulture. China is the leading producer of silk, followed by India. In India, silk farming is carried out in Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Q7. What is silk?

Answer: Silk is a naturally occurring protein fibre secreted by the larva of the silkworm. It is soft, strong, durable and lustrous fabric.

Q8. Explain the composition of the silk.

Answer: Silk is a naturally occurring protein fibre made up of two types of proteins.

1. Sericin

2. Fibroin

Silk consists of approximately 80% fibroin protein and 20% sericin protein. Fibroin is concentrated in the core, which is surrounded by the sericin protein. Pigments like xanthophyll in the sericin layer of the silk impart colour to the silk.

Q9. How many types of silk are there?

Answer: There are four types of silk, namely

1. Mulberry silk

2. Tasar silk

3. Eri silk

4. Muga silk

Q10. What are the different processes involved in sericulture?

Answer: The rearing of silkworms on a commercial scale to produce silk is known as sericulture. The following operations are involved in the production of silk from the silkworms.

1. Moriculture

2. Silkworm rearing

3. Silk reeling

After the above three processes, silk filament is woven to form a thread, which is piled to create a silk yarn or silk cloth.

Q11. What is morticulture?

Answer: Moriculture is the process involving the cultivation of mulberry plants. The leaves of mulberry plants are used to feed silkworms.

Mulberry plants can be grown in three ways

1. Stem grafting

2. Root grafting

3. Cultivation from seeds

Q12. Explain the lifecycle of a silk moth.

Answer: There are four stages in the lifecycle of a silk moth- egg, larva, cocoon and adult.

1. Egg: The female silk moth lays eggs which hatch into black worm-like larvae. The larva of a silk moth is known as a caterpillar or a silkworm.

2. Larva: The larva feeds on mulberry leaves continuously and grows in size. During this time, it sheds its skin four times. Clearing the skin to develop a new one is known as moulting.

3. Cocoon: At the end of this period, it climbs the branch of the tree and attaches itself to it by weaving a net. Then it starts spinning a cocoon.

The salivary glands present in larvae’s heads secrete a sticky fluid (protein) wound around their bodies in a long continuous thread. The protein solidifies when it comes in contact with air and forms silk fibre. The head swings from side to side and draws the figure eight (8) like structure while spinning. The process takes 3-7 days to complete. The larva continues to develop inside the cocoon. This stage is called the cocoon stage.

4. Adult: When the worm matures into an adult moth, it secretes a fluid that dissolves the cocoon’s silk fibres so that it can emerge out of it.

Q13. What kinds of health hazards are faced by the workers in the sericulture industry?

Answer: The rearing of silkworms on a commercial scale to produce silk is known as sericulture.

Various health hazards faced by workers in the sericulture industry are mentioned below.

1. The workers are generally infected by respiratory diseases like bronchitis and asthma in the sericulture industry. It is due to inhalation of vapours during cooking, steaming and reeling processes.

2. Headache, body ache, fever, neck pain, low back pain, and eye problems were also observed among the workers in the sericulture industry. It is due to long working hours of 12-16 hours during the reeling process.

3. Skin Infections were also observed among the workers in the sericulture industry. It is due to constant hands dipping in boiling water.

4. Hearing problems were also observed among the workers in the sericulture industry.

Q14. What is silk reeling?

Answer: The method of obtaining the silk fibre from the cocoons is known as silk reeling. It is also known as silk filature. It is done by dedicated unwinding the fibres manually or by special machines.

Q15. Match the following.

Answer:

Practise Questions on Sericulture

Q1. Why is moulting necessary for the larvae of the silk moth?

Q2. Why is a caterpillar killed as soon as the cocoon stage is completed?

Q3. What is cooking in sericulture?

Q4. Differentiate between silk and wool.

Q5. Differentiate between silk moth and silkworm.

Click the PDF to check the answers for Practice Questions.

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