BENGALURU: Watch the quality of sarees you are wearing in the days ahead. While the quantity of cocoons has increased, the quality of mulberry and silk is seriously affected due to the effects of pesticides and drought.
Karnataka State Sericulture Research and Development Institute (KSSRDI) scientists said increasing use of pesticides over the years on horticultural crops along with which mulberry is grown has dropped the quality of silk.
“Sericulture is affected due to the soil on which mulberry is harvested, and due to this the silk industry is taking a hit. It has been a concern over the last few years. But this year, because of drought and climate change, the ill-effects are more significantly visible,” a KSSRDI scientist explained.
KSSRDI Registrar A Jambunath told The New Indian Express that since there are no rains, the horticulture plants are getting more diseases. As pesticides are sprayed on horticulture crops, the pests and insects are shifting to mulberry plants. As pesticides cannot be sprayed on mulberry plants as they are known to be toxic to silkworms, it further hampers the silk quality. So the silk quality is getting affected.
“The state gets 11,000 MT of silk annually. From eight kilos of cocoons, one kilo of silk is obtained. But this time the quality is bad. Normally, from one cocoon a single thread of 14-15 metres is drawn. But
now, because of the poor quality there are breakages in the threads. There is no single filament and silk with knots is difficult to weave, affecting the quality,” a senior official from Sericulture Institute explained on the condition of not being named.
Chinese silk sarees making major impact:
According to data from the sericulture department, from April to November of financial year 2022-23, 15,903.452 metric tonnes (MT) of cross-breed cocoons and 7,721.94 MT of bivoltine cocoons (that produce two broods a season, and are more popular in Asian countries) were procured. However, in FY 2023-24 (April-November), 19,694.496 MT and 8,812.344 MT cocoons, respectively, have been obtained.
Although the quantity of cocoons has increased, Rajesh Gowda, Director of Sericulture, said that as mulberry is getting infected with pests, the gum that is generated for the silk is also not happening. The gum is an important factor, which while coating the silk fibres enables the latter to stick to each other. It is from a protein called sericin which comprises 30 percent of the silk, the rest by another protein called fibroin.
And the situation is bad across the state. An official from Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation said: “Usually the corporation does not purchase silk from outside. We have our own yarn and farmers. So we have no problems with purchases.
We procure the top A-1 quality in the first lot and so there is no compromise in silk saree quality from the corporation. However, we have been getting reports that the number of polyester mix and fancy silk sarees in the market have increased. Chinese silk sarees are also making a significant impact on the market, which is a worry.”