SUBBA RAO, CSRINIVAS, CHINTA2016-08-042016-08-041989http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/70794Studies were conducted to know the influence of feeding leaves of different maturities on growth and development and cocoon characters of silkworm Bombyx mori (Linnaeus) and to determine the waiting period required for safe rearing of silkworms after spraying the commonly used pesticides for mulberry plant protection viz., Endosulfan 0.07 per cent and Mancozeb 0.25 per cent. The silkworm larvae consumed 97 per cent of total food in the final two instars. Growth parameters like weight gain, length and head width were found to be more when the larvae were fed with top tender · leaves as compared to normal practice of feeding, middle matured and bottom coarse leaves. The time taken ·by the larvae for spinning the cocoon was the least in middle mature and top tender leaf feedings whi~h were on par but significantly superior to normal practice of feeding. Larvae fed with top tender leaves recorded maximum percentage of cocoons(70 per cent), cocoon weight (1.0231 g), size (3.5933 em length and 5.9967 c·m girth) and shell weight (0.3766 g). The indices, consumption Index (CI), Growth Rate (GR) and Approximate Digestibility (AD) showed a negative relationship withlarval age,food (ECI) while Efficiency of conversion of ingested and Efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD) to body substance were found to have a positive relation upto IV instar. Top tender leaves proved to be superior. in all the aforementioned consumption and utilization indices. Biochemical analysis of different aged leaves revealed higher proteins in top tender leaves compared to bottom coarse leaves, and it was found to have a significant positive correlation with larval weight gain, length, head width, percentage of cocoons formed, girth of the cocoon and shell weight. Mulberry plants when protected with Endosulfan 0.01 per cent and Man~o~eb 0.25 per cent required a weighting period of 5 days and 2 days respectively for safe rearing of silkworm without any adverse effect.enQUALITATIVE, VARIATIONS, MULBERRY, LEAF, GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT, SILKWORM,Thesis