Enrichment of the silkworms diet with Bordeaux mixture

• Grant number: 12/24430-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2013
• End date: October 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Production
• Principal Investigator: Daniel Nicodemo
• Grantee: Juliana Fernandes
• Host Institution: Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus Experimental de Dracena. Dracena , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The silkworm (Bombyx mori) feeds exclusively on the mulberry leaves (Morus alba) and the enrichment of this diet can promote the development of the larvae and cocoon production. The Bordeaux mixture is a solution obtained by mixing copper sulfate and lime in water that has been widely applied for the purpose of combating fungal diseases in many crops. Considering the importance of the turgescence of the sheets to food intake by the larvae and that copper provides improvements in the quality of silk thread, it is suggested that the Bordeaux mixture can be used to enrich the diet of silkworm promoting increased quality of the cocoons and reducing susceptibility to fungal diseases common to this insect. The aim of this study is to verify if the addition of the Bordeaux mixture to the silkworms diet favors the consumption of food and the cocoon production by the larvae, and check if there is lower propensity for fungal diseases due to application of the evaluated product. The experiment will be conducted on the Division of Sericulture of UNESP, Câmpus Experimental de Dracena, between January and December 2013. The larvae will be divided into five groups, three fed mulberry leaves enriched with Bordeaux mixture in three concentrations. To compare the results obtained from the diet enriched with Bordeaux mixture, a group of larvae will be fed exclusively on mulberry leaves and the other with mulberry leaves moistened with water. We will analyze the consumption of food by the larvae, the degree of contamination with fungal colonies on the larvae and the quality of cocoons obtained on the five experimental groups. We will adopt a completely randomized design with three replications. Data will be submitted to analysis of variance and the means compared by Tukey test at 5% significance level. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

FERNANDES, JULIANA; COSTA BRANCALHAO, ROSE MEIRE; NICODEMO, DANIEL; CHASKO RIBEIRO, LUCINEIA DE FATIMA; SANTORUM, MARILUCIA. Mulberry leaves treated with bordeaux mixture protect silkworm caterpillars against fungal and viral diseases. SEMINA-CIENCIAS AGRARIAS, v. 37, n. 1, p. 43-53, 2016. (12/24430-1)

FERNANDES, J.; NICODEMO, D.; OLIVEIRA, J. E.; SILVA, F. A.; FIDELIS, M. E. A.; SILVA, L. E.; TONOLI, G. H. D.. Enhanced silk performance by enriching the silkworm diet with bordeaux mixture. Journal of Materials Science, v. 52, n. 5, p. 2684-2693, MAR 2017. (12/24430-1)