·        Sericulture is a very important agro based cottage industry in India.
·        It provides regular short term income for small and marginal farmers.
·        Mulberry cultivation, silkworm rearing, marketing of cocoons, silk reeling, silk weaving, printing, dyeing, grainage activity and research and development in all the above mentioned areas provide enormous opportunity for income generation in India.
·        Though India ranks next to China in mulberry silk production, the quality and quantity of the silk produced need tremendous enhancement.
·        Improvement in the quality and the quantity can be brought about through quality nutrition given to the silkworm, B. mori.
·        Since the leaf of the mulberry plant is the exclusive food of the mulberry silkworm, it is essential to produce good quality mulberry leaves.
·        Quality mulberry leaves can be produced by increasing the fertility of the soil in which the mulberry plants are grown and also through the selection of the proper mulberry variety for cultivation.
·        With the availability of several varieties of mulberry in India and other countries, the selection and cultivation of a suitable variety for the existing local conditions is imperative for the success of the sericulture industry.
·        Hence, for the present study, four different varieties of mulberry, namely MR2, S34 and M5 were raised in the University campus following suitable cultivation method as described in the materials and methods section.