Parental Selection for Productivity Improvement in Indian Tropical Tasar Silkworm, Antheraea mylitta Drury (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae)

Global demand for Vanya silks in general and tasar silk in particular, call-for sustainable utilization of the country’s seri-biodiversity potential. Viability and productivity proportion of tasarculture in terms of seeds, cocoons and essentially raw silk, need attention for its vital role in reforming the livelihood and economic condition of tribal farmers. The conventional approaches on basic stock maintenance, commercial seed production, selective use of parental races or parents for heterosis and heterobeltiosis, method of backcrossing to exploit the traits of commercial importance and applying the advantage of genotype x environment (G x E) interactions are indispensable. In spite of current knowledge on sophisticated transgenic silkworm, appropriate application of on-hand parental resource material and methodologies can expedite tasar silk productivity improvement in addition to up-keep of the agro based cottage industry’s cost-effectiveness