Assessing the Impact of Self-Mounting Spiral Mountage on Silkworm Cocooning Behavior (Bombyx mori L.)

This study evaluates the effectiveness of a self-mounting spiral bamboo mountage for silkworm cocooning compared to traditional bamboo and plastic collapsible mountages. Key metrics analysed include larval density, cocooning percentage, cocoon count, weight, and defect rates. The traditional bamboo mountage exhibited the highest larval density and cocoon count. However, the self-mounting bamboo spiral mountage showed a high cocooning percentage (98.48%) and substantial cocoon weight, outperforming the plastic collapsible mountage. The spiral bamboo mountage also provided labour and time savings by facilitating natural larval crawling and efficient moisture absorption, critical for high-quality cocoon production. These findings highlight the bamboo spiral mountage as a viable and efficient alternative, optimising labour use and maintaining cocoon quality in sericulture. Key Words: Self-mounting, spiral mountage, spinning, cocooning, labour efficiency