Write a note on the diseases and pests of silkworms? Diseases and Pests of Silkworm

Explanation

The profitable silk industry is threatened by various diseases caused by the virus, fungal, bacterial and protozoan infections but also by insect predators, birds and other higher animals. Ants, crows, kites, rats, feed upon silkworms thereby causing a great loss to silk industry. Pebrine, is a dangerous disease to silkworms and the causative organism is Nosema bombycis, a protozoan. This silkworm disease is transmitted through the egg of the mother silkworm and also through ingestion of contaminated food. Flacherie generally occurs in the mature larvae and is caused mainly by bacteria like Streptococcus and Staphylococcus. Grasserie is a most dominant and serious viral disease. It is caused by Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus (BMNPV) a Baculovirus, which belongs to sub group ‘A’ of the Baculoviridae. Among the fungal diseases, white muscardine is common. This disease is caused by fungus Beauveria bassiana.