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Impact of Muga Silk (Antheraea assamensis) on Community Livelihood in the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam-India

Received: 24 March 2021     Accepted: 29 May 2021     Published: 7 June 2021
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Abstract

Muga the golden-yellow silk produced by ‘Antheraea assama’ is found only in the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam-India. This species of silkworm is semi-domesticated in that the rearers collect the worms that crawl down at the end of their larval period. They are allowed to spin cocoons in the rearer's houses. The gleaming golden yellow silk is referred to in literature from as long as 1662 BC. The ‘Antheraea assamensis’ is cultivated especially in Brahmaputra valley because it’s characteristic ecological requirements are found only in its natural abode. The declines of Som (Machilus bombycina), Soalu (Litsaea ppolyantha) plantation areas in rearing and sericulture farms have pushed Muga silk towards the verge of extinction. Encroachment in government Som plantation (host plant) areas is one of the prime causes of decreasing food availability of Muga silk worm. If measures are not taken the Muga (Antheria assamensis) heritage of Assam may face extinction in the near future. Considering the ecological conditions, food plant distribution, presence of eco-types and species of diverse nature in co-existence, it is speculated that this region is a possible home of origin of Antheraea. In this paper the researcher emphasizes the possibility of sustaining community livelihood in the Brahmaputra valley of Assam, India.

Published in American Journal of Environmental Protection (Volume 10, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajep.20211003.11
Page(s) 59-65
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Muga, Natural Silk, Environment Conservation, Sustainability and Livelihood

References
[1] Ahmed RZ, Choudhury SN, Bhattacharya PR (1998) Variation in cocoon characteristics of muga silkworm (Antheraea assama West wood) reared in som (Persea bombycina Kost) collected from different places of Upper Assam, India. Sericologia 38: 699-702.
[2] Barah A, Isa MD, Devnath M, Samson MV (1992) A new host plant of the muga silkworm, Antheraea assama Ww. Sericologia 32: 529-530.
[3] Bhattacharya A, Saikia SK, Goswami D (1993) Scientific inference to the traditional muga rearing. Indian Silk 32: 35-41.
[4] Choudhury SN (1981) Mega Silk Industry, Directorate of Sericulture and Weaving, Govt. of Assam, Gauhati, Assam, India, pp 1-33.
[5] Das BC, Prasad DN, Sikdar AK (1970) Colchicines induced tetraploid of mulberry. Caryologia 23: 289-293.
[6] Hazarika R, Hazarika LK, Kataky A, Kataky JCS, Hazarika AK, Deka PC (1996) Association of morphological and biochemical characters of Machilus bombycina with the feeding behaviour of Antheraea assama. Sericologia 36: 511-518.
[7] Paliwal DP, Das PK (1989) Nodal and petiolar organization in the food plants of muga silkworm - A comparative analysis. Sericologia 29: 559-563.
[8] Raja Ram (1998) Sprouting behaviour of Som. Indian Silk 8: 21-22.
[9] Sengupta AK, Yadav YS, Ram R, Das R, Devnath M, Basumatary BK (1993) Genetic diversity in muga host plant. Indian Silk 2: 28-33.
[10] Siddiqui AA, Lal B, Bhattacharya A, Das K (2000) Nutritional status in morpho-variants of Som. Indian Silk 2: 28-33.
[11] Saikia. M, Ghosh. K and Peigler. R (2016). “Factors affecting on quality muga silkworm (Antheraeaassamensis Helfer) seed crop production: A review.” JEZS, Vol 4, Issue 6, pp 806-810.
[12] Srivastava A, Singh K, Das PK, Siddqui AA, Raghuvanshi SS (2000) Germination and seedling growth in Machilus bombycina King morphotypes. Sericologia 40: 503-507.
[13] Thangavelu K, Tikader A, Sen AK (2005) Strategies for conservation of muga host plant genetic resources. Present status and constraints of muga silkworm host plant germplasm conservation. In proceedings: Strategies for maintenance of non-mulberry silkworm and host plant germplasm held at Central Muga Eri Research & Training Institute, Lahdoigarh, Jorhat, Assam, India on March 10 -11, pp 37-47.
[14] Tikader A, Thangavelu K (2006) Grafting performance of some mulberry germplasm collected through exploration. Indian J Forestry 29: 69-71.
[15] Tikader A, Dandin SB (2007) Pre-breeding efforts to utilize two wild Morus species. Cur Sci 92: 1729-1733.
[16] Tikader A, Kamble CK (2008a) Mulberry wild species in India and their use in crop improvement-A review. Aust J Crop Sci 2: 64-72.
[17] Tikader A, Kamble CK (2010) Seri-biodiversity status with reference to the host plants in India. Asian Aust J Plant Sci Biotech 4: 1-11.
[18] Tikader A, Gogoi AK, Pachuau L, (2011a) Muga culture: the rich tradition of Assam. Indian Silk 2: 18-20.
[19] Phukan. R., (2012). “Muga silk industry of Assam its historical perspectives”. Global Journal of Human Social Science History & Anthropology”. Volume 12 Issue 9, pp 5-8.
[20] De and Das (2007). “Ericulture as a Remedy of Rural Poverty in Assam: A Micro Level Study in Barpeta District.” Munich Personal RePEc Archive, and can be retrieved at Online at http://mpra.ub.unimuenchen.de/6291/pp 2-22. Assessed on 26/06/2017 at 12:30 pm.
[21] Chakraborty. R, Dutta. P and Ghosh. J. (2010). “Sericulture and Traditional Craft of Silk weaving in Assam. ”Indian journal of Traditional Knowledge, Vol. 9, Issue No. 2, pp 378-385.
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  • APA Style

    Niranjan Das. (2021). Impact of Muga Silk (Antheraea assamensis) on Community Livelihood in the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam-India. American Journal of Environmental Protection, 10(3), 59-65. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20211003.11

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    Niranjan Das. Impact of Muga Silk (Antheraea assamensis) on Community Livelihood in the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam-India. Am. J. Environ. Prot. 2021, 10(3), 59-65. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20211003.11

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    AMA Style

    Niranjan Das. Impact of Muga Silk (Antheraea assamensis) on Community Livelihood in the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam-India. Am J Environ Prot. 2021;10(3):59-65. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20211003.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajep.20211003.11,
      author = {Niranjan Das},
      title = {Impact of Muga Silk (Antheraea assamensis) on Community Livelihood in the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam-India},
      journal = {American Journal of Environmental Protection},
      volume = {10},
      number = {3},
      pages = {59-65},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajep.20211003.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20211003.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajep.20211003.11},
      abstract = {Muga the golden-yellow silk produced by ‘Antheraea assama’ is found only in the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam-India. This species of silkworm is semi-domesticated in that the rearers collect the worms that crawl down at the end of their larval period. They are allowed to spin cocoons in the rearer's houses. The gleaming golden yellow silk is referred to in literature from as long as 1662 BC. The ‘Antheraea assamensis’ is cultivated especially in Brahmaputra valley because it’s characteristic ecological requirements are found only in its natural abode. The declines of Som (Machilus bombycina), Soalu (Litsaea ppolyantha) plantation areas in rearing and sericulture farms have pushed Muga silk towards the verge of extinction. Encroachment in government Som plantation (host plant) areas is one of the prime causes of decreasing food availability of Muga silk worm. If measures are not taken the Muga (Antheria assamensis) heritage of Assam may face extinction in the near future. Considering the ecological conditions, food plant distribution, presence of eco-types and species of diverse nature in co-existence, it is speculated that this region is a possible home of origin of Antheraea. In this paper the researcher emphasizes the possibility of sustaining community livelihood in the Brahmaputra valley of Assam, India.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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    AB  - Muga the golden-yellow silk produced by ‘Antheraea assama’ is found only in the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam-India. This species of silkworm is semi-domesticated in that the rearers collect the worms that crawl down at the end of their larval period. They are allowed to spin cocoons in the rearer's houses. The gleaming golden yellow silk is referred to in literature from as long as 1662 BC. The ‘Antheraea assamensis’ is cultivated especially in Brahmaputra valley because it’s characteristic ecological requirements are found only in its natural abode. The declines of Som (Machilus bombycina), Soalu (Litsaea ppolyantha) plantation areas in rearing and sericulture farms have pushed Muga silk towards the verge of extinction. Encroachment in government Som plantation (host plant) areas is one of the prime causes of decreasing food availability of Muga silk worm. If measures are not taken the Muga (Antheria assamensis) heritage of Assam may face extinction in the near future. Considering the ecological conditions, food plant distribution, presence of eco-types and species of diverse nature in co-existence, it is speculated that this region is a possible home of origin of Antheraea. In this paper the researcher emphasizes the possibility of sustaining community livelihood in the Brahmaputra valley of Assam, India.
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Author Information
  • Department of Business Administration, Tezpur University, Napaam, Sonitpur-Assam, India

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