What are the key technical points for silkworm rearing and management?
Do a good job of supplemental incubation
The day before collecting the silkworm eggs, the cooperative rearing room should be heated to 38°C, with a dry-wet temperature difference of 2°C-3°C. After bringing the silkworm eggs back, immediately spread them evenly on the rearing paper, and raise the room temperature to 43°C, with a dry-wet temperature difference of 1°C-2°C. Silkworm rooms heated with coal stoves should pay attention to ventilation and air exchange. The silkworm room must be strictly kept away from light so that the embryos develop uniformly. If the silkworm eggs turn blue fairly uniformly, then they can be exposed to light and the ants collected on the morning of the 2nd day; otherwise, it is best to expose them to light and collect the ants in the early morning of the 3rd day.
Collect the ants at the right time
If the ants are collected too early, some silkworms have not yet developed an appetite at the time of collection, causing uneven feeding on mulberry leaves. If the ants are collected as they emerge, it will cause uneven development of the silkworms. The optimal time for collecting the ants should be 2-3 hours after hatching, when the vast majority of ant silkworms have developed an appetite and begun to wander in search of food. For autumn and late autumn silkworms, collect the ants at 8-9 a.m., and strive to finish before 10 o'clock. If unhatched silkworm eggs are found among the collected ants, they should continue to be kept in a dark place for protection, and exposed to light the next day for ant collection.
Control density
If the rearing bed is unevenly sparse or dense, it will lead to uneven development of the silkworms. Therefore, before each feeding of mulberry leaves, the bed should be expanded and evened out. For young silkworms, it is appropriate that they do not touch one another; for grown silkworms, it is appropriate that they do not overlap.
Use leaves reasonably
In order to promote uniform development of young silkworms, mulberry leaves should be picked and fed according to the leaf-use standard before each instar of the silkworm, avoiding mulberry leaves of uneven old and tender quality. In addition, the mulberry leaves should be fed evenly in thickness.
Change the position of the silkworm trays at the right time
Silkworms in different positions in the same silkworm room are affected differently by temperature. For example, above the silkworm rack and near the heat source, the temperature is higher and the silkworms develop faster; conversely, where the temperature is lower, the silkworms develop more slowly. Therefore, attention should be paid to frequently changing the position of the silkworm trays. During the young silkworm stage, change them at least once a day.
Feed at the right time after molting
If fed too early, some silkworms have not yet developed an appetite, and some are even still molting, causing silkworms of the same batch to feed unevenly and develop unevenly. Therefore, feeding after molting should be done at the right time. Before going into molt, if the silkworms develop unevenly, the feeding time after molting can be delayed by 3-4 hours compared with normal feeding after molting. This can ensure that slower-developing silkworms and faster-developing silkworms enter the leaves at the same time.
Add netting to pick out the green-headed silkworms
Generally, if after the molting removal and 2 feedings of mulberry leaves the silkworms still do not molt uniformly, netting should be added to pick out the green-headed silkworms. The picked-out green-headed silkworms should be placed near the heat source; green-headed grown silkworms can be placed on the upper layer of the silkworm rack. The few small silkworms with poor development and weak constitution should be resolutely eliminated.
Use square-mounted cocoon frames at the right time for mounting
Mounting on square-mounted cocoon frames is one of the important measures to improve cocoon quality. Pick out the bright silkworms at the right time for mounting, and do not pick unripe silkworms or overripe silkworms for mounting.
Do a good job of protection during mounting
After the silkworms are mounted, do a good job of protection during mounting, turn the square-mounted cocoon frames at the right time, and pick out free silkworms so that they do not contaminate other cocoons. After mounting, keep the room temperature at 23°C-25°C so that the silkworms spin silk quickly and spin good silk. In addition, prevent mice from stealing and eating the silkworm cocoons.