Bumper silkworm cocoon harvest marks a strong start to the year

Original title: Shixing begins this year's first silkworm cocoon purchase work

A bumper cocoon harvest brings joy to silkworm farmers

In Luoba Town, Shixing, mulberry trees are planted all around the houses.

"Buying silkworm cocoons!" the morning before last, silkworm cocoon stations across Shixing County began this year's first round of purchasing, and silkworm-raising households happily brought their cocoons to the stations, selling them at the market price of 1780 yuan per dan.

Liu Mingquan is a silkworm farmer in Lintou New Village, Lintou Village, Luoba Town, Shixing. The day before yesterday he had already sold this year's first batch of silkworm cocoons to the cocoon station, earning more than 1400 yuan. He told reporters that he starts raising silkworms every year in March, buying 0.8 sheets of silkworm eggs per batch, and after careful rearing they can grow to about 40 kg. At Liu Mingquan's home, reporters saw silkworms of different instars being raised in different rooms. "This is the second batch of silkworms, and there are also third and fourth batches," Liu Mingquan said as he observed the silkworms, explaining that after the first batch is sold, the next batch can be sold every five days. About five or six batches can be sold in a month, and over the whole year

about 32 batches can be sold. "Last year I sold about fifty or sixty thousand yuan worth." Speaking of last year's income, Liu Mingquan was delighted.

Lu Yansi, publicity committee member of Luoba Town, introduced that in recent years Luoba Town has used the scientific development concept to plan the development of modern agriculture, carefully building a "one town, one product" characteristic economy, treating the sericulture industry as a leading agricultural industry, and forming a new development model of "company + base + organization + farmers" and a "one-stop" chain of production, supply and sales.

Reporters learned that last year the county purchased 16465 dan of cocoons, with 7 village committees selling more than 500 dan of cocoons and 12 contract households earning income from selling more than 50 dan of cocoons, setting an excellent record for the county's sericulture industry development. This year, the county plans to plant 3987 mu of mulberry fields and purchase 15480 dan of fresh cocoon output. (Reporter Yang Chun, special correspondent Wu Ting; photos other than those credited are all by Tong Tongshao)

Liu Mingquan inspecting the growth of the second batch of silkworms.

Silkworm farmers prepare to place the silkworms on racks to spin silk.

Farmers pick mulberry leaves to feed the silkworms. Photo by Yang Chun