Research in sericulture should focus on rising land stress, says Commissioner of Sericulture

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Commissioner of Sericulture Shilpa Nag (third from left) releasing the bibliography on Silkworm Uzifly at Central Sericultural Research and Training Institute, in Mysuru on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: M. A. Sriram Commissioner of Sericulture Shilpa Nag has emphasised the need for research in the field of sericulture to focus on growing stress on agricultural land. Participating in a conference on “EntoNext 2026: Eco-Smart Entomology for Sustainable Sericulture: Innovate, Protect and Prosper” at Central Sericultural Research and Training Institute (CSRTI) in Mysuru on Tuesday, Ms. Nag pointed out that Karnataka had about 1.22 lakh hectares of mulberry cultivation and the landholding of each farmer is less than one hectare. Even though researchers emphasise on spacing between mulberry crops, the increasing stress on land makes it difficult for the farmers to adopt the same. Ms. Nag, who also serves as the Director of Karnataka State Sericulture Research and Development Institute (KSSRDI) cited a recent visit to a mulberry farm in Chikkaballapur, where the mulberry trees were grown close to each other, ignoring the spacing norms. She was informed by the officials that farmers are unable to adopt the spacing norms, however much they are instructed, as it impacts the yield in the available land area. Similarly, adopting mechanisation in small areas by incurring the costs also poses challenges to the small farmers, she said. Hence, she called upon researchers and administrators to join hands to work towards research and programmes from the farmers’ perspective. Ms. Nag also highlighted the need to focus on sustainable pest management using organic pesticides, advanced technologies for disease surveillance, economic sustainability and market support. She referred to the need to improve water-use efficiency by using the term “more crop per drop”. Even though the government provides subsidies, Ms. Nag said subsidies provide only short-term financial support. Hence, efforts should aim