What's the difference between spring silkworm, summer silkworm and autumn silkworm?

(1) Spring silkworm is more of an advertising effect and a concept; Cocoon has a good opportunity and a good market. If you order spring silkworms, it is usually in May-June after Tomb-Sweeping Day every year.

(2) In the summer silkworm period, due to the aging of mulberry leaves, high temperature drying or wetting, typhoon, hail, drought and other harsh conditions, raising requires higher technology than spring silkworm. The size of cocoon silk in summer and autumn is thinner than that of spring silkworm.

(2) In the autumn silkworm period, the mulberry is still growing, and the leaves branch for the last time and grow new leaves. This is the time of osmanthus silkworm, the climate is mild and cool, and the silkworm babies and silks are very good.

Extended data:

Growth characteristics of mulberry leaves at different silkworm stages;

(1) Growth characteristics of mulberry leaves in spring silkworm stage;

Spring-cut mulberry shoots late in spring, leaves are not enough, and leaves are not mature enough, so it is usually not used to raise spring silkworms, even if the feeding amount is relatively small. Therefore, spring silkworm breeding is mainly carried out in summer harvest and spring and autumn.

When rearing silkworm, the new shoots can generally grow to 12~ 18 leaves, in which the leaves of the new shoots can account for 60% of the total leaves, and the remaining 40% are composed of trifoliate leaves. Spring silkworms should be cut in summer after picking leaves, usually from late May to early June. If you cut it too late in summer, it is not conducive to wound healing because of the high temperature.

(2) Growth characteristics of mulberry leaves in summer silkworm stage:

In the summer silkworm period, mulberry leaves are mainly provided by spring-cut mulberry trees, because the branches and leaves of spring-cut mulberry trees grow most vigorously in the summer silkworm period. However, after summer cutting, the photosynthesis of mulberry stopped because of the interruption of growth and development stage, and it took 7~ 10 days to germinate again, which was not suitable for picking leaves in summer. The new branches of mulberry trees after summer cutting can be picked properly when feeding summer silkworms.

When the new shoots of summer-cut mulberry grow to 15~30 cm, the buds should be sparse, and the sparse buds should not be too dense, generally accounting for 20~30% of the total. But the temperature is high in summer, and mulberry trees grow fast. New shoots can grow 2~3 cm every day, and a new leaf can grow in 2~3 days. During the whole period from June to August, the growth of mulberry leaves can account for more than 80% of the total growth.

(3) Growth characteristics of mulberry leaves in autumn silkworm period:

The autumn silkworm period lasts for a long time, from early August to late June 10. So in production, we divide it into three stages: early autumn silkworm, mid-autumn silkworm and late autumn silkworm. In autumn, the growth of mulberry branches and leaves is small, generally accounting for only 20%~30% of the total growth in the whole year. At this stage, we should not only pick leaves to raise silkworms, but also consider the accumulation of nutrients in mulberry leaves to prepare for the growth of mulberry trees in the coming year.

The main purpose of feeding autumn silkworms in batches is to delay and reduce the picking of photosynthetic organs in branches and leaves as much as possible, and to prolong the time for leaves to photosynthesis, manufacture and accumulate nutrients on trees. For example, autumn silkworm breeding in Sichuan, Chongqing and other places mostly adopts cocoon harvesting in winter, no pruning in summer, continuous growth from spring to autumn all year round, and leaves are picked from the lower parts of branches every time.