A comparative study of growth and fertility of eri silkworm (Samia cynthia) on different phenotype variations.

This study was conducted to compare the growth and fertility of Samia cynthia in phenotypes variations (body colour). An experimental design under laboratory condition with 15 replications was employed. The body color is Yellow Plain (YP), Green Plain (GP), White Plain (WP), and Blue Plain (BP) were arranged into four groups. Larval length and weight, cocoon weight, fecundity, and hatchability were compared. The results showed there were significant differences in larval length and weight, cocoon weight, fecundity, and hatchability. The highest larvae length is BP (5.511) followed by YP (5.209), WP (5.191) and GP (5.097). The heaviest larvae are BP (5.3), followed by YP (4.986), GP (4.717) and WP (4.608). The heaviest cocoon weight is cocoon from BP (3.2), then YP (2.73), GP (2.67) and WP (2.53). The most eggs are produced by imago from GP (230), followed by BP (216), YP (166) and WP (158). The highest hatchability of larvae WP (58%), BP (55%), GP (51%) and YP (46%). Based on the results, the body color of the larvae affects growth and fertility. The choice of body color can be used as consideration for the rearing of eri silkworms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]