Breeding of Bombyx Mori in Mexico
Mr Juan Rodríguez Martínez, the Technical Referent of the Board of the Tourism and Sericulture and Rebocería Training Center of Jiquilpan, known as Casita de Piedra (Stone House) of the Sda Project, has been working on the breeding of worms. After the breeding, came the cutting of the cocoons for the extraction and sexing of the pupae (chrysalis) at this stage of their biological cycle. Once they break their chitinous cover and emerge as butterflies, they gather for mating and fertilisation, subsequently obtaining fertile eggs.
During the spring months of 2018, at Casita de Piedra, trenches were dug in the forest surrounding the entity for the planting of mulberry trees closer to the silkworm breeding establishment, which feed only on fresh mulberry leaves.
"During the sericulture basic technology transfer project implemented with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) between 1991 and 1994, we made a selection and nomenclature (by phenotype) of local varieties that we found. The two selected varieties that we transplanted on this occasion were given the name of San Luis Potosi 5 and San Luis Potosi 6 (SLP-5 and SLP-6). One is white fruit (SLP-5) and the other is lilac fruit (SLP-6) with a very pleasant sweet and sour taste; excellent for syrups or jams. The white one is not very sweet", explained Juan Rodríguez, Technical Reference of the "Casita de Piedra".
The result of the activities is a green postcard for the spectator: neat linear plantations around the Casita de Piedra facilities. But sericulture activities did not end with the primary stage of growing mulberry trees. The local silk artisans took advantage of the summer days to work with one of the traditional techniques for making silk garments. Around a standing loom, they added value to the raw material through manual work and the transmission of the local craft tradition.
In the Casita de Piedra facilities, textile craftsman Santiago Escalera is making a scarf on a standing loom. The young man learned the techniques of working on this loom when he was a child, as his family has traditionally been doing this activity throughout their lives. "In fact, Santiago is the last link of an activity that was the economic engine for many people in this town of Jiquilpan; the rebocería was the town's main economic activity and the work we did with sericiculture was determining for its rescue; I visualized it as the perfect complement to sericiculture, by bringing added value to the silk through the manufacturing of high craft value garments, like the ones Santiago creates on the standing loom", emphasized Juan Rodriguez.
