Constraints responsible for non-adoption of autumn rearing in Jammu province of J&K

The present study was carried out in Jammu division of Jammu and Kashmir state with 225 silkworm rearers from three potential cocoon producing districts namely Kathua, Udhampur and Rajouri. The results showed that 63 percent respondents were found to have adopted silkworm rearing during autumn season. The major constraints observed included unavailability of sufficient mulberry leaves (χ2=29.13, p<0.01), lack of season specific hybrids (χ2=05.39, p<0.05) and lack of awareness to manage harsh conditions (χ2=08.17, p<0.01) which has direct impact on cocoon productivity. Keeping in view the above constraints, some suggestions were made during the course of study such as to create mulberry leaf reserves in the govt. land, supply of thermo-tolerant hybrids, post chawki worms, need based trainings on latest sericulture technology on regular basis, enhancement of minimum support price of cocoons and crop insurance cover to compensate the crop failure.