In the Turkish Bource, the last point of the historical Silk Road in Anatolia and one of the most important centers of the silk -breeding of the Ottoman era, an enterprise that fully provides the country’s needs for the silkworm eggs.
The association of agricultural cooperatives Kozabi̇rli̇k, which is part of the Ministry of Agricultural and Forestry of Turkey, is engaged in the production of hybrid and tribal eggs based on the “Eggs for the production of silkworm eggs” in Bursa. Here they cross the Chinese breed, which is characterized by high performance, with a Japanese breed resistant to diseases, as a result of which high -quality hybrid eggs are obtained.
Cocoons collected from families involved in the dilution of silkworm in the villages are delivered to the enterprise where they are manually cut, and the dolls located inside are sorted by the floor. After the dolls are turned into butterflies, they are crossed, and the obtained hybrid eggs are transmitted to manufacturers for free in the next season.
In addition, in the case of excess products, part of the eggs is exported. Also, tribal eggs are obtained here, crossing the males and females of the same breed without separation by floor.
“Türkiye is one of 5-6 countries capable of producing their own silkworm eggs”
The head of the Kozabi̇rli̇k seed production enterprise Ardahan Erdemir, in an interview with the AA agency, said that the entire volume of silkworm eggs necessary for Turkey is produced here.
“Cocoons received from manufacturers, we open and sort the dolls on the floor. After the butterfly exit, we carry out their mating to get new eggs. This cycle needs to be repeated annually, otherwise the breed is not transmitted next year,” he explained.
The production process lasts 15-20 days, depending on the need, from 120 to 130 employees is involved. About 250 kg of cocoons are processed here per day, which is enough to ensure the needs of the country, and in some years – for export.
Erdemir noted that in Turkey there are no analogues to this enterprise, and in the world there are 5-6 countries that can independently produce silkworm eggs.
He also said that in the production of tribal eggs, another technique is used – dolls with pronounced pedigree signs are selected and are left for natural mating. After this, females are placed in special paper bags (“Selyl”), where they lay eggs.
The dedicated individuals are used next year as tribal, and hybrid – for production purposes, to receive cocoons.
“From one cocoon you can get up to 1600 meters of thread”
CEO Kozabi̇rli̇k Mustafa Chakir emphasized that the enterprise in Bursa is among the only seven similar ones in the world.