The document discusses guidelines for mulberry cultivation under rainfed conditions. It recommends planting mulberry cuttings or saplings in pits filled with soil and FYM during the start of the monsoon season for establishment. Ideal conditions include temperatures between 20-30°C, 9-13 hours of sunshine per day, and 50-60mm of water per week. Weeds should be controlled through integrated methods like cultural practices, mechanical removal, and chemical spraying after pruning.

2. Submitted to:
Dr. Vinoda mam
Dept. of sericulture.
College of sericulture,
Chintamani.
Submitted by:
JYOTHI P
ALC3021, IV BSc (ag)
College of sericulture,
Chintamani.

4.  A perennial plant – retained in the field for
leaf harvest for at least 15 years
 Though arboreal in nature, it is trained as
low bush for commercial exploitation
 Mulberry is a hardy plant and can tolerate
varied range of agro-climatic conditions
Mulberry

5.  Most suitable range of conditions include
 20-30⁰C Temperature
 9 to 13 hours sunshine/day
 50 to 60 mm of water/week
 Under such conditions 5-6 crops can be
harvested in a year
However,

6.  As mulberry is a deep-rooted plant, the soil
for mulberry garden should be fertile, deep,
friable, sandy loam to clay loam in texture
and porous.
 The soils must have good water holding
capacity.
 Soils with a pH range of 6.5 to 7.5 are
ideal.

7.  Generally flat or slightly slopy lands are
suitable for mulberry cultivation.
 If the slope is more than 15%, suitable land
development measures such as contour
bunding, bench terracing, etc. should be
adopted.
 As mulberry is deep rooted plant, the top soil
should be sufficiently deep(80 to 90cm) &
ploughed properly.

8.  The farm lands along the highways.
 lands in the vicinity of factories.
 The area irrigated by raw sewage and
untreated effluents.
 The plots adjacent to other gardens with
intensive pesticide usage.
 The water logged areas.
 The tobacco grown land.

9.  Planting should be undertaken during the
commencement of monsoon.
 Therefore, land preparation should start in
pre- monsoon period.
 Land should be prepared by deep ploughing
upto a depth of 30-45 cm in order to loosen
the soil, prior to the dry season, making use
of the available soil moisture.

10.  The field is then left exposed during the
summer, in order to kill the weeds and soil
borne insects.
 During the pre-monsoon showers, the soil
lumps must be broken and the land must be
ploughed repeatedly to bring the soil to a
fine tilth.

11.  Weeds, stones should be
removed during the preparatory stage.
 The land should be levelled, and divided into
plots of convenient size providing the
contour bunds for proper harvesting of rain
water.

12.  Pit system of planting with wider spacing
should be adopted for rainfed mulberry.
 Pits of size 35x35x35 cm are dug at 90x90 cm
spacing.
 Pits are then filled with the mixture of soil &
FYM(2 kg of FYM/pit).
 One can use sericultural compost or
vermicompost in the pit together yo get
better re sults.

13.  Generally, mulberry cuttings are used for
planting, but planting the saplings is better.
 Branches of 6-8 months old and 10-15
diameter are selected for cutting
preparation.
 Each cutting should be 20-22 cm in length
with minimum of 3-4 healthy buds.

14.  The cut should be clean without damaging
the bark or wood.
 Greenish tender or too thick lower portion of
the branches should not be considered for
preparation of cuttings.
 Three cuttings are planted in each pit with a
spacing of 15 cm between cuttings, in a
triangle.
 Cuttings are placed deep, leaving just one
bud on top, 2 to 3 cm above the ground and
the soil around each cutting should be
pressed well to keep the cuttings firm in the
soil.

15.  It is risky to resort to direct planting of
cuttings, under rainfed conditions.
 It is ideal to use four months old saplings
(1 sapling/pit) & support it with pot watering
during initial period of establishment.
 Planting can be timed to receive
adequate rainfall for 1-2 months for
quick establishment and maximum
growth of plants.

16.  To avoid fungal attack, cuttings may be
dipped in 0.2% Bavistin solution for 10 to 15
minutes.
 In the case of poor rooting varieties, 200
ppm of NAA/IBA dissolved in 90% ethyl
alcohol and diluted can be used to treat the
cuttings before planting.
 Cuttings can also be inoculated with VA-
mycorrhiza in the nursery bed to
get better survivability and
economization of phosphatic
fertilizer

17.  Generally, the mulberry plants are raised
from semi-hardwood cuttings.
 Cuttings are selected from well established
garden of 8-12 months old.
 Only full grown thick main stems, free from
insect and disease damages having a
diameter of 10-12mm are chosen for
preparation of cuttings.

18.  The cuttings should be of 15-20 cm with 3-4
active buds and should have 45o slanting cut
at the bottom end.
 Care should be taken to make a sharp clean
cut at both the ends of cuttings without
splitting the bark.

19.  To eliminate the weeds and to loosen the soil
for good aeration, around mulberry plant,
light hoeing should be done two months after
plantation. This will facilitate the plant to
absorb the water freely and plant growth will
not be restricted by weeds by competing
with mulberry plant for food, nutrition and
water.

20. Usually integrated method of management is
better.it includes the following methods:
Cultural method
Mechanical method
Chemical method

21.  Remove the stubbles and roots of weeds
while preparing the land
 Use well decomposed manure to avoid
dissemination of weeds
 Clean the implements before use

22.  Operate country plough after pruning in the
interspace
 Remove the weeds by hand hoe

23.  As post-emergence application, use Paraquat
(Grammoxone) @ 2-3 lit/ha.
 Spray Glycel 7.5 ml with 10 grams of
ammonium sulphate per litre of water as
post-emergence application. A total of 600
litres of spray fluid is required/ha.
 Use flooding / deflector / fan type nozzle for
spraying weedicide. Apply the weedicide
immediately after pruning or within 2-3 days
after pruning.