Comparative Proximate Nutritional Quality of Selected Mulberry Varieties in Selected Agro-ecological Zones for Suitability in Silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) Rearing
Keywords:
Mulberry, Variety, Proximate Composition, Agro-ecological zone, SericultureAbstract
Mulberry tree (Morus spp.) leaf quality determines the growth performance and silk yield of Bombyx mori silkworm. The proximate composition of mulberry foliage varies across ecological zones. This study examined how difference in agro-ecological climatic factors influence mulberry leaf proximate nutrient composition across three contrasting environments in Kenya at lowland (Marigat); mid-altitude at University of Eldoret (UoE) and highland (Kaptagat). Two elite mulberry varieties, Ichinose and Kanva2, were established uniformly in all the sites. On maturity the leaves were harvested and leaf proximate composition quantified using standard analysis procedures. Rainfall amount, relative humidity and temperature were significantly different across the elevation (p < 0.001). Mulberry nutritional composition varied significantly by site and variety with Ichinose having significantly higher protein (8.69+0.07%) in UoE, but lowest in Marigat (4.98+0.72%), whereas fibre was higher in Kanva2 in Marigat (23.34+1.38%) and was significantly different across the sites. Crude Protein: Fibre ratio was highest in Kaptagat for both Ichinose (0.55+0.01) and Kanva2 (0.40+0.01). Pearson correlation coefficients showed crude protein correlated positively with humidity (0.63). Principal component analysis revealed higher temperature influenced crude fiber and lipids, whereas rainfall and humidity influenced crude protein and moisture content. Ichinose showed superiority in higher altitude producing higher quality leaves, suitable for promoting climate smart sericulture while Kanva2 showed suitability for low altitude regions.
References
Aleme, M. (2020). Constraints and opportunities of sericulture production in Ethiopia: A review. Journal of Biology, Agriculture and Healthcare, 10(19), 26–30. https://doi.org/10.7176/JBAH/10-19-04
Altman, G. H., & Farrell, B. D. (2022). Sericulture as a sustainable agroindustry. Cleaner and Circular Bioeconomy, 2, 100011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clcb.2022.100011
AOAC (2019). AOAC guidelines for single laboratory validation of chemical methods for dietary supplements and botanicals. Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Gaithersburg, MD, USA. pp. 5-13 (2019)
Bu, C., Zheng, R., Huang, G., Wu, J., Liu, G., Donald, M. L., ... & Xu, X. (2022). The differences in cocoon and silk qualities among sex-related mulberry and silkworm feeding groups. PLOS ONE, 17(6), e0270021. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270021
Chaitanya, K. V., Sundar, D., & Reddy, A. R. (2001). Mulberry leaf metabolism under high temperature stress. Biologia Plantarum, 44(3), 379–384. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012446811036
Chakrabarti, S., & Manna, B. (2008). Influence of temperature and relative humidity in infection of Nosema bombycis (Microsporidia: Nosematidae) and cross-infection of N. mylitta on growth and development of Mulberry silkworm, Bombyx mori. International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials, 17(2), 173-180.
Chundang, P., Thongprajukaew, K., Kovitvadhi, U., Chotimanothum, B., Kovitvadhi, A., & Pakkong, P. (2020). Improving the nutritive value of mulberry leaves, Morus spp. (Rosales: Moraceae), for silkworm larvae, Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) using gamma irradiation. Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences, 13(1), 629–641. https://doi.org/10.1080/16878507.2020.1820268
Dahi, H. F., Taha, R. H., & Ibrahim, W. G. (2016). Nutritional efficiency and its relation to Bombyx mori L. productivity under different constant temperatures. Journal of Plant Protection and Pathology, 7(1), 21–26. doi:10.21608/jppp.2016.50051
Ebrahim, A., Animut, G., Urge, M., & Hailemichael, A. (2016). Nutritional Value of Mulberry (Morus alba) Forage Harvested During Dry and Wet Seasons in Northern Ethiopia. Indian Journal of Animal Nutrition, 33(1), 45-53. doi: 10.5958/2231-6744.2016.00008.6
Frierson, D. M. (2024). Going Up? Lapse Rate and Tropopause. Fundamentals of Climate Change. https://uw.pressbooks.pub/fundamentalsofclimatechange/chapter/going-up/ Accessed in January 2026
González-García, E., & Martín Martín, G. (2017). Biomass yield and nutrient content of a tropical mulberry forage bank: Effects of season, harvest frequency and fertilization rate. Grass and Forage Science, 72(2), 248–260. https://doi.org/10.1111/gfs.12277
Guha, A., Rasineni, G. K., & Reddy, A. R. (2010). Drought tolerance in mulberry (Morus spp.): A physiological approach with insights into growth dynamics and leaf yield production. Experimental Agriculture, 46(4), 471–488. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0014479710000166
Hăbeanu, M., Gheorghe, A., Dinița, G., & Mihalcea, T. (2024). An in-depth insight into the profile, mechanisms, functions, and transfer of essential amino acids from mulberry leaves to silkworm Bombyx mori L. pupae and fish. Insects, 15(5), 332. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15050332
Jaetzold, R., Schmidt, H., Hornetz, B., & Shisanya, C. (2010). Farm management handbook of Kenya. Vol. II: Natural conditions and farm management information (2nd ed.). Ministry of Agriculture/GTZ.
Jayaramaiah, V., Siddu, C., Kirankumar, R., & Ramesh, S. (2025). Phenotypic Characterization and Identification of Elite Mulberry (Morus Spp.) Cultivars for Desirable Leaf Quality. Mysore J. Agric. Sci, 59(3), 103-113.
Jaiswal, K. K., & Banerjee, I. (2021). Recent trends in the development and diversification of sericulture natural products for innovative and sustainable applications. Bioresource Technology Reports, 13, 100614. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biteb.2020.100614
Kumar, R., & Manjunatha, H. B. (2024). Exploring natural variability in the mulberry (Morus indica) cultivar, Kanva-2 through clonal selection (Preprint). Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5583674/v1
Legendre, P., Borcard, D., & Roberts, D. W. (2012). Variation partitioning involving orthogonal spatial Eigen function sub models. Ecology, 93(5), 1234-1240.
Liang, L., Wu, X., Zhu, M., Zhao, W., Li, F., Zou, Y., & Yang, L. (2012). Chemical composition, nutritional value, and antioxidant activities of eight mulberry cultivars from China. Pharmacognosy magazine, 8(31), 215.
Li, T., Wang, L., Feng, Y., Li, S., Wang, M., Zhao, C., & Zhao, W. (2024). Study on the mechanism of enzymatically treated mulberry (Morus atropurpurea Roxb.) leaf protein relieves liver injury in heat stress rats. Journal of Functional Foods, 119, 106312.
Liu, Y., Lv, Z., Wei, J., Liu, P., Pan, M., Ma, H., & Lin, T. (2024). Comparative Physiological, Proteomic, and Metabolomic Insights into a Promising Low-Pruning Mulberry Cultivar for Silkworm Rearing. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 25(24), 13483. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms252413483
Maenaka, K., & Park, E. Y. (Eds.). (2018). Silkworm Biofactory: Silk to Biology. CRC Press.
Mallikarjuna, G., & Balasaraswathi, S. (2023). Mulberry Silk Insect. In Commercial Insects (pp. 17-48). CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003454960
Mandal, A., Mukherjee, J., & Some, S. (2025). Microbial infections in mulberry silkworm: Challenges and sustainable management strategies. Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies, 13(5), 11–19. https://doi.org/10.22271/j.ento.2025.v13.i5a.9597
Manjunatha, S. R., Gowda, N. M., Karaba, K. C., Narayanaswamy, K. C., & Jagadish, K. S. (2020). Performance of silkworm hybrid PM × CSR2 on drought-tolerant transgenic mulberry lines. Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies, 8(3), 1961–1966.
Offor, I. F., Ehiri, R. C., & Njoku, C. N. (2014). Proximate nutritional analysis and heavy metal composition of dried Moringa oleifera leaves from Oshiri Onicha LGA, Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Journal of Environmental Science, Toxicology and Food Technology, 8(1), 57-62.
Padhan, S., Hasan, W., Bashir, M., & Belagalla, N. (2025). Introduction to sericulture. (pp. 1–15). CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003717768-1
Peng, X., Teng, L., Yan, X., Zhao, M., & Shen, S. (2015). The cold responsive mechanism of the paper mulberry: Decreased photosynthesis capacity and increased starch accumulation. BMC Genomics, 16, 898. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-015-2047-6
R Core Team, (2025) R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing (Version 4.5.1) [Computer software]. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. https://www.R-project.org/.
Rahmathulla, V. K. (2012). Influence of temperature and humidity on growth and development of silk gland of a bivoltine silkworm hybrid. Iranian Journal of Entomology, 3, 24–29. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1920)48.
Saini, P., Rohela, G. K., Kumar, J. S., Shabnam, A. A., & Kumar, A. (2023). Cultivation, utilization, and economic benefits of mulberry. In The mulberry genome (pp. 13–56). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-49117-7
Sharma, P., Lakra, N., Goyal, A., Ahlawat, Y. K., Zaid, A., & Siddique, K. H. (2023). Drought and heat stress mediated activation of lipid signaling in plants: A critical review. Frontiers in Plant Science, 14, 1216835. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1216835
Sime, D., & Siraj, Z. (2020). Sericulture in Ethiopia: Production status, opportunities, challenges and potential areas—A review. Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies, 8(6), 1–10.
Sombroek, W. G., Braun, H. M. H., & Pouw, B. V. D. (1982). Exploratory soil map and agro-climatic
zone map of Kenya, 1980, scale 1: 1,000,000 (pp. 56-pp)
Song, F., Li, Y., Huang, J., Lu, W., Guo, Z., & Deng, W. (2024). Integrated transcriptomic and proteomic
analyses reveal combined drought and heat stress effects on Morus alba. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 228, 105988. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2024.105988
Sun, Z., Yin, Y., Zhu, W., & Zhou, Y. (2023). Mulberry physiological responses to drought stress. Forests, 14(5), 949. https://doi.org/10.3390/f14050949.
Tayal, M. K., & Chauhan, T. P. S. (2017). Silkworm diseases and pests. In Industrial entomology (pp. 265–289). Springer. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-10-3304-9_9
Terefe, M., Shifa, K., Tilahun, A., Ibrahim, A., Biratu, K., & Bogale, A. (2018). Mulberry (Morus spp.) genotypes and their effects on silkworm rearing performance. In Livestock Research Results 2018 (pp. 401-409). Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research.
Tuigong, D. R., Kipkurgat, T. K., & Madara, D. S. (2015). Mulberry cultivation and silk production in Kenya. Journal of Textile Science & Engineering, 5(6), 1000218. https://doi.org/10.4172/2165-8064.1000218.
