Question

Largest silk producing state of India is --
A. Karnataka
B. Bihar
C. Bengal
D. Assam

Answer 1

Hint: Silk is mainly produced in the five states of India called Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Jammu & Kashmir that contributes nearly 97% of the mulberry silk in India.

Complete answer:
Karnataka is the largest silk producing state. Mysore and North Bangalore are known as "Silk City" that contribute to a majority of silk production. This state produces nearly 45% of the country's total mulberry silk. Silk is a natural protein fiber that is mainly composed of fibroin protein. It is produced by certain insect larvae of the species Bombyx mori who use it to create their cocoons. These larvae are referred to as silkworms even though they are not the worms.

Stages of silk production:
- The female silk moth lays around 300-500 eggs on a mulberry tree. The larvae hatch out of the egg are known as silkworms.
- The silkworms feed on mulberry leaves and they moult several times as they grow bigger. The silkworm at its fourth moult is ready to transform into a moth. It climbs to a branch and starts extruding a silk fiber to spin a net.
- It forms the net using fibroin protein and a gum called sericin that is secreted from two salivary glands, by holding itself inside the net.
- This silk gets solidified when it comes into the contact of air and makes a complete cocoon typically in two to three days.
- The cocoon is harvested from the plant with the silkworm still inside. The cocoons are then boiled in hot water to remove the sericin gum and to kill the silkworm.
- The cocoon is brushed to locate the outer end of the filament and at this stage, the product is called raw silk.

So, the correct answer is ‘Karnataka’.

Note: India is the only country in the world that produces four varieties of silk using different species of silkworms named mulberry silkworm, oak tasar, eri, and muga silkworms.