| dc.description.abstract | Propolis has been suggested to be an alternative additive for use in intensive animal production. Moreover, it was recently shown to boost the performance of the black soldier fly. In order to foster improved silkworm rearing, the growth performance of silkworms needs to be enhanced. This can be done through improving the feed conversion efficiency of mulberry leaves by silkworms. ropolis, as a well-known effective natural stimulant, has been suggested to have the ability to improve the feed conversion efficiency, immunity and growth performance of organisms. Therefore, this study focused on the growth performance of silkworm larvae (Bombyx mori) fed on mulberry leaves containing propolis. In this study, eggs of silkworms treated with 1.1 moles of 35% pure HCl at the National Sericulture centre, Kawanda were collected and incubated under suitable conditions. An experiment with 4 treatments was set up in which triplicate groups of 50 silkworm larvae were each fed on mulberry leaves treated with either the control or the (4g, 6g and 8g ethanol extracted propolis). The experiment had 12 replicates where 10 silkworm larvae from each replicate were sampled. The mean weight of silkworm larvae at different instars and the rate of emergence of silkworm larvae were then assessed. The findings indicate that higher concentrations of propolis in the diet resulted in increased weight gain of silkworm larvae in the
different instars. In instar two, the control treatment had the lowest mean weight (0.033±0.005g) of silkworm larvae, while the 8g propolis treatment had the highest mean weight (0.063±0.004g) of silkworm larvae. Similar trends were observed in instars 3, 4, and 5, where the mean weights of silkworm larvae differed significantly among the propolis treatments. In each of these instars, the
control treatment had the lowest mean weight, while the 8g propolis treatment had the highest mean weight. These findings therefore suggest that addition of propolis to mulberry leaves can have positive effects on the weight gain of silkworm larvae throughout their development. Based on these findings, I recommend studies on the long-term effects of propolis on silkworms, the
mechanisms of propolis action and dose-response studies in order to widen the knowledge of the effect of propolis on silkworms. | en_US |
