This study focuses on Ramanagara district, widely known as the “Silk City” and recognised as one of the most important sericulture regions in India. The district hosts one of Asia’s largest cocoon markets, where daily transactions often involve tens of thousands of kilograms of cocoons, attracting farmers from various parts of South India. The study aimed to examine the growth in the area under mulberry cultivation and mulberry silkworm cocoon production in both traditional and non-traditional sericulture areas of Karnataka. The analysis was based on secondary data collected over ten years, from 2014–15 to 2023–24. The results indicate a steady increase in the area under mulberry cultivation, which expanded from 17,200 hectares in 2014–15 to 20,804 hectares in 2023–24. Similarly, cocoon production exhibited an overall upward trend, increasing from 18,340 metric tonnes (MT) in 2014–15 to 21,500 MT in 2023–24. Furthermore, the analysis revealed a strong and statistically significant positive relationship between the area under mulberry cultivation and silk cocoon production in Ramanagara district (r = 0.730, p = 0.0165). The findings show that variations in mulberry cultivation area account for 53.3 per cent of the variation in cocoon production. The remaining variation may be attributed to other influencing factors such as climatic conditions, silkworm races, technological interventions, management practices, and market dynamics. Overall, the study confirms that the expansion of mulberry cultivation is a major and systematic driver of cocoon production in the district, highlighting its critical role in the growth and sustainability of the sericulture sector.
D Siddappaji (Sat,) studied this question.