Establishing a Kissan Nursery for High-Quality Mulberry Saplings

Every silk thread begins long before a silkworm spins its cocoon – it begins in a nursery. Specifically, a Kissan Nursery, a dedicated facility for producing high-quality mulberry saplings that form the very foundation of sericulture. As silk farming becomes more technology-driven, the demand for genetically consistent, disease-free mulberry planting material has never been higher. Setting up a Kissan Nursery is not only a service to the silk farming community – it is also a viable, low-investment agri-business with strong returns.

What is a Kissan Nursery? 🔗

A Kissan Nursery is a specialized nursery established to produce and supply quality mulberry saplings through vegetative propagation – primarily stem cuttings. Unlike growing plants from seeds, vegetative propagation ensures that the genetic traits of the parent plant, including leaf quality, growth pattern, and disease resistance, are passed on identically to each sapling. This consistency is critical for sericulture, where leaf quality directly determines cocoon yield and silk quality.

As noted by researchers at the University of Mysore’s Department of Sericulture Science, mulberry plantations can develop uneven growth due to cutting failures, and growing saplings in a dedicated nursery before transplanting is the most effective solution for establishing uniform gardens. Kissan Nurseries fill exactly this gap.

Their importance has grown further with the widespread adoption of shoot rearing technology in modern sericulture, which demands a consistent supply of high-quality, vigorous planting material at scale.

Why mulberry must be vegetatively propagated 🔗

Mulberry is predominantly propagated through stem cuttings rather than seeds. When grown from seeds, significant genetic variation occurs, resulting in unpredictable leaf quality and inconsistent plant performance – both major problems for silkworm farmers who depend on uniform, nutritious foliage throughout the rearing cycle.

According to the FAO’s documentation on mulberry cultivation in India, cuttings are prepared from branches that are 6-9 months old, approximately 15 mm in diameter, and cut to 15-18 cm lengths with three to four healthy buds. This standard ensures reliable rooting and vigorous sapling development.

The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) further recommends that cuttings be selected from well-established gardens of 8-12 months old, with fully grown main stems free from pest and disease damage, having a diameter of 10-12 mm. Cuts should be clean and at a 45° angle at the bottom end to maximize rooting surface.

Choosing the right mulberry varieties 🔗

Variety selection is one of the most important decisions in setting up a Kissan Nursery. Two varieties dominate commercial mulberry nurseries in India: S36 and V1.

S36 – the high-yield workhorse 🔗

S36 was developed at the Central Sericultural Research and Training Institute (CSRTI), Mysore, through EMS (ethyl methanesulfonate) treatment of the Berhampore Local variety. It is specifically recommended for irrigated conditions in South India and is well-suited to chawki (young silkworm) rearing owing to its tender, large, pale-green leaves with a high moisture and protein content. S36 has a spreading growth habit, which maximizes leaf-bearing surface per plant. The TNAU recommends S36 as a primary variety for irrigated sericulture regions and notes that up to five crops per year can be harvested from it.

V1 – compact and reliable 🔗

V1 (Victoria-1) is a hybrid developed from S30 × Berc 776 at CSRTI, Mysore. It has an erect growth habit, making it suitable where space is limited. V1 is equally suited to irrigated South Indian conditions and performs well under intensive management. Research published in the International Journal of Current Research confirms that V1 is a widely adopted variety in nursery operations across major sericulture states, particularly Andhra Pradesh. Like S36, V1 also supports five harvest crops annually and responds well to shoot rearing systems.

Both varieties are recommended for irrigated conditions alongside Kanva-2, but S36 and V1 remain the preferred choices specifically for Kissan Nursery production due to their high leaf yield, consistent nutritional profile, and compatibility with modern silkworm rearing methods.

Land preparation and nursery bed setup 🔗

Proper land preparation determines how well cuttings root and how healthy the resulting saplings are. The TNAU’s sericulture guidelines provide a clear standard for this process:

• Select approximately 800 sq.m. of red loamy soil near a reliable water source for producing saplings for one hectare of main field plantation.
• Apply 1,600 kg of well-decomposed farmyard manure (FYM) at a rate of 20 tonnes per hectare and incorporate it thoroughly into the soil.
• Raise nursery beds measuring 4m × 1.5m; adjust length based on slope and irrigation access.
• Provide adequate drainage channels and ensure the area is free from shade.

Soil pH should ideally be between 6.2 and 6.8 – slightly acidic – with good depth and drainage. Saline or alkaline soils are unsuitable for mulberry nurseries. The AgriEarning cultivation guide also confirms that mulberry thrives at temperatures between 24°C and 28°C with relative humidity of 65-80%, which should be considered when planning the nursery’s location and season of planting.

Pre-treatment of cuttings and nursery planting 🔗

Before planting, cuttings benefit from a biological pre-treatment to stimulate early rooting. TNAU recommends soaking the bottom end of cuttings in a solution of Azospirillum culture (1 kg in 40 litres of water) for 30 minutes. This nitrogen-fixing bacterium promotes root development and gives cuttings a strong start.

At planting:

• Apply VAM (Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhizae) at 100 g/m² across the nursery bed to enhance nutrient and water uptake.
• Plant cuttings at a spacing of 15 cm × 7 cm at a 45° angle.
• Ensure at least one active bud is exposed above the soil surface per cutting.

These steps significantly improve sprouting rates and sapling uniformity – two factors that directly affect the commercial value of the nursery’s output.

Nursery maintenance 🔗

Once planted, the nursery requires consistent management across a 90-120 day growing period before saplings are ready for transplanting. Key maintenance practices include:

• Irrigation: Water the nursery once every three days. Consistent moisture is essential for rooting and early shoot development.
• Pest management: Dust the area around nursery beds with Malathion 5D or Quinalphos 1.5D to prevent termite attacks.
• Disease control: To prevent root rot and collar rot, drench the soil with Carbendazim 50 WP (2 g/litre) or apply Trichoderma viride at 0.5 g/m².
• Fertilization: After weeding at 55-60 days, apply urea at 100 g/m² to support foliage growth in the final phase.
• Weeding: Keep nursery beds free from weed competition, especially in the first two months when cuttings are still establishing roots.

Saplings are ready for uprooting and transplanting to the main field after 90 to 120 days. At this stage, they should have a well-developed root system and multiple shoots, making them suitable for direct field planting.

Role of Kissan Nurseries in government sericulture programmes 🔗

The Kissan Nursery is not just a farm-level practice – it is a recognized component of national sericulture policy. Under the Government of India’s Silk Samagra scheme, implemented through the Central Silk Board with an outlay of ₹2,161.68 crore, specific financial assistance is extended for raising Kissan Nurseries and establishing plantations with improved mulberry varieties.

At the community level, research published in the Current Agriculture Research Journal on Karnataka’s Cluster Promotion Programme (CPP) found that the establishment of Kissan Nurseries at the community level, combined with free supply of high-yielding mulberry varieties, contributed to a remarkable 139% improvement in total farmer income post-intervention. The nursery model proved to be one of the most impactful components of the entire cluster approach.

Similarly, Kerala’s SERISREE project – a poverty eradication initiative under the Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana – specifically included the establishment of Mulberry Kissan Nurseries as one of its five core components, targeting Below Poverty Line (BPL) families and rural women.

Economic potential of a Kissan Nursery 🔗

Beyond its role in supporting sericulture, a Kissan Nursery is a standalone income-generating business. A well-managed nursery can produce between 50,000 and 1,00,000 saplings per year, depending on scale and management intensity. At prevailing market prices of ₹2-5 per sapling, annual gross revenues can reach ₹2-5 lakhs.

The cost structure is lean – the primary inputs are labor, water, FYM, and basic biological inputs like Azospirillum and VAM. Overhead is low once the infrastructure is in place. Demand is consistently strong because mulberry plantations require periodic replanting, and farmers expanding into sericulture need sapling supply. Government subsidy programmes further stabilize this market.

As highlighted in research by the University of Mysore, the growing need to establish uniform mulberry gardens – particularly due to the failure of direct cuttings to sprout – has made commercial sapling production an empowering business opportunity for rural entrepreneurs, including women and small-scale farmers.

Kissan Nursery as a community resource 🔗

One of the most effective models for Kissan Nurseries is the community-level nursery, where a centrally managed facility supplies saplings to a cluster of farmers. This model reduces per-unit costs, ensures quality control, and allows smallholders who lack the land or resources for independent nurseries to still access high-quality planting material.

The Erode District Sericulture Department in Tamil Nadu, for example, lists “Assistance for Establishment of Mulberry Kissan Nursery” as one of its direct support components for farmer upliftment – reflecting how institutionalized this model has become across India’s major sericulture states.

For the Kissan Nursery to serve this community function effectively, nursery operators must maintain high standards: disease-free mother plants for sourcing cuttings, good record-keeping of sapling batches, and timely supply synchronized with the silk farming calendar of the surrounding area.

What do you think? Given that Kissan Nurseries can be set up with relatively modest investment and generate significant income, do you think they are being promoted enough at the grassroots level in your region? And with the increasing adoption of shoot rearing, how important do you see the role of variety-specific nurseries becoming in the future of Indian sericulture?

References

1. https://www.agriculturejournal.org/volume12number1/seri-entrepreneurship-current-status-and-potential-opportunities/
2. https://www.fao.org/4/x9895e/x9895e04.htm
3. https://agritech.tnau.ac.in/sericulture/seri_mulberry%20cultivation.html
4. https://www.journalcra.com/article/comparative-studies-v1-and-g4-high-yielding-mulberry-varieties-nursery-level
5. https://www.agrifarming.in/mulberry-cultivation
6. https://www.marketscreener.com/news/latest/Ministry-of-Textiles-of-Republic-of-India-New-Schemes-for-Silk-Sector–28884065/
7. https://www.agriculturejournal.org/volume8number1/impact-of-cluster-promotion-programme-on-socio-economic-aspects-on-women-sericulture-farmers-in-karnataka-india/
8. http://silkwormmori.blogspot.com/2008/05/keralas-serisree-project-for-poverty.html
9. https://erode.nic.in/sericulture/