Local Name: Tasar

Tasar cocoon is the main source of tasar silk. Aasan and Arjun are the main species for Tasar host trees. Tassar Culture in Jharkhand is many centuries old. It forms an integral part of the life of tribal people in Chota Nagpur and Santhal Parganas. It was linked with the livelyhood of the tribal people who took tassar culture to supplement their income from Agriculture. However, in the trasition period of take over of Zamindar forests there was lot lot of destruction of tassar host trees consisting mainly of Assan and Arjun. Atherca Mylitta: Which is a wild non mulbery silk worm reared outdoors mostly on forest food plants like Terminalia Arjun, Termenalia tomentosa.

Phenology
• Leaf Shedding: Feb-March (Arjun Tree)
• Rearing: June-Jan
• Moth emergence: Sep-Nov

Distribution
At present tasar cultivation in the state of Jharkhand is confined to East & West Singbhum & Godda District.

Silviculture
For economic plantation, the spacing between two trees should be 1.2 m. X 1.2 m. while for block plantation it is 2m. X 2 m. But at present the recommendation For the plantation from Central Tassar Research and Training Institute, Ranchi is 4 X 4 feet.

Utilisation
The Tasar cocoon forms the basic raw material for the manufacture of Tasar Silk yarn.

Types of commercial coccon

Production
The first step in cocoon rearing is the planting of seed crop on the host tree. Traditionally the seed was prepared by the villagers themselves. This was done by collecting fertilised female silk worm from the trees which were then kept in small baskets made of bamboo. These females were allowed to lay eggs inside the bamboo basket. The eggs were collected on the leaf cups after putting some herbal medicine in the cup whose purpose was to protect the young larva and also form part of its diet. These cups were then planted on the host tree. The commercial cocoon is ready after 60 to 75 days whereas the seed cocoon to be harvested for the next crop is ready after 30 to 45 days.

At present CTR&TI is involved in providing the rearers with improved quality and disease free layeggs (DFL). This is done by killing the moth after it has laid eggs and then examining it under a microscope for disease. If the moth is found to be carrying some diseases then the eggs from that moth are crushed at that moment itself and the remaining eggs are all disease free.

Collection Process
Collection Period: August – September (seed crop) and November - January
The commercial coon is collected from the host tree.

Processing
The processing at primary collector level includes grading of the cocoons based on their size and quality. The next step includes joining these graded similar 80 cocoons in the form of a garland, known as a PUN, which is then taken to the trader / weekly hat for selling. The processing done at the trader level (RMB) includes Four basic stages.
• Stipling
All the puns are collected in a bora and all the collected Bora’s are kept inside a room such that when hot air at a temperature of 80 to 90°c for 1 – 5 hours is blown inside, all the bora’s are heated uniformly. This is done to kill the pupa inside the cocoon.
• Drying
Then the cocoons are dried under the sun in an open ground, after taking them out from the Bora’s, for 10 – 15 days.
• Grading
The dried cocoons are then graded based on the following criteria:
     • Cocoon size
     • Compactness
     • Yarn Yield Potential
• Counting and Packaging
The graded cocoons are counted and kept inside uniform bags containing similar grade cocoons. There are basically two qualities of cocoons namely reeling and unreeling. The difference between these two types of cocoons is that those cocoons whose pupa have holed out from their respective cocoons are called unreeling cocoons whereas those cocoons whose pupa have died inside the cocoon and have not been able to come out are called reeling cocoons.

Processing at Industry level
The pupa of the collected cocoons are killed by putting the cocoons in a machine at a temperature of around 50c. Care should be taken such that the temperature does not go beyond 100c at any time. After killing the pupa the cocoons are put inside a pressure cooker and boiled for 5 min. in 30 gms. Of soap soda along with 3 litres of water. This is done for 100 cocoons at a time. After boiling the cocoons are steamed for 30 minutes and let to cool. After cooling the cocoons they are then deflossed. Around 6- 8 cocoons are then reeled in a machine to make Hank. From 1 cocoon around 12 – 14 m of yarn is produced

For quality production of tasar yarn the processing done at the various stages requires extensive quality control measures to be initiated. Before cocoon cooking / reeling, the cocoon quality should be tested in order to provide the necessary data for planning of the reeling operation with particular reference to cocoon cooking and reeling.

Tasar reeling

In Tasar reeling, yarn denier and colour are considered to be the prime subject of yarn quality. The inherent variation in tasar silk filament / yarn denier and colour can be minimised by adopting mechanical means of manipulation of cocoon feeding during reeling. This is done by feeding two spindles with freshly deflossed cocoons, out of a total of four spindles, upto middle layer and thereafter transferred to the other two spindles for reeling middle layer onwards. While practicing this care has to be taken so that the bobbins do not get mixed while re-reeling.

Trading Centres
     • Vishnupur, W.B
     • Katoria, Bhagalpur
     • Khadi Gramoudyog, Ranchi.

Traders
     • Raw Material Bank
          Tata Road, Chaibasa.
     • Saundik Trader
          Kalyanpur, Nimdi, Chaibasa.
          56782
     • Shiv Kumar
          Near Post office, Nimdi, Chaibasa.
     • Gautam Rai, Near Post office, Nimdi, Chaibasa.

Buyers List

     1. Katoria, bhagalpur,
          Bihar.
     2. Bakara, Vishnupur,
          West Bengal.
     3. Silk Khadi Sewa Mandal,
          Vishnupur,
          West Bengal.
     4. Gramudyog Commission certified Khadi Institute,
          Trill Ashram,
          Dhruva, Ranchi.
          Jharkhand.

Price trend For Reeling Cocoons (Source R.M.B.)

Price trend For Un-Reeling Cocoons (Source R.M.B.)