New silkworm variety discovered
New silkworm variety discovered
YOGYAKARTA: A university researcher announced Tuesday the new
discovery of three silkmoths with a much higher value and
superior quality than the existing variety.
Jesmandt Situmorang of Gadjah Mada University said during a
seminar that the three wild silkmoths, known more as harmful
pests of fruits including kedondong, jambu mete (cashew),
avocados and soursacks can produce more resilient silk fibers.
Situmorang said they are 20 times the value of ordinary
silkworms. "These valuable silkworms are under attack from South
Sulawesi residents, who find them a nuisance," he said.
He said the wild silkworms, classified as Crucula
trifenestrata, Attacua atlas and Antheraea sp, are found on
certain islands of Indonesia and survive mainly in a tropical
climate.
President of the International Society for Wild Silkmoths
Hiromu Akai said that Situmorang's findings feature superior
characteristics including the silk threads' natural golden color,
odorlessness and more porousness and the ability to wrinkle less
than ordinary silk.
The university's entomologist Hari Purwanto said at the
university's Japanese Studies Center that the wild silkmoths can
only be raised in a tropical country like Indonesia as they are
accustomed to eating the country's local fruits.
Ordinary silkmoths are usually fed on mulberry leaves.
The wife of Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, GKR Hemas voiced her
concerns about a possible business monopoly on the new silkmoths,
a move she believes would jeopardize the local people's
traditional silk production business.
Hemas, also coordinator of the Social Welfare Coordination
Board, said the presence of domestic or foreign commercial
interests would adversely affect the local people's efforts to
increase their earnings.
"We have tried to make our country breed these silkmoths as
well as produce and market the silk fabrics. We do not wish to
become a mere exporter of silk cocoons," she said, citing the
training of 12 people at the university on breeding techniques of
wild silkmoths.
"Frankly, this is the right moment to empower the socially and
economically disadvantaged as many Japanese businessmen are so
interested in Situmorang's findings that they claim them as their
own, not to mention the possibility of Jakarta businessmen
monopolizing the business," she said.
Much of Situmorang's findings were made possible by Kyoto-
based Japanese company Jurako Ori which provided him with
research equipment including microscopes and centrifuge
instruments.
The silkmoths' cocoons will be exported to Japan, according to
Gadjah Mada university.
China controls 80 percent of the world's silk production, with
the remaining 20 percent divided between Indonesia and
neighboring southeast Asian countries. (23/01)