Iranian Journal of Irrigation & Drainage

Iranian Journal of Irrigation & Drainage

The effect of sprinkle irrigation on improving the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of silk produced compared to surface irrigation and rainfed cultivation

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Mohammadreza Khaledian 1
Majid Saber Zideh Saraei 2
Youssef Hamidoghli 3
Davoud Bakhshi 3
Reza Sourati Zanjani 4
1 Dept of Water Engineering Faculty of Agricultural Sciences University of Guilan Rasht Iran
2 Department of Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Guilan; P.O.BOX 41635-3756, Rasht, Iran
3 Associate Professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Guilan
4 Iran Silk Research Center
10.22034/idj.2025.542428.2623
Abstract
In this research, the effect of sprinkle irrigation on some traits of mulberry leaves, silk yield, and income from the sale of cocoons was investigated in comparison with rainfed and surface irrigation conditions from June to September 2022 and 2023 at the Iran Silk Research Center located in the Pasikhan region of Rasht city. After irrigation, three mulberry trees were randomly selected from each irrigation treatment and then the stems were cut and compared in two. The results of the variance analysis in the two sampling stages showed that the difference between the treatments was significant (p<0.05). Comparison of the means at the beginning and the end of the period showed that the highest chlorophyll a (0.753 and 0.654 mg/g), chlorophyll b (0.299 and 0.211 mg/g), protein (6.501 and 6.251 mg/g), and the total leaf sugar (0.358 and 0.419 mg/g) were obtained in the sprinkle irrigation treatment. The longest stem length (198.68 and 74.86 cm) was obtained in the surface irrigation treatment. In the next stage, the leaves obtained from the experimental treatments were given to silkworms, which were examined separately after the larvae fed on the leaves and the worms in each treatment were examined. The highest number of good cocoons (117.16) and the weight of one liter of good cocoons (175.74 g) were obtained in sprinkle irrigation. In terms of income, the highest amount of fresh cocoon sale was in the sprinkle irrigation treatment with an amount of 935089.75 thousands rials. The results showed that the application of sprinkle irrigation in the silkworm farms had the highest positive effect on the quality of the mulberry leaves produced and, as a result, the fresh cocoons produced and income.
Keywords
Mulberry leaf quality
Silk
Mulberry orchard
Iranian Journal of Irrigation & Drainage
Volume 19, Issue 6 - Serial Number 115
March and April 2026
Pages 937-952