Welcome to Central Sericultural Research & Training Institute (CSRTI), Mysore, the premier research institute in the field of tropical mulberry sericulture, which is lending a constant support to stakeholders to enhance quality and productivity of silk ensuring higher returns. The institute was established in 1961 with a vision to be a “Centre of Excellence” for providing R&D support in sericulture and this year completed its glorious fifty years successfully with primary objective of rural development through development of environment friendly technologies, equipments, gadgets and machineries required for silk production to help poor farmers and women. The scientists of the institute are working towards improvement in productivity and quality of silk with reduction in input cost, which ultimately result in an overall improvement of socio-economic conditions of the rural mass in the country. The overall achievements during X and XI Plan Periods, which resulted in quantum jump in sericulture production and productivity in the major sericulture belt comprising Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu falling under the jurisdiction of CSRTI, Mysore, are enumerated below:

Over the years, the institute has achieved several breakthroughs in sericulture technology, which include development of high yielding mulberry varieties like V1, S13, S36 etc., and silkworm hybrids viz., CSR2 x CSR4 and Krishnaraja (CSR6 x CSR26) x (CSR2 x CSR27), etc, which are very popular in the field. Besides, the newly evolved polyvoltine hybrids namely, ND7 x CSR2

 L14 x CSR2 and L15 x CSR2 and bivoltine single/double hybrids namely, CSR50 x CSR51 and (CSR52 x CSR50) x (CSR51 x CSR53) have shown promising results in the field-testing and will be released shortly after authorization. As a recent breakthrough, the newly evolved multivoltine x bivoltine hybrid, L14 x CSR2 provides higher quality raw silk of 3A grade, which is on par with bivoltine silk. Packages of practices for mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing and a number of cost effective technologies and devices for different sericulture activities have also been developed to bring revolution in production and productivity of mulberry silk in the southern peninsular India.  The contributions made by this institute are reflected in manifold increase in productivity levels of raw silk i.e., from meager 20 to 22 kg of mulberry raw silk /ha in 1960s to 96.06 kg/ha during 2010-11.  The bivoltine hybrids developed at this institute has been successfully reared countrywide producing silk of international grade. The bivoltine rearing technology for tropics has been successfully transferred to field with model pockets like Srirangapattana, Turuvekere, Chitradurga, Kanakapura, Harohally, Bangarpet, Kolar, Y.N.Hosakote, Bidarakote, Gajanur, B.G. Kere etc., in Karnataka,  Kuppam, V. Kota, Madakasira, Palamaner, Hindupur, Kalyanadurgam and Bhimdole in Andhra Pradesh and Palani, Udumalpet, Gobi, Berigai, Sanarpatty, Uthangarai, Sathiyamangalam and Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu.  Overall, Tamil Nadu has emerged as Bivoltine Leader in the entire country with the highest bivoltine silk production.  Thus, with pride the institute acclaims recognition globally as one of the leading institutes for sericulture research in the entire tropical world.

Further, the technologies developed by this institute have been popularized among the farmers which has not only helped in maximizing yield and returns but also brought vertical growth of the industry resulting into an increased annual raw silk production to the tune of 20,410 M.T. (2010-11) and today India occupies the second place in the world's raw silk production.  Towards this endeavour, under CSR&TI, Mysore, more than 160 dedicated scientific personnel are working in 25 well-equipped research laboratories, concentrating on all major areas of research in sericulture viz., breeding, pathology, physiology, agronomy, rearing technology, sericultural engineering, economics, seri-biotechnology, molecular biology, bioinformatics etc.  Additionally, there are full-fledged divisions dedicated to extension activities and Human Resource Development (HRD) at the institutes main campus.  Besides, this institute has a large extension network consisting of four Regional Sericultural Research Stations and 33 Research Extension Centres/Sub-Units and two Breeding Stations, 22 Cluster Units under Cluster Promotion Programme (CPP) spread over in the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Kerala for effective transfer of technologies to bridge the gap between lab to land, test verify and fine tune the technologies developed by the main institute.

CSRTI, Mysore has undertaken collaborative research programmes with national and international agencies such as Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), European Economic Community (EEC), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Universities involved in sericultural research, etc., to harness their technical expertise in highly specialized fields and also to pool resources for the development of new technologies in frontier areas of sericulture research.

CSRTI, Mysore is committed for HRD in sericulture with its modern teaching and training facilities of international standards supported by professionally competent scientists.  The Training Division is  ISO 9001 : 2008  certified and is also recognized as an International Training Institute on Tropical Sericulture by SDC and JICA.  Over the years, the institute has trained more than 770 foreign and 19370 Indian candidates in tropical sericulture technology.  The institute has also been recognized as a Post Graduate Centre for carrying out studies leading to award of Ph.D. by University of Mysore.

The institute also develops suitable extension models and provides yeomen services to farmers through information kiosks for giving timely guidance in sericulture,Reshme Vahini, a farm magazine, which is published on quarterly basis and Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS).  Besides, video conferencing on sericulture technologies for the extension workers and farmers is conducted periodically in association with the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, AG Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore.  Indian Journal of Sericulture, an half-yearly research and development publication of repute is brought out by the institute, in addition to SERIDOC which is a sericultural research abstract publication published half-yearly.

The institute is constantly striving for up-gradation of quality and quantity of silk production in the country. Besides, it is concentrating on certain key areas indicated below with an overall emphasis on complimenting the efforts of respective state governments to meet the envisaged production goals of the XI Plan with concerted efforts towards quick transformation of adopting available improved technologies by farmers.

(i) Short term goals

1.      New R&D initiatives for evolving suitable specific cost effective technologies through focused research programmes towards maximizing cocoon production and silkworm protection technologies.

2.      Enhancing silk productivity and quality through the application of traditional and advanced breeding methods.

3.      Management of mulberry and silkworm diseases through development of diagnostic kit and nano technology.

4.      Popularizing new bivoltine sericulture technologies among sericulturists.

5.      Expansion of sericulture through cluster approach in other potential areas of traditional states for sustained production and also productivity.

6.      Value addition to sericulture by-products and products diversification.

 (ii) Long term goals

Due to increased pressure on aerable land for food/fodder corps and in view of recurring losses due to diseases the following long term plans are drawn:

1.      Improve soil fertility status in mulberry belts of different agro-climate zones.

2.      Development of superior transgenic mulberry for tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress through biotechnological tools.  

3.      Development of cost effective tools, techniques and appliances for silkworm rearing management.

4.      Breeding for disease resistance especially the NPV and robust silkworm breeds for stress tolerance in different zones.

5.  Develop disease forecasting and forewarning system for disease and pest management in mulberry and silkworm crops.

6.     Cloning and characterization of genes controlling yield and disease resistance.

7.      Improvement of silkworm breeds through transgenic approach.