Sericulture has become a vital rural sector in India, making the country the second largest silk producer in the world behind China. This sector is separated into farming (pre-cocoon sector) and industrial sector (post-cocoon sector). Here, farming involves the cultivation of mulberry plants and the rearing of silkworms, while the industrial sector includes reeling, knitting, twisting, dyeing, printing and finishing. The mulberry, which is a fast-growing woody perennial from the genus Morus, serves as vital for sericulture. The important species that come under the genus Morus include Morus indica, Morus alba and others. The silkworm Bombyx mori, which is a host-specific insect, comes under the order Lepidoptera and feeds exclusively on mulberry leaves to produce protective cocoons, attracted by chemicals like citral and betasitosterol, which are present in the mulberry plant. Apart from sericulture, mulberry plants serve nutritional and medicinal benefits, high in vitamins, minerals and organic compounds, leading to their exploitation in food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and healthcare industries. Generally, every plant has different parts like leaves, bark, roots and fruits. Here in mulberry, these parts possess a variety of properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-bacterial and so on. This paper explores diverse uses of mulberry plants.
