Mulberry

Mulberry (Morus spp.) is an important horticultural plant in the sericulture industry. It belongs to the family Moraceae. The leaf of mulberry is used to feed the silkworm Bombyx mori L. It is also used as a fodder. Due to its economic and agricultural importance, mulberry is cultivated in many parts of the world. An estimated 60% of the total cost of silk cocoon production is for production and maintenance of mulberry plants. Therefore, much attention is needed to improve the quality and quantity of mulberry leaves. It is vital to increase the production of superior quality mulberry leaves with high nutritive value for the sericulture industry. Although a lot of research is going on in mulberry, very little effort has been made to compile the results of this research in a single book. This book provides an update of recent research works going on in this plant. It describes the taxonomy, conservation of germplasm, genetic diversity of various mulberry species, application of breeding techniques to improve the quality of mulberry, in vitro conservation, application of tissue culture techniques to improve mulberry species, production of haploids and triploids in mulberry and improvement of abiotic stress adaptive traits in mulberry with relevance to adaptiveness to global warming.

Mulberry (Morus spp.) is widely distributed tree taxon found almost in every continent across the globe. Habitat of this plant species is very much diversified, as it is found across all climatic zones ranging from tropical, sub-tropical, temperate, tundra, semi-arid to desert (arid) conditions. It flourishes on all types of landforms; mountains, valleys, plateaus, forests, grasslands, hills, plains and arid lands. Successful utilization of mulberry leaf for silkworm rearing and production of quality cocoons has been studied at length. Now, mulberry is being recognized as a multipurpose plant by most of the countries across the globe. As mulberry is eco-friendly in nature, the propagation of mulberry needs to be done at large scale to address the ecological issues like conversion of arid lands to cultivable lands, eco-restoration of degraded lands, bioremediation of polluted land sites, conservation of water and soil, cleaning the air pollution in urban areas, utilization of mulberry in producing renewable energy in the form of biodiesel. Similarly, there is the need to produce the identified and highly commercially valued pharmaceutical compounds of mulberry under laboratory conditions through in vitro culture based secondary metabolite production through enhanced expression under the stress conditions or in presence of elicitors. Lately protocols have been developed for genetic transformation of mulberry through agrobacterium mediated and particle bombardment mediated gene transfer techniques. Biotechnology based molecular breeding techniques could also be utilized in raising the improved lines through marker assisted selection, soma clonal variations, mutational breeding, somatic hybridization, genome editing and other genetic engineering approaches. Apart from sericulture; mulberry should also be utilized and exploited in other sectors across the globe for additional revenue generation, for livestock maintenance, for environmental safety and in promoting human health. These diversified aspects of mulberry coupled with its economic importance in revenue generation through sericulture, animal husbandry and industrial products has prompted us to prepare this book. It will present a comprehensive account of mulberry plant under 9 chapter headings: introduction, botanical features, ecological features, ecophysiological aspects, interactions and development, molecular aspects, propagation and production, economic importance, and global perspectives as well as future approaches.

Mulberry plant is a woody perennial plant. Scientific name of mulberry is Morus spp.. White mulberry is known as Morus alba, red mulberry is known as Morus rubra, and black mulberry is known as Morus nigra. Mulberry belongs to the family Moraceae. Mulberry plants are mainly grown for their fruits and for sericulture purposes. Sericulture is the culture of silk worms where mulberry leaves are used as fodders for silk worms.

Autumn has arrived on the shores of Lake Michigan, but Marlee Jacob, proprietor of The Berry Basket, is feeling a chill for other reasons ... With the Harvest Health Fair in full swing, Marlee makes sure to stock up on elderberry products for cold and flu season. But this year there's also a run on mulberry when an eccentric customer wants to use the dried berries to ward off evil forces. True, it's almost Halloween, but something else seems to be spooking Leticia the Lake Lady, Oriole Point's oddest resident. She believes someone plans to kill her—and the ghost. Only mulberries can protect them. Marlee doesn't take her fears seriously until a man named Felix Bonaventure arrives in the village, asking questions about a mysterious woman. The next day, Marlee finds Bonaventure dead on Leticia's property—shot through the heart with an arrow made of mulberry wood. And Leticia has disappeared. Marlee soon learns the Lake Lady has a deadly past that is connected to the famous Sable family who are in town for the health fair. A bunch of clues start to come together—and figuring out what's going on puts Marlee in a real jam ... Includes Berry Recipes!