agriculture review
by aditya abhishek
Around 4000 years ago during the Neolithic, people of China discovered the process of production of silk in the world.
According to legends, the discovery of silk was due to an accident. One fine day, Empress Leizu was sitting beneath a mulberry tree and enjoying her tea.
Accidentally, a little cocoon from a silkworm on a mulberry tree accidentally fell into her cup. When the cocoon fell, its thread started to unwind.
The clever Empress had an idea! She thought of using this special thread to create something beautiful. She decided to weave the thread into fabric.
Her husband, the Yellow Emperor, was very supportive & encouraged her to learn more about the silk worm's life and thus the silk industry evolved.
However, this tradition of sericulture was kept secret from the rest part of the world for a long time till the silk route opened in the last half of the first millennium BC.
Still China is the largest silk producing country in the world. It produces around 150,000 million metric tonnes of silk (78%) every year.
India is the second largest silk producing country in the world. However, the world's costliest silk which is "Muga Silk" can only be cultivated in India.