Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2020) 9(12): 3222-3229 3222 Original Research Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2020.912.383 Evaluation of Different Mulberry Plantation Systems for Leaf Yield and Yield Contributing Characters Santoshkumar Magadum 1* , Preeti Sharma 2 , Manju Bala 2 , Rukhsana Kouser 2 , Ashima Sharma 2 , Lobzang Deskit 2 , Farzana Aziz 2 , JeewanLal 2 and Sardar Singh 1 1 Regional Sericultural Research Station, Central Silk Board, Miran Sahib, Jammu & Kashmir, India 2 Department of Sericulture, Poonch Campus, University of Jammu, Poonch, Jammu & Kashmir, India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Introduction Mulberry (Morus spp.) is a fast growing deciduous woody perennial plant, normally cultivated as bush or dwarf tree by repeated pruning (Magadum et al., 2019). It is the primary food plant of silkworm (Bombyx mori L.); hence, availability of good quality leaf has great impact on the sustainability and profitability of sericulture industry.The quality of mulberry leaves is also affected by the plantation system. Spacing has a great impact on leaf yield. Spacing has direct influence on plant growth which includes plant height, number of branches/plant, shoot length, number of leaves/plant and leaf yield/plant. Due to lack of space, competition is evident for air, light, soil moisture, nutrients, etc., leading to poor yield (Bongale, 1991). In sericulture, more than 60% of the total cost of cocoon production goes towards mulberry production alone. Hence, in recent International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 9 Number 12 (2020) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com Leaf yield and yield related parameters play an important role in improvement of mulberry quality and quantity.The present study was conducted at Regional Sericultural Research Station, Central Silk Board, Miran Sahib, Jammu during Spring, 2019 to evaluate different mulberry plantation systems for growth, yield and its contributing characters under sub- tropical conditions of Jammu. The data recorded on leaf yield and yield contributing characters from three different plantation systems (3x3 ft., 8x8 ft. and 10x10 ft.) revealed that number of new shoots per plant (63.29), longest shoot length (104.74 cm), number of leaves per meter of shoot length (21.43), leaf:shoot ratio (1.21) and leaf yield per plant per crop (3.96 kg) were found to be higher in 10×10 ft. spacing plantation system. Leaf yield per plant and other yield parameters were found to be superior in wider spacing plantation system as compared to narrow spacing which may be due to abundant space for root spread, high uptake of the nutrients and moisture. Keywords Leaf yield, Mulberry, Shoot length, Plantation system, Leaf area Accepted: 28 November 2020 Available Online: 10 December 2020 Article Info