While traditional sericulture areas in the east continue to shrink, the southwestern plateau is emerging as a new pillar for China's cocoon-silk raw material supply. On July 30, the Qujing Modern Sericulture Innovation Demonstration Base was inaugurated in Shuijing Village, Dongshan Town, Qilin District. With a planned area of 300 mu and four functional zones, the project is more than just an expansion of mulberry planting; it carries the dual mission of technical breakthroughs and model replication.
Background
Qujing is not historically a major sericulture city, but the Ciying and Dongshan areas in Qilin District have already formed large-scale mulberry gardens, and the regional climate supports multiple silkworm rearing cycles per year, providing a natural foundation for stable high-quality cocoon production. The base is located within a water source protection zone, where ecological constraints force upgrades in cultivation techniques and require an environmentally friendly development path.
The base plan covers four major sections: introduction and trial of new mulberry varieties, demonstration of standardized cultivation, improved seed breeding, and sericulture-tourism integration. The core technical support comes from the Sericulture and Bee Research Institute of Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences. A tripartite strategic cooperation agreement was signed to build an industry-academia-research platform, aiming to address long-standing issues in the southwest such as low coverage of improved varieties and fragmented technology extension.
From an industry map perspective, this layout aligns with the national trend of "East Mulberry West Move, East Silk West Consolidation." As labor and land costs rise in the east, the sericulture industry is inevitably shifting to central and western regions. Yunnan, as a major high-quality cocoon producer, directly affects the supply chain security of premium silk fabrics and silk home textiles.
Industrial Impact
For buyers, the significance of the base lies in standardization. In the past, cocoon quality in the southwest varied greatly, forcing silk reeling enterprises to mix batches, which affected the grade stability of raw silk. By focusing on improved seed breeding and efficient rearing models, the base aims to enhance per-unit yield and cocoon consistency, meaning downstream companies could secure more stable raw material supply and reduce sorting costs.
The model of "research institute + leading enterprise + base + farmers" is not new, but under the constraints of a water source protection zone, its execution details offer valuable references. Mulberry variety selection, green pest control, and labor-saving rearing machinery will all be validated within this 300-mu experimental field. Once a replicable technology package is formed, the pace at which surrounding farmers adopt it will determine the speed of regional capacity expansion.
Notably, the base also explores mulberry fruit picking, sericulture study tours, and comprehensive utilization of by-products, indicating that the traditional single-revenue model of selling cocoons is being broken. For farmers, diversified income can reduce the risk of cocoon price fluctuations. For local governments, it means the industrial chain extends from the primary to the tertiary sector, expanding employment and tax potential.
However, it should be noted that 300 mu is a limited scale in the grand industrial landscape; its real value lies in the "showcase" effect. If improved seed breeding and efficient rearing technologies can radiate across Qilin District and even Qujing, the increase in per-mu mulberry garden efficiency will directly consolidate the raw material foundation of the southwest cocoon-silk cluster. The next step is whether the linkage with silk reeling and weaving processes will be smooth, which will be the key test of this model.