Cocoon production in Karnataka, which ____1____ hit by a mulberry disease, appears poised to pick up just in time to meet the growing demand for indigenous silk.
The leafroller insect, which eats the shoots of mulberry plants, had ____2____ the production in the State. With the climate change in the last few days and the use of pesticides bringing the disease under control, most cocoon markets have reported an increase in arrivals. The prices of cocoon, which had ____3____ high for the last three months, had begun to ____4____ in the last one week, said Deputy Director of Sericulture in Ramanagaram district MunishiBasaiah.
The cocoon market in Ramanagaram, one of the largest in the State, was trading 25 to 30 tonnes of cocoons daily during the last three to four months when the production was low. But, in the last one week, the arrivals had crossed 50 tonnes a day, ______5_____ bringing down the price, the officials said.