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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA Ministry of Textiles · Central Silk Board

Glossary of Terms

Every term used across the technical pages of this site, grouped by the subject you are most likely to have met it in. Assamese vernacular terms are given alongside their technical equivalents, because both are in daily use in the field.

Muga culture

Term	Meaning
Aherua, Bhodia, Kotia, Jarua, Chotua, Jethua	The six muga crops of the year — Jun–Jul, Aug–Sep, Oct–Nov, Dec–Feb, Feb–Mar and Apr–May respectively
Bhor pok	Peak date of cocoon ripening, from which seed cocoons are selected
Chaloni	Bamboo sieve used as a rearing appliance
Chapapatia muga	Muga silk from champa-fed worms; historically a royal grade
Kharika / khorika	Straw or twig bundle to which mated moths are tied for egg laying
Koni, polu, leta, chakari	Assamese for egg, larva, pupa and moth
Mejankari / Majenkori	Litsea cubeba — host yielding the glossy white, highest-priced muga silk
Phutuka	Assamese name for pebrine, from the black specks on infected larvae
Plus-tree	A superior individual tree selected and conserved as germplasm
Pollarding	Cutting back the main stem above a set height to rejuvenate the canopy
Ring method	Applying manure or fertiliser in a ring at the drip line

Ericulture

Term	Meaning
Ahimsa silk	Silk obtained without killing the pupa; applies to eri because the cocoon is open-mouthed
Black boxing	Holding pigmented eggs in darkness before brushing to synchronise hatching
C2	Registered high-yielding eri hybrid, Genung (SR-018) × Borduar (SR-001)
Chandrakie	Mountage on which eri worms spin
Chawki	Young-age silkworm rearing, to the second moult; CRC — chawki rearing centre
Eco-race	A geographically distinct, heritable population; 26 are characterised in eri, none in muga
YP, YS, YZ, GBP, GBS, GBZ	The six eri pure-line strains by larval colour and marking

Crop protection

Term	Meaning
Asthra	Disinfectant used at 0.05 % for eri rearing houses and appliances
DFL	Disease-free laying — seed certified free of microsporidia, bacteria and fungi
LAHDOI	CMER&TI formulation sprayed against muscardine at 1 g per litre
MME	Mother moth examination — the pebrine test certifying a laying disease free
Uzi fly	Tachinid parasitoid — Exorista sorbillans and Blepharipa zebina in muga, E. sorbillans in eri

Post-cocoon technology

Term	Meaning
Bave	The twin-filament thread as spun, sericin-bonded; roughly elliptical in muga
Bhir	Traditional muga reeling device
Book	Packing unit of raw silk skeins, made up in 2 kg and 5 kg lots
Cake	Pad of degummed, stretched and stamped eri cocoon sheets, the feedstock for hand spinning
CPC	Cocoons per kilogram, counted as shells
Driage	Percentage weight loss of cocoons during stifling and drying
ERR	Effective rate of rearing
Gassing	Burning off protruding fibre ends to finish spun yarn
Ghicha	Traditional hand-spun muga yarn from non-reelable cocoons
gpl / dtex	Grams per litre; decitex — mass in grams per 10,000 m of fibre
Jetteboute	Casting attachment on the reeling spindle that cleans the yarn
MRTM / MSM	Muga reeling-cum-twisting machine / motorised eri spun machine
NBFL	Non-broken filament length — the continuous length recoverable by reeling
Nm	Metric count; higher Nm is finer yarn. 2/60 Nm is two-ply of 60 Nm singles
Roving / sliver	Intermediate strands in mill spinning, drawn and lightly twisted before ring spinning
SILKPLUS	CMER&TI cocoon-cooking formulation raising reeling efficiency and silk recovery
Sonalika	Improved muga reeling machine for weft yarn
SR	Silk or shell ratio — shell weight as a percentage of cocoon weight
Takli	Traditional hand spindle for spinning eri yarn

Programmes and administration

Term	Meaning
CPP	Cluster Promotion Programme — cluster or Seri Model Village mode of area development
ECP	Extension Communication Programme — melas, field days, awareness and demonstration events
FST / ToP	Farmers Skill Training / Technology Orientation Programme
HAC	Hybrid Authorization Committee of the Central Silk Board, which fixes breed release norms
KPI	Key Performance Indicator, the unit of target-setting in the CSB Action Plan
OST / OFT / FFT	On-Station Trial for technology validation; On-Farm and Field Trial for demonstration at farmer level
SRC	Sericulture Resource Centre — a village-level training and service point
TAR	Technology Assessment and Refinement

Last reviewed and updated: 14 August 2026 Content owned by CSB–CMER&TI, Lahdoigarh