During silkworm rearing, sericulture farmers face lot of challenges. Among these include combating pests and diseases of silkworms. One of the major and serious problems encountered by the farmers is a tachinid fly, popularly known as Uzi fly (Exorista bombycis), which is an endo-parasitoid of the delicate silkworm, Bombyx mori and causes 15-20% crop loss annually.

The Central Sericultural Research & Training Institute (CSRTI) at Mysore has developed a unique formulation in the form of a tablet which adopts the strategy of first attracting the adult tachinid fly and then killing it. This eco-friendly way of managing the tachinid fly has been evaluated in the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. On an average, the product has shown to trap about 40 flies per crop (rearing) and helps in increasing the cocoon yield by 3 to 4 kg per 100 disease free layings (dfls).

The process of manufacture involves simple mixing and tableting steps. All the ingredients and equipment/machinery required are available indigenously. The manufacturing process of this tablet does not cause pollution as the product is free from any toxic chemicals. However, the CSRTI has suggested that this product be kept beyond the reach of children and domestic animals.

The product is in the form of yellow round tablet weighing approximately 2.5 g. One packet containing 12 tablets is required for rearing 100 dfls. The present market price of one packet is Rs.10.00 (Rupees ten only).

There is an estimated demand of about 10 lakh packets, which has been on the rise each year. The product has good market potential in the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, as there are no such products available in India.