Promotion of Sericulture depends, besides other factors, on availability of quality silk seed. Present study was conducted to construct a model for predicting fecundity using the female pupal body weight. Among the nine reared silkworm strains, the mean heaviest pupa was 1.52±0.01 g of hybrid PFI 14, while the mean lightest pupa was 1.24±0.03 g of hybrid 206MKD*C-102. The mean highest fecundity was 458.1±16.9 eggs/female laid by hybrid PFI 14, while the mean lowest fecundity was 387.6±9.74 eggs/female laid by inbred 206MKD. A positive significant (p<0.05) to highly significant (p<0.01) correlation was found between the female pupal body weight and fecundity. The correlation coefficient (r2) ranged from 0.728 to 0.957. A positive linear model was established between the female pupal body weight and fecundity. The coefficient of regression varies between 0.53 and 0.92, thus indicated a moderate-good fit of fecundity prediction model. Based on these findings it is concluded that the nine silkworm strains, both inbred strains and hybrids, have promising fecundity potential. Moreover, the female pupal body weight is a reliable indicator for fecundity estimation and may be used for estimation of silk seed production. The findings will also be helpful in increasing silk seed production by selecting females based on pupal body weight.

Keywords: Fecundity, Pupa, body weight, Seed cocoons, Silk Seed, Bombyx mori.