Pooja V¹*, Nagaraj KH², Shivlingaiah YN³, Manjunath Gowda⁴ and Mohan Kumar TL⁵

¹Ph.D. Scholar, Department of Agricultural Extension, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru, India
²Professor and Editor, Communication Centre, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru, India
³Dean (Agri.), University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru, India
⁴Professor, Department of Sericulture, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru, India
⁵Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural Statistics, Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru, India

*Corresponding Author: Pooja V, Ph.D. Scholar, Department of Agricultural Extension, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru, India.

Received: September 15, 2026; Published: October 08, 2026

Abstract

Sericulture is an important rural livelihood enterprise that contributes to employment, income generation and sustainable agricultural development. However, the sustainability of sericulture is influenced by a complex interaction among farmer characteristics, access to resources and the management practices adopted in mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing. The present study, conducted during 2026, examined the pathways influencing sustainable sericulture production in a traditional sericultural district of Karnataka. An ex-post facto research design was employed and 120 sericulture farmers were selected through a multistage sampling procedure from 12 villages of Kanakapura and Chennapatna taluks. Data were collected through a structured and pre-tested interview schedule and analysed using descriptive statistics, Karl Pearson’s correlation, multiple regression, step wise regression and path analysis. The findings revealed that more than half (55.00%) of the respondents had medium levels of sustainability and management practices (42.50%). Correlation analysis indicated that achievement motivation, cosmopoliteness and extension contact had significant positive relationships with sustainability, whereas age, material possession and economic motivation were significantly associated with management practices. Path analysis showed that economic motivation exerted a significant positive direct effect, whereas training undergone had a significant negative direct effect on management practices. The conceptual model highlights the interconnected role of farmer characteristics, management approaches, resource utilization and waste recycling in achieving ecological, economic, social and institutional sustainability. The study emphasizes strengthening extension support, farmer exposure, resource access and context-specific capacity-building interventions to promote sustainable sericulture production.

Keywords: TSericulture; Sustainability; Management Practices; Path Analysis; Cosmopoliteness

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Citation

Citation: Pooja V.,et al. “Modelling the Pathways to Sustainable Sericulture Production: Role of Farmer Characteristics and Management Approaches". Acta Scientific Agriculture 10.7 (2026): 38-49.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2026 Pooja V.,et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.