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Morus alba L.

Moraceae Author: J.M. Suttie

Synonyms
M. tatarica L., M. pumila Balb., M. multicaulis
Perr. and M. serrata Wall. (whereas M. serrata
Roxb. is a valid species)

The agronomy and use is similar for a range of closely related "silkworm"
mulberry species; this paper deals with them as a group.

Closely related species

The nomenclature of cultivated mulberries in complex, and some authorities
subdivide Morus alba into several species. Huo (2002) gives the Chinese
classification of mulberries into fourteen species. There is probably considerable
confusion in the literature regarding Himalayan and Indian mulberries since M.
indica Linn. is widespread and M. serrata Roxb. is common and widely planted in
the Himalayan region. Note that M. alba Bur. = M. indica Linn. M. laevigata Wall.
is another cultivated Indian mulberry. Morus kagayamae Koidzumi is grown in
Japan.

Morus nigra L. the Black Mulberry, is a very distinct species, mainly grown for its
larger fruit.

There are several North American species of Morus including the Red Mulberry
Morus rubra Linn.

Common names
White Mulberry, Silkworm mulberry, murier (F), morera (Sp.), tut (Urdu, Farsi,
Hindi)

STATUS

Mulberry is a very widespread and important crop for silkworm feed, fruit and
timber as well as being an excellent amenity tree. Its leaves and young bark are
recognized as excellent animal feed and are used as a by-product. The interest in
mulberry as a purpose-grown fodder for larger livestock has developed in recent
years; this gave rise to an Electronic Conference organized by the Animal
Production Service of FAO (AGAP). A book arising from the conference (Sánchez,
2002) has provided much of the information in this document.

Silkworm feed
Mulberry has been cultivated as silkworm food in China for a very long time.
Wang Zichun (1987) indicates that silkworm culture existed in China 4,000 years
ago or earlier. The date of domestication of the mulberry is not known exactly but
by the Western Zhou Dynasty (c. 11th century – 221 BC) mulberry trees were
already being cultivated on a large scale and pruning techniques had been
developed so that easier harvested "shrub" types could be grown. It is still widely
grown for silkworms, and since this is a very labour-intensive industry much is in
third world countries. Residues and stems from mulberry which has been eaten by
silkworms can be fed to livestock. China has 626 000 hectares of mulberry for

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silkworm (Huo, 2002; India has 282 000 hectares – Datta, 2002).

Non-forage uses:

Fruit. It is a widely grown fruit which can be eaten fresh, preserved, vinified or,
in some semi-arid areas, dried for winter use.

Timber. Mulberry provides excellent timber which is used for sports good
(especially M. serrata) as well as local needs in furniture; it is also pollarded to
furnish round wood.

Shade. Mulberry is an excellent and handsome shade tree and is often planted on
field edges in irrigated, semi-arid lands where it is also valued for fruit, poles and
timber. Its deep-rooting habit makes it a suitable tree for linear plantings.

In most countries mulberry is a highly valued tree; in some southern parts of the
USA, however, Morus alba is said to be potentially invasive and to compete with
native forest vegetation; male clones are sometimes used as avenue trees to
avoid seeding as well as soiling of the ground by fallen fruit.

DESCRIPTION

Morus alba is a tree which can reach over 20 m. in height but, in its cultivated
form, is often coppiced, pollarded or pruned to a low-growing bush to facilitate
the harvesting of fruit or leaves. The form of the tree can vary from pyramidal to
drooping. The simple, alternate, stipulate, petiolate, light green leaves are
cordate at their base but very variable in form, even on the same tree; some are
unlobed while others may be almost palmate. In temperate and sub-tropical
climates mulberries are deciduous; under tropical upland conditions they are in
leaf throughout the year. The tree generally has a deep tap root with little surface
rooting which makes it suitable for use near crop land. Mulberry trees are
commonly dioecious but may be monoecious, and sometimes will change from
one sex to another. The flowers are held on short, green, pendulous, nondescript
catkins that appear in the axils of the current season's growth and on spurs on
older wood. They are wind pollinated and some cultivars will set fruit without any
pollination. Cross-pollination is not necessary. Male catkins are generally longer
than female ones and are loosely arranged; after shedding pollen they dry and
drop off. The juicy drupelets formed by the individual flowers on the catkin
combine to form a sorosis, the characteristic mulberry fruit. Fruit colour is
commonly black but can vary through light purple to white – the "white" in the
plant’s name refers to its leaf-buds. The juice of the fruit causes stains which are
very difficult to remove from cloth.

ENVIRONMENTAL ADAPTATION

Mulberries thrive in full sun and dislike crowded conditions; they prefer deep soils
and need good drainage; they are frost resistant. Once these requirements are
met mulberries thrive over a very wide range of warm temperate, sub-tropical
and tropical conditions. Several species have been domesticated and innumerable
cultivars selected over many centuries for both fruit and silkworm fodder so the
plant’s great range is not surprising. Care must, of course, be taken in finding the
best cultivar for the site and purpose. Mulberries are found throughout the Old
World sub-tropics and temperate areas with hot summers and have been widely
distributed with the spread of silkworm-rearing.

Silkworm strains have been bred to fit the various availability of mulberry fodder;
in areas with a short season the moths breed only once or twice yearly, where the

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season is long multi-voltine strains are used. For growing mulberries as livestock
feed (as opposed to multi-purpose trees which yield some forage), however,
areas with a long or continuous growing season would seem the most promising;
this is reflected in the countries which report on such work in Sánchez 2002:
Brazil, Italy, Cuba, Colombia, Costa Rica and Tanzania.

For India, Datta (2000) states that mulberries are found north of 280 and that
they thrive with an annual rainfall of between 600 and 2500 mm. The altitude in
the tropics is given as sea level to 1,000 m. Mulberries are, however grown at
considerably higher altitudes in the Himalaya-Hindu Kush region. They are widely
grown in Northern Pakistan and Afghanistan within irrigated areas and in villages.

In East Africa mulberry is grown as an occasional fruit tree up to at least 2 000 m.

It also occurs on the Plateaux of Madagascar where there is a tradition of silk
production, but Bombyx silk is probably a modern introduction; traditional
Malagasy silk is made by several indigenous insects and a spider; the main moth
is Borocera madagascariensis Boisduval which is fed on the leaves of the
Euphorbiaceous "tapia" Uapaca bojeri Baill.

Its adoption has been expanded in Latin America, Central America and in the
Caribbean, starting in the late 80s (Sánchez, 2000). Here, the commercial use of
mulberry is first of all associated with regions where sericulture is common, and in
other regions mulberries used to a lesser extent in orchards, recreational rural
households and gardens (de Almeida and Fonseca, 2000).

CULTIVATION AND MANAGEMENT

Propagation
Mulberries can be grown from seed or propagated vegetatively; they are also
frequently grafted, especially fruiting cultivars. Methods vary from region to
region, reflecting the plant’s great ecological and genetic range.

Mulberry is often associated with mycorrhizae including Glomus mosseae and

Glomus fasciculatum. Katiyar et al. (1995) found, in southern India, that the
amount of phosphatic fertilizer needed for mulberry cultivation could be reduced
by 75 percent when plants were inoculated.

In China seedlings, cuttings, grafted plants and layers are all used. The
propagation of improved F1 seedlings is recommended (Huo, 2002). Seed can be
broadcast on a well-prepared nursery at 15 kilos per hectare; a straw mulch is
used until the seedlings sprout two true leaves. The seed beds are weeded and
thinned. About 180,000 – 200,000 seedlings per hectare are produced.

In South India (Datta, 2002) three cuttings of 50 mm diameter and 25 cm long

are planted directly at stake in 35 cm pits on a well prepared seed-bed leaving
one bud exposed. Planting is done after the onset of the monsoon.

In the Indian Hills, however, direct planting of cuttings is not used (Datta, 2002),
instead saplings of five to six months of age are planted during the monsoon.

In Japan mulberry propagation is generally carried out by grafting and by

cuttings. Root grafting prevails because it is easy to handle and the grafted
saplings have a high survival rate (Hiroaki et al., 2002).

In Colombia (Trujillo, 2002) recommends rooting cuttings(15 – 20 cm x 2 cm) in

the nursery under plastic.

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Installation
Deep well drained soils are suitable for mulberry cultivation, although in the wild
it survives on dry stony sites. A pH near neutral is said to be optimal. A clean,
well prepared seedbed is essential. High fertility is considered essential. Spacings
for livestock production are still being worked out but are generally dense which
would seem to indicate a high establishment cost.

In China mulberry is often planted scattered on odd pieces of land but in pure
gardens the density varies by region. In Zheejiang (East China) 10,000 – 15,000
plants per hectare are planted and pruned to a trunk height of 0.5 – 0.8 m. In
Guandong 90,000 – 120,000 plants are used and trained to a low, trunkless type.
In some areas they are intercropped with cereals (Huo, 2002).

In India spacing varies with zone and conditions. In southern India both rainfed
and irrigated mulberries are planted at 90 cm x 90 cm, in 35 x 35 cm pits. In
temperate areas the spacing varies according to conditions (90 cm x 90 cm; 150
cm x 150 cm up to 300 cm x 300 cm) and pit size is increased to 45 cm x 45 cm.

In Japan mulberry gardens are usually planted with 6,000 – 10,000 plants per
hectare. In densely planted fields, designed for mechanical harvesting, more than
25,000 plants per hectare may be used. Standard application of chemical fertilizer
to mulberry gardens is 300 kg of N, 140 kg of phosphate and 120 kg of potassium
per hectare for alluvial soil, and 300 kg of N, 160 kg of phosphate and 200 kg of
potassium for volcanic ash soil. In either case, application of at least 15,000 kg of
compost per hectare is recommended (Hiroaki et al., 2002).

In Colombia Trujillo (2002) producing fodder for dairy stock, recommends

between 25,000 and 32,000 plants per hectare with strict weeding. Three
prunings are recommended to shape the plant; forage production increases up to
the third year under a cutting regime. In Cuba Mártin et al. (2002) report 100 x
40 cm for fodder. In Colombia Boschini (2002) found that yield increased with
planting density (in the range tested 60 cm x 60 cm –120 cm x 120 cm). In Brazil
de Almeida and Fonseca (2002) used 300 cm x 60 cm.

In Japan the growth of mulberry is generally divided into three stages; new shoot
development, growth and storage (Ohyama, 1970). New shoot development is a
stage in which new shoots develop using reserves stored in stump or root the
previous year. Growth stage is when carbohydrates and other substances are
produced for vegetative growth by means of photosynthesis in leaves. Storage
stage is when most photosynthetic substances are stored for next year's growth.
In cultivated mulberry plants, however, photosynthetic organs are
removed/harvested by pruning and leaf picking, thus disrupting the growth stage.
The exploited mulberry plants resume growth using the remaining storage
substances. (Hiroaki et al., 2002).

Management of established stands

Mulberry fodder is generally cut and carried; the plant is not suited to continuous
grazing. Optimal cutting intervals seem to vary with cultivars and probably
ecological conditions. Weeding and maintenance fertilizer are generally necessary.
There is no information on the longevity of stands grown for livestock but well
maintained silkworm gardens are long-lived.

In addition to the pruning used to form the initial bushes and the regular
defoliation for forage, periodic pruning to maintain the desired bush type may be
necessary; some are pruned on a short trunk, others are trunkless.

Seed production

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Mulberry produces masses of seeds and these are generally easy to harvest and
germinate well. The seeds should be removed from the ripe fruit as soon as ready
(for small quantities careful use of a liquidizer with plenty of water will separate
seed from pulp). After harvest treatment of seed varies according to region, and
probably with the different seasons of harvest and sowing. The seed can be dried
and stored but immediate sowing is often recommended; stratification of M. alba
seed in sand for several months is sometimes recommended.

CROP USE AND GRAZING MANAGEMENT

Mulberry is palatable to all classes of herbivorous livestock and is well suited to

such small animals as rabbits and cavies. It is not adapted to grazing. Most of the
experimental large scale systems described in Sánchez (2002) are based on cut
and carry.

Smallholder systems
Mulberry is well suited for use as a fodder where it can be grown opportunistically
around house-compounds, on spare pieces of land and along field edges, as it
often is for silkworms; house-yard sites are often of high fertility. In this case
spacing and training will depend on local conditions and much of the harvesting
will depend on livestock needs.

High Pollarded trees are widely used in the western Himalaya and Afghanistan for
multipurpose use – the tall (2.5 – 3 m.) trunk keeps the foliage above the grazing
livestock. When poles are harvested they are usually left on the ground for a few
hours and the small stock strip them of leaves and bark.

In Pakistan, where silkworms are important in the mountainous tracts, up to 600

kilos of mulberry leaves are required to rear silkworms obtained from one packet
of silk-seed. Thus, 22,000 to 24,000 tonnes of mulberry leaves are consumed
each year. Iqbal (1991) has reported that the value of the leaves required to rear
one packet of silk seed is Rs. 200 to 300. The total value, therefore, is about
Rs.10 million, based on an average price of Rs.250. Net return to the rearers is
estimated at Rs.2 140 per packet (Iqbal, 1991), generating a total net income of
Rs.45.6 million to the silkworm rearers in the country.

Conservation

Mulberry is generally used fresh although in the Western Himalaya old dry fallen
leaves are gathered as winter feed and litter.

Composition

Young mulberry leaves and twigs are a high quality fodder, readily accepted by all
classes of stock.

Composition of Morus alba (see FAO AGAP Database)

White mulberry as % of dry matter
CP CF Ash EE NFE Ca P Ref.
Fresh
Sen
leaves, 15.0 15.3 14.3 7.4 48.0 2.42 0.24
(1938)
India

Sánchez (2002) gives the following table.

Chemical composition from several different studies referred to in the electronic

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conference by different authors (% of DM).

DM, Ash, CP, CF, NDF, ADF, EE,

% % % % % % %

Forage 1,2 28.7- 15.0-

40.2 25.0

Leaves 23.0- 4.5- 15.0- 2.8- 24.6- 17.2- 2.1-

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 33.8 17.3 33.6 15.3 47.2 23.1 7.1

Leaf & young 10.4- 8.0- 10.0- 22.0- 20.6- 5.3-

stems 3,9 19.3 27.6 16.9 24.7 24.5 5.9

Young stems 23.0- 1.3- 4.7- 45.6-

1,3,4 29.0 8.8 12.1 48.2

Woody stems 24.0- 1.8- 3.8- 34.0 34.4- 1.0-

1,3 45.0 9.32 14.0 50.2 2.7

1) Benavides, 2000; 2) Benavides et al., 2000; 3) Sánchez, 2000a; 4) Kitahara et

al., 2000; 5) Liu et al, 2000; 6) Schmidek et al., 2000a; 7) Schmidek et al.,
2000b; 8) Trujillo, 2000; 9) Angeloni, 2000;

CROP IMPROVEMENT

There is a very rich store of genetic resources for mulberry and, although it has
been exploited over centuries for both fruit and silkworm feed, the study of
mulberry specifically for the feeding of large livestock is just beginning. The many
allied species are mentioned above.

"Generally, mulberry is a diploid plant with 28 chromosomes (2n=28). However, it

is rich in ploidy and a lot of triploid varieties have been found especially among
Morus bombysis Koidz. It is said that M. cathayana Hemsl. has tetraploid,
pentaploid and hexaploid varieties. Both M. serrata Roxb., indigenous to India,
and M. tiliaefolia Makino, originally from Japan and Korea, are known to be
hexaploid. M. boninensis Koidz. is a tetraploid being endangered due to cross
contamination with M. acidosa Griff. M. nigra L. is dexoploid (2n=308), the largest
number of chromosomes among phanerogams." (Hiroaki et al., 2002).

PESTS & DISEASES

The crop is not greatly bothered by pests and diseases; the main ones are
summarised by Sánchez (2000) as follows.

Key pest of mulberry (Datta, 2000; de Almeida and Foneseca, 2000):

Name of pest:

Maconellicoccus hirsutus (mealy bug); causes Tukra in mulberry

Diaphania pulverulentalis (leaf roller)

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Spilarctia obliqua (Bihar hairy caterpillar)

Pseudaulacapis pentagona

Naupactus spp.

Migdolus fryanus Westwood (Longhorn beetle)

"Cutting-Prone" ants (Sauba ant)

Meloidogyne spp. (Nematodes)

Key disease of mulberry (Datta, 2000; de Almeida and Foneseca (2000):

Leaf: leaf spot, leaf rust, powdery mildew, leaf blight, bacterial blight, Phylactinia
corylea

Soil borne: root rot (white, violet), root knot, mulberry withering

LINKS

Mulberry electronic conference

Morus alba L.

Pictures

Animal Feed Resources Information System

KEY REFERENCES

Angeloni, A. (2000). Evolution of Research on Mulberry as Cattle and Sheep Feed

in Central Italy. In: FAO Electronic Conference on "Mulberry for Animal
Production".

Benavides, J. (2000). Utilisation of Mulberry in Animal Production Systems. In:

FAO Electronic Conference on "Mulberry for Animal Production".

Benavides, J., Hernández, I., Ésquivel, J., Vasconcelos, Gonzáles, J., Espinosa, E.
(2000). Supplementation of Grazing Dairy Cattle with Mulberry in the High Part of
Central Valley of Costa Rica. In: FAO Electronic Conference on "Mulberry for
Animal Production".

Boschini, C. F. (2002). Establishment and management of mulberry for intensive

fodder production. In: Sánchez, M.D. (ed.) 2002. Mulberry for Animal Production
FAO Animal Production and Health Paper 147. Rome, p. 115-122.

Datta, R.K. (2000). Mulberry cultivation and utilization in India. In: FAO Electronic
Conference on "Mulberry for Animal Production".

Datta, R. K. (2002). Mulberry cultivation and utilization in India. In: Sánchez,

M.D. (ed.) 2002. Mulberry for Animal Production FAO Animal Production and
Health Paper 147. Rome, p. 45-62.

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de Almeida, J. E., Fonseca, T. C. (2000).Mulberry germplasm and cultivation in

Brazil . In: FAO Electronic Conference on "Mulberry for Animal Production".

Hiroaki Machii, Akio Koyama and Hiroaki Yamanouchi (2002). Mulberry Breeding,
Cultivation and Utilization in Japan. In: Sánchez, M. D. (ed.) 2002. Mulberry for
Animal Production FAO Animal Production and Health Paper 147. Rome, p. 63-71.

Huo, Yonkang (2002). Mulberry Cultivation and Utilization in China. In: Sánchez,
M. D. (ed.) 2002. Mulberry for Animal Production FAO Animal Production and
Health Paper 147. Rome, p. 11-43.

Iqbal, M. (1991). NTFPs: a study on their income generation potential for rural
women in North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), Pakistan. Planning and
Development Department, Govt. of NWFP and ILO. Peshawar.

Katiyar, R S; Das P K; Choudhury P C; Ghosh A; Singh G B; Datta R K. (1995).

Response of irrigated mulberry (Morus-alba L) to va-mycorrhizal inoculation under
graded doses of phosphorus. Plant and Soil 170: 331-337.

Kitahara, N., Shibata, S., Nishida, T. (2000). Management and Utilisation of

Mulberry for Forage in Japan. 1. Productivity of mulberry-pasture association and
nutritive value of mulberry. In: FAO Electronic Conference on "Mulberry for
Animal Production".

Liu, J. X, Yao, J., Yan, B., Yu, J.Q., Shi, Z. Q., Wang, X. Q. (2000). The Nutritional
Value of Mulberry Leaves and their Use as Supplements to Growing Sheep Fed
Ammoniated Rice Straw. In: FAO Electronic Conference on "Mulberry for Animal
Production".

Martin, G., Reyes, F., Hernandez, I. and M. Milera. (2002). Agronomic studies
with mulberry in Cuba. In: Sánchez, M. D. (ed.) 2002. Mulberry for Animal
Production FAO Animal Production and Health Paper 147. Rome, p. 103-113.

Ohyama K., (1970). Studies on the function of the root of the mulberry plant in
relation to shoot pruning and harvesting. Bull. Seric. Exp. Stat. 24: 1 – 132 (in
Japanese with English Summary)

Sánchez, M. D., (2000). World Distribution and Utilization of Mulberry, Potential

for Animal Feeding. In: FAO Electronic Conference on "Mulberry for Animal
Production".

Sánchez, M. D., (2000a). Mulberry: an exceptional forage available almost

worldwide!. In: FAO Electronic Conference on "Mulberry for Animal Production".

Sánchez M. D., (ed.) (2002). Mulberry for Animal Production FAO Animal
Production and Health Paper 147. Rome, pp 331.

Schmidek, A., Takahashi, R., de Resende, K. T., Nunes de Medeiros, A. (2000a).

Evaluation of Potential and Effective Degradation and Fractions of Mulberry Clones
in Goats. In: FAO Electronic Conference on "Mulberry for Animal Production".

Schmidek, A., Takahashi, R., Nunes de Medeiros, A., de Resende, K. T., (2000b).
Bromatological Composition and Degradation Rate of Mulberry in Goats. In: FAO
Electronic Conference on "Mulberry for Animal Production".

Sen, K.C. (1938). Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Bulletin No. 25.

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Trujillo, F. U. (2000). Mulberry for Rearing Dairy Heifers. In: FAO Electronic
Conference on "Mulberry for Animal Production".

Trujillo, F. U., (2002). Mulberry for rearing dairy heifers. In: Sánchez, M.D. (ed.)
2002. Mulberry for Animal Production FAO Animal Production and Health Paper
147. Rome, p. 203-206.

Wang Zichun, (1987). Sericulture in Ancient China’s Technology and Science.

Compiled by the Institute of the History of Natural Sciences Chinese Academy of
Sciences. Beijing, Foreign Language Press ISBN 0-8351-1001-x

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