Pearl Farming in India
Pearl Farming in India
“The demand for pearls is high in India, but it is mostly met through imports,” Dubey said. “The market has been monopolised by China and Japan. Through our training, we want to increase pearl farming in India. The idea is to use indigenous freshwater mussels found in rivers, lakes or ponds to develop pearls. Mussels are available everywhere locally, but people don’t know that pearls can be cultured in mussels.”
To grow a Ganesha-shaped pearl, a Ganesha-shaped object is inserted into a live mussel. The shell fish are then tied in nets and are kept hanging in a pond or river. The mussels are fed with algae, cow dung and groundnut for a year, by which time the pearls are ready to be harvested.
“There is enough information on the methods of pearl farming in the country. Only knowledge on how to operate the shells is lacking,” Manwani said.
“We hope to get fishermen to culture pearls. It can be done along with fish farming. While cultivating 1,000 mussels, about 300 to 400 mussels can be cultured for pearls. The cost of culturing one pearl is Rs 12 to Rs 15, but it fetches a price of Rs 250 to Rs 1,000.”
Here is a free PDF file on pearl farming.
The Basic Methods of Pearl Farming:
A Layman’s Manual by
Maria Haws