Question

Write a short note.

Pearl culture

Answer 1

1. The artificial cultivation of pearls by inserting an irritant (nucleus) into the mantle of a pearl oyster or freshwater mussel to stimulate the secretion of nacre.
2. Cultured pearl farming involves careful seeding of molluscs, raising them in protected water bodies or specialised rafts, and harvesting the lustrous pearls after a growth period ranging from several months to a few years.
3. Widely practised in countries like Japan, India, and China, pearl culture is a lucrative branch of aquaculture that reduces reliance on scarce wild pearl oysters and supplies the global jewellery market.