How to Cultivate Pearls in India: A Beginner’s Guide to Pearl Farming

First, hand-pick healthy mussel stocks for culture or implantation from natural water bodies such as rivers or ponds based on their size.

In pre-Grafting Culture, you need to keep the selected mussels crowded for 24 to 36 hours, stock them in FRP/ferro cement tanks and keep them in upward-facing position for 30 minutes.

To implant the nuclei, graft the nucleus made of shell powder or acrylic powder along with the mantle graft, so that it develops into a pearl sac. Now, choose the different methods of implantation.

Perform post-grafting inspection for 7-10 days to prevent rejection of implanted nuclei. Now, treat them with a wide spectrum of antibiotics to reduce the mortality and ensure quick healing.

For the post-Grafting Culture, shift the implanted mussels into the desired culture system. Pack them in nylon net bags and keep them in hanging condition. It usually varies 12 to 18 months.

In pond culture, depth of the pond should be 1.5 - 2 m with clay-soil bottom and slightly alkaline water. The ponds are equipped with bamboo poles as rafts for suspending the implanted pearl mussels.