Freshwater pearl culture is one of the most promising farming techniques which results into producing the best pearls, carrying tremendous ornamental value.
Biomineralization Process:
In general, any shelled mollusk can produce some sort of a pearl. However only those mollusks which have a pearl lining or nacre on the interior of the shell surface can produce lustrous pearls. It is an abnormal process in the normal biological system of the animal. The mantle with its outer epithelial cells is the tissue responsible for producing pearl nacre. When an external stimulus such as accidental trapping of a hard foreign body or a parasite or a lesion occurs in the outer epithelium of the mantle tissue, it leads foreign body resulting in a pearl. Initially, the epithelial cell of the mantle forms a pearl -sac surrounding the irritant foreign body forming the cellular basis for crystallization of calcium carbonate. This process of pearl formation well known to the scientific community as 'Pearl Sac Theory'.
Basic steps for pearl culture operations:
In India the common species used in freshwater environment in pearl culture operations are Lamellidens marginalis, L.corrianus, and P.corrugata. A summary of the steps involved are given below:
Collection of Mussels
Pre-operative conditioning
Implantation of Grafts & nuclei
Post operative care of Mussels
Pond Culture of implanted Mussels
Harvest of Mussels & Pearls
Implantation Methods:
Methods of freshwater pearl culture vary depending on the surgery done in the internal structure of the pearl mussel and the type of pearl products targeted.
A shell bead constitutes the essential input in the pearl culture operations.
Certain locally available, inexpensive and bio-compatible acrylic material can be employed as nuclei in fresh water pearl culture.
It has been observed that the pearl mussels of the size 8 to 10 cm in shell length and weight of 50gm and above are ideal for pearl culture operation.
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