Pearl Culture Technology

The marine pearls in India are obtained from pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata. When a foreign particle like a sand grain, parasite, shell piece or a silt particle enters the body, the outer epithelial cells of the mantle of the pearl oyster from a pearl sac around the foreign body. Pearl sac secretes a pearly substance called narce which is deposited continuously over the foreign body, and in course of time, a natural pearl is formed. Process: Healthy pearl oysters of 20 g weight in post-spawning recovery stage are selected for nucleus implantation. They are conditioned using menthol. The oyster which gets narcotized within 45-60 minutes, gape open due to the relaxation of adductor muscles. These are mounted on stand for the implantation of the shell-bead nucleus into the gonad through surgical incision. Graft tissue for implantation is prepared from healthy oyster (donor oysters). Oysters of the same size and age group are selected as recipient oysters. The mantle of the donor oysters are exposed, cleaned and cut along the anterior to posterior margin.