Pilot project on pearl culture: Vizhinjam

Abstract

Pearls produced by the pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata are very lustrous and are in great demand in India and abroad. The pearls are produced bv a process of biological defence against the accidental entry o£ foreign particles of organic and inorganic origin into their tissues. This principle is made use of in the technology of inducing the pearl oyster to produce pearls by inserting or implanting shell bead nuclei in the interior aspect of the animal. These pearls are known as cultured pearls.