The spatio-temporal evolution pattern and its driving forces of

Based on nearly twenty years of data of the sericulture industry in Sichuan Province, this paper examined the changes of the silkworm production, the geographical distribution and the spatio-temporal evolution pattern of the sericulture industry, and then analyzed the driving forces for the evolution of sericulture industry using gray correlation method. Results show that 1) the area of mulberry field in Sichuan Province becomes stable gradually and the total product of cocoons shows a steady growth; 2) Nanchong, Mianyang, Liangshan, and Yibin are places with yield advantage; 3) three sericulture industrial belts of Panxi, South Sichuan, and Mid-northern Sichuan have been established with an obvious southward moving tendency; 4) the labor capital, economic development, and technological progress have influences on the sericulture industry development; and 5) the size of mulberry acreage, the number of sericulture households, the seed rating, and the comparative benefits of sericulture were positively related to the cocoon production distribution. This research suggests that the development focuses of the sericulture industry in Sichuan Province should include the following: changing the industrial development mode, encouraging production mechanism innovation, and establishing a diversified sericulture industry.