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Jute is one of the most important natural fibers after cotton in terms of cultivation and usage. Cultivation is dependent on the climate, season, and soil.
Almost 85% of the world's jute cultivation is concentrated in the Ganges Delta. This fertile geographic region is shared by India (mainly West Bengal) and Bangladesh. China also has a dominant place in jute cultivation. On a smaller scale, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Pakistan, Nepal, and Bhutan also cultivate jute.
To grow jute, farmers first scatter the seeds on cultivated soil. When the plants are about 15–20 cm tall, they are thinned out. About four months after planting, harvesting begins. The plants are usually harvested after they flower and before the flowers go to seed. The stalks are cut off close to the ground, tied into bundles and soaked in water for about 20 days. This process softens the tissues and breaks the hard pectin bond between the bast and hurd (inner woody fibers) and permits the fibers to be separated. The fibers are then stripped from the stalks in long strands and washed in clear, running water. Then they are hung up or spread on thatched roofs to dry. After 2–3 days of drying, the fibers are tied into bundles. The suitable climate for growing jute is a warm and wet climate, which is offered by the monsoon climate during the fall season, immediately followed by summer. Temperatures ranging to more than 25 °C and relative humidity of 70%–90% are favorable for successful cultivation. Jute requires 160–200 cm of rainfall yearly with extra needed during the sowing period. River basins, alluvial or loamy soils with a pH range between 4.8 and 5.8 are best for jute cultivation. Jute cultivation in red soils may require high dosage of manure. Plain land or gentle slope or low land is ideal for jute cultivation. Since the jute seeds are small in size, land should be finely tilled, which can be done by careful ploughing.
Retting is the process of extracting fibers from the tough stem or bast of the bast fiber plants. The available retting processes are: mechanical retting (hammering), chemical retting (boiling & applying chemicals), steam/vapor/dew retting, and water or microbial retting. Among them, water or microbial retting is a centuries-old, widely popular process of extracting fine bast fibers. However, choice of retting process depends on the availability of water and cost.
The stalks stay submerged in water for 20 days. However, the retting process may require less time if the quality of the jute is better. In most cases, the fiber extraction process of bast fibers in water retting is done by farmers while standing under water.
When the jute stalk is well retted, the stalks are grabbed in bundles and hit with a long wooden hammer to loosen the fibers from the jute hurd or core. After loosening the fibers, the fibers are washed with water and squeezed dry. The extracted fibers are further washed with water and allowed to dry on bamboo poles. Finally, they are tied into small bundles to be sold into the primary market.
The Ganges delta contributes more than 80% of the jute production in the world. The Ganges delta can be sub-divided into the following geo-graphical regions in terms of jute cultivation:
India is the world's biggest producer of jute, followed by Bangladesh. Jute is primarily grown in West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Andhra Pradesh.
In classical antiquity, Pliny recorded that jute plants were used as food in Ancient Egypt. [3]
For centuries, jute has been an integral part of the culture of East Bengal and some parts of West Bengal, precisely in the southwest of Bangladesh. Since the seventeenth century, the British started trading in jute. During the reign of the British Empire jute was also used in the military. British jute barons grew rich processing jute and selling manufactured products made from jute. Dundee Jute Barons and the British East India Company set up many jute mills in Bengal and by 1895 jute industries in Bengal overtook the Scottish jute trade. Many Scots emigrated to Bengal to set up jute factories. More than a billion jute sandbags were exported from Bengal to the trenches during World War I and also exported to the southern United States region to bag cotton. It was used in the fishing, construction, art and the arms industry. Initially, due to its texture, it could only be processed by hand until it was discovered in Dundee that by treating it with whale oil, it could be treated by machine. [4]
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, Linum usitatissimum, in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of the world's supply of flax.
Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant.
Coir, also called coconut fibre, is a natural fibre extracted from the outer husk of coconut, and used in products such as floor mats, doormats, brushes, and mattresses. Coir is the fibrous material found between the hard, internal shell and the outer coat of a coconut. Other uses of brown coir are in upholstery padding, sacking and horticulture. White coir, harvested from unripe coconuts, is used for making finer brushes, string, rope and fishing nets. It has the advantage of not sinking, so can be used in long lengths in deep water without the added weight dragging down boats and buoys.
Jute is a long, rough, shiny bast fibre that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus Corchorus, of the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is Corchorus olitorius, but such fiber is considered inferior to that derived from Corchorus capsularis.
Kenaf [etymology: Persian], Hibiscus cannabinus, is a plant in the family Malvaceae also called Deccan hemp and Java jute. Hibiscus cannabinus is in the genus Hibiscus and is native to Africa, though its exact origin is unknown. The name also applies to the fibre obtained from this plant. Kenaf is one of the allied fibres of jute and shows similar characteristics.
Fiber crops are field crops grown for their fibers, which are traditionally used to make paper, cloth, or rope.
The Ganges Delta is a river delta predominantly covering the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, consisting of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the world's largest river delta and it empties into the Bay of Bengal with the combined waters of several river systems, mainly those of the Brahmaputra River and the Ganges River. It is also one of the most fertile regions in the world, thus earning the nickname the Green Delta. The delta stretches from the Hooghly River in the west as far as the Meghna River in the east.
Retting is a process employing the action of micro-organisms and moisture on plants to dissolve or rot away much of the cellular tissues and pectins surrounding bast-fibre bundles, facilitating the separation of the fibre from the stem. It is used in the production of linen from flax stalks and coir from coconut husks.
Budge Budge is a town and a municipality of the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is situated on the eastern banks of the Hooghly River. It is a part of the area covered by the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. It is the place where Swami Vivekananda first landed on Indian soil in 1897 after returning from Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago. It is also the land where British army led by Robert Clive sojourned in 1756 before taking Fort William back from Nabab Siraj ud-Daulah. The infamous Komagata Maru incident also took place in Budge Budge in 1914.
Bast fibre is plant fibre collected from the phloem or bast surrounding the stem of certain dicotyledonous plants. Some of the economically important bast fibres are obtained from herbs cultivated in agriculture, for instance flax, hemp, or ramie, but bast fibres from wild plants, such as stinging nettle, and trees such as lime or linden, willow, oak, wisteria, and mulberry have also been used. Bast fibres are soft and flexible, as opposed to leaf fibres from monocotyledonous plants, which are hard and stiff.
The Geography of West Bengal, a state in eastern India, is primarily defined by plains and plateaus, with the high peaks of the Himalayas in the north and the Bay of Bengal to the south.
Corchorus capsularis, commonly known as white jute, is a shrub species in the family Malvaceae. It is one of the sources of jute fibre, considered to be of finer quality than fibre from Corchorus olitorius, the main source of jute. The leaves are used as a foodstuff and the leaves, unripe fruit and the roots are used in traditional medicine.
Jute mallow or Jew's mallow or Nalita jute is a species of shrub in the family Malvaceae. Together with C. capsularis it is the primary source of jute fiber. The leaves and young fruits are used as a vegetable, the dried leaves are used for tea and as a soup thickener, and the seeds are edible.
Bamboo textile is any cloth, yarn or clothing made from bamboo fibres. While bamboo was historically used only for structural elements, such as bustles and the ribs of corsets, in recent years various technologies have been developed that allow bamboo fibre to be used for a wide range of textile and fashion applications.
Rice production in India is an important part of the national economy.
Scutching is a step in the processing of cotton or the dressing of flax or hemp in preparation for spinning. The scutching process separates the impurities from the raw material, such as the seeds from raw cotton or the straw and woody stem from flax fibers. Scutching can be done by hand or by a machine known as a scutcher. Hand scutching of flax is done with a wooden scutching knife and a small iron scraper. The end products of scutching flax are the long finer flax fibers called line, short coarser fibers called tow, and waste woody matter called shives.
Kamrun Nahar is a Bangladeshi soil scientist and environmentalist. A prominent biofuels researcher of Bangladesh, her research also aimed to lower dependence on petroleum based foreign oil by producing low carbon and sulphur emitting biofuels from the second generation energy crops cultivated in the unused wastelands of Bangladesh for use in home generators to supplement power.
Setralit is a technical natural fiber based on plant fibers whose property profile has been modified selectively in order to meet different industrial requirements. It was first manufactured in 1989 by Jean-Léon Spehner, an Alsatian engineer, and further developed by the German company ECCO Gleittechnik GmbH. The name “Setralit“ is derived from the French company Setral S.à.r.l. which is a subsidiary company of ECCO, where Spehner was employed at that time. Setralit was officially described first in 1990.
Linum strictum, commonly known as rigid flax, upright flax, and upright yellow flax, is a species of flax with a rigid stem, from whence it derives its taxonomic name, growing to a height of 10–45 cm. The plant is endemic to the Mediterranean region. It features highly in classical Hebrew and Greek literature, owing principally to its cultivation for its plant fiber, linen, but also for its edible seeds and culinary foliage.
Khirsapat mango is a variety of mango. It starts ripening from the beginning of summer. The fruits are drupes, and are medium-sized and round in shape. They are approximately 8 cm long, 7 cm wide, and weigh about 264 grams. The stalk of the Khirsapat mango is quite thick and firm. The skin is smooth, and when ripe, the upper part turns yellow. The middle to lower part of the mango remains light green. The edible portion is 67.2%. The flesh is fiberless and yellowish. The fruit is aromatic, juicy, and sweet.