Jute Fiber Production and History

Introduction of jute

Jute have a wast history, it orginated in Africa and florish in asia. Jute was used for making textiles in the Indus valley civilization since the 3rd millennium BC. In classical antiquity, Pliny recorded that jute plants were used as food in Ancient Egypt. It may have also been cultivated by the Jews in the Near East, which gives the plant its name. Jute is a long, soft, shiny bast fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus Corchorus, which is in the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is Corchorus olitorius, but it is considered inferior to Corchorus capsularis.

Jute Cultivation

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 Plants

Jute plant can be raised on all kinds of soils from clay to sandy loam, but loamy alluvial are best suited. Laterite and gravel soils are not suitable for this crop. The new grey alluvial soils of good depth, receiving silt from the annual floods are the best for jute cultivation. It's very fast growing, usually ready to harvest about 60 days after planting. If it goes uncut, it can reach as tall as 6 feet (2 m.) in height. It likes hot weather and produces its leafy greens throughout the summer. The plants are grown close together so that they can grow tall and straight . The strong plant has little need for any pesticides or fertilisers helping to further improve its rating as an environmentally-friendly fabric.

Jute Harvesting

Jute is harvested between 120 days to 150 days from sowing when the flowers have shed. Early harvesting gives good healthy fibers. In the harvest season, the fields are usually submerged so workers often have to wade through the water to cut the stems and tie them into bundles. The harvested plants are left in field for 3 days for the leaves to shed. The stems are then made up into bundles for steeping in water.

Fibre Extraction

The fibre is extracted from the stem of the jute plant by the process of retting. After harvesting the jute stalks are tied into bundles and submerged in soft running water. it is the whole process to remove jute fiber from the jute stem. After a while, the fibres are separated from water by hand. This process of rotting the stems of the plant in water to remove the sticky substance and separate the fibre is known as retting.

Jute The Golden Fiber

Extracted fibres are washed in clean water. The dark colour of fibres can be removed by dipping them in tamarind water for 15 to 20 minutes and again washed in clean water. After squeezing excess water the fibres are hang on bamboo railing for sun drying for 2-3 days. The jute fibre is graded into tops, middles, B, C and X-bottoms. Packing into Kutcha bales about 250 pounds for use in the home trade. they are transported to jute market or direct to jute mills.

Jute History In India

The fibre has been used in India on family farms for centuries. It was twisted it into cordage and made into twine and ropes to be used on the farm. The jute hurd, left after the fibre was extracted, was used as firewood. Now it is almost entirely grown by commercial growers. The hardy fibre started to be exported in the 1880s when a system for spinning and weaving was developed in Dundee (Scotland), where there is now a jute museum. Jute products were then sold widely and soon replaced their equivalents in hemp and flax. By the 1970 many jute products were replaced by synthetic fibres and by the late 1990s, bulk packaging in global transport and storage reduced the need for jute sacks. Jute production declined from between 3 and 3.7 million tonnes a year to between 2.6 and 2.8 million tonnes. Despite this decline, it is still a very important plant fibre, second only to cotton's production of 22 million tonnes a year.

Environmentally Friendly Fibre

It has a low carbon footprint, it is biodegradable, feeds the soil and all parts of the plant can be used. Good for the air- These marvellous plants help to clean the air; during growth they assimilate three times more CO2 than the average tree, converting the CO2 into oxygen. Polypropylene (the material used in plastic bags) does the opposite, producing huge amounts of CO2 during its manufacture.

Good for the soil-As well as having little need for fertilisers and pesticides, jute plants enrich the soil. As these plants grow fast, they are often used in crop rotation. The leaves and roots left after harvest enrich the soil with micronutrients, maintaining soil fertility. The flooded fields also support fish populations. When used as a geotextile, it puts nutrients back in the soil when it decomposes.

Uses of Jute

The fibre is used in a large range of products, for example, its used in coffee sacks, bale covers and carpet backing. Though you are more likely to recognise jute as twine in your garden or as a woven durable fabric. Which by the way makes great branded bags! The fabric is also used in chair coverings, environmentally-friendly coffins and rugs.

As well as these great uses the fibre is used as a geotextile, helping to stabilise landslides and to prevent erosion. It works by keeping moisture in and holding the soil in place, whilst the open weave allows space for plants to grow. Once the plants are well established the natural fabric will start to biodegrade. In a more experimental context, it is being tested in the commercial papermaking industry and is proving to have the potential to start supplementing pine and spruce fibres.