Advances in Jute and allied fibres post-harvest processing technologies in Bangladesh: Adoption constraints, prospect and future thrust (original) (raw)

Improved retting methods of jute to enhance fibre quality and retting waste management

Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, 2021

The quality jute fibre production entirely depends upon the process of retting not only on the production of jute. Retting is a rotting process generally preferred to separate the fibre from woody stem without damaging the fibre cellulose. Retting microbes consumes pectin and hemicellulose mainly that are non fibrous cementing materials. Over retting causes degradation of fibre cellulose while under retting does not allow removal of gummy materials completely that are pectic substances. Over retting as well as under retting causes production of low grade jute fibre. Moreover, jute fibre retting and extraction are also labour-intensive, depending upon productivity and the level of technology used. Production of quality jute fibre depends on the process of retting in presence of good quality water. Microbial retting and the extraction of the fibre from the woody core are important primary operations in the processing of jute crops for fibre production. This involves the immersion of b...

Improved retting technology for quality jute fibre production

Jute (Corchorus olitorius) retting process after harvest of the crop has a vital role in producing quality jute fibre and consequently fetching high prices to the farmers. However, inadequate retting infrastructure, water and high cost of labourers for retting process which consumes major portion of the cost of production (30%), were among the major problems. To address the same, CRIJAF has developed the viable technologies, which could save water, space, time, labour provided training and ultimately the cost of retting process up to 50% over the traditional method. The continuous extension efforts are needed to make it acquainted with the farmers and further improvements.

Research and development in jute (Corchorus sp.) and allied fibres in India–A review

Indian Journal of …, 2009

Jute and allied fibre farming, trading and industry provide sustenance to over 5 million people of our country. The productivity of jute had doubled from 1.10 t/ha during independence to about 2.24 t/ha during 2006-07. Development of high-yielding varieties along with relatively cheaper and user friendly location specific technologies using locally available materials made this possible. Identification of promising herbicides had increased the net return of the production system while judicious use of local organic nutrient sources had improved the productivity as well as soil-health in jute and allied fibre systems. The mechano-microbial retting technology developed at CRIJAF had reduced the water requirement of retting, while the machines developed like multi-row seed drill, bast fibre extractor, flax extractor, nail weeder, herbicide brush, etc. had increased the efficiency and profitability of the production system. Successful models of ramie and sisal based multitier systems have been developed for both traditional and non-traditional areas. Significant achievements have been made in fibre quality research also, as it is the prime requirement for product diversification and value addition. In this paper, attempts have been made to summarize and present the achievements made so far in the jute and allied fibre research and also to highlight the constraints faced by this sector and its possible mitigation options.

Comparative studies of retting properties of different released varieties of jute

OnLine J. Biol. …, 2001

Recently six varieties of jute were released from Bangladesh Jute Research Institute where two were from C. olitorius (OM-1 & OF-390) and four from C. capsularis (C-718, C-2035, C-2005 & C-2143). These varieties were compared for their retting properties, morphological differences as well as their physical properties of the fibre extracted from them. Among them, white fibre with fewer cuttings and "A" and "B" grade fibers were obtained by retting from C-718 and OF-390 varieties, respectively yielding higher quantity of fibers. Other varieties found inferior in quality in all aspects.

Jute-microbiological and biochemical research

Plant Tissue Culture and Biotechnology, 2009

The role of microorganisms obtained from jute (Corchorus spp.) in the retting of dry ribbons of jute was determined. Efficiency of fungus on retting of green ribbon and dry ribbon of jute was also examined. Attempt was made to determine the effect of nature of the harvested jute plants on the production of cuttings and improvement of their fibre quality, and the impact of stem-water ratio and retting of its top and basal parts separately on the quality of fibre. Distribution and activity of microbial population for jute retting and their impact on the water quality of jute growing areas of Bangladesh was also surveyed. Utilization and suitability of retting effluents as a fertilizer in vegetable crops production were also determined. Micrococcus spp. were identified as an accelerator of jute retting. Referring to the recent advancements made in isolating completed/partial genes controlling desirable traits, it is suggested to use the modern molecular technology not only to improve the quality of jute fibres but also bioengineer microbial flora to further reduce the retting time without sacrificing fibre qualities.

Effect of efficient pectinolytic bacterial isolates on retting and fibre quality of jute

Four bacterial strains with high balanced polygalacturonase (PG) and pectin lyase (PNL), and xylanase with minimal cellulase activity were used in jute retting. The 16S rDNA analysis revealed that the organisms were: Bacillus sp. L6 (GQ891097), Bacillus pumilus strain EK-17 (GQ891098), B. pumilus strain Geo-03-422 (GQ891103) and B. pumilus strain IK-MB12-518F (GQ891105). The microorganisms in different combinations of consortia showed synergistic effect resulting in increased PG (35.52-46.61 IU/g cell wet weight), PNL (39.79-72.12 U/ml), xylanase (0.705-0.840 mol/ml/min) and little cellulase (0-0.153 mol/ml/min) activities. The organisms in different combinations of consortia reduced the retting period from 11 to 13 days as compared to 19 days in the control. Microbial inoculation produced remarkable improvement in jute fibre strength (26.62-28.91 g/tex) and fineness (2.76-2.92 tex) over control. The pH of the post-retting water samples became acidic, and the electrical conductivity (Ec), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and hardness increased. The organisms could be adopted in industrial application for extraction of jute fibre.

Improvement of Jute Retting Processes in India in the Context of Water Scarce Situation

International Journal of Bioresource Science, 2015

The jute industry is facing severe competition from synthetic packaging materials in the present situation. To sustain the jute industry and to upli our benevolent mother nature there is a natural intention to move towards more diversifi ed products like fi ne jute yarn, high quality home furnishing jute fabrics, light shopping /carrying bags, various innovative gi articles & decorative products, requiring higher quality fi bre. Thus with the growing demand of high quality fi bre the economic signifi cance of fi bre quality is also increasing on which the future of jute will ultimately depend to a great extent. Despite the fact the amount of quality fi bre is not increasing at the desired level. This is mainly because the farmers a er pu ing all their eff orts in cultivating the crop are least bothered or negligent about the post harvest techniques and are using the same age old re ing practices without caring about its impact on the fi bre quality mainly due to lack of proper knowledge and awareness about its benefi t or adequate incentive / fi nancial benefi t.

Mechanization of fibre extraction: an eco-friendly alternative method of jute retting

Journal of Science, technology & Environment Informatics, 2021

Jute retting has become a major obstacle for cultivation of jute due to water scarcity. Not only that, the water retting generates waste water and causes environmental pollution. This experiment was conducted to extract fibre through a mechanical process instead of extracting traditional water retting to overcome the problem. Machine extraction and water retting methods were applied to non-retted ribbons. Physico- chemical properties were then determined of the extracted fibre samples. The promising result obtained that the fibre extraction from ribbon is possible by the developed fibre extractor machine. Machine extracted fibre of the bottom portion shows similar strength and luster property like water retted fibre of the bottom. Middle portion of the machine extracted fibre showed a significantly higher luster property compared to water retted middle portion. Machine extracted fibres were coarse compared to water retted fibre. Water retting process produced finer quality fibre. Machine extracted fibres contain lower cellulose, higher hemicellulose and higher lignin compared to water retted fibre. These results show the possibility of developing alternative bast fibre extraction processes employing machine not undergoing water retting method.

Jute Production in Bangladesh: Past, Present situation and Future prospect

Jute (Corchorus spp.) is now universally recognized that jute is the English version of the current bengali word 'Pat', a kind of fibre which is obtained from two species (annual and short day plants) of the genus Corchorus belonging to the family Tiliaceae. It is a common term used both for plant and the fibre obtained from the bark of the plants, Corchorus capsularis L. and Corchorus olitorius L. There are over 30 species, which belongs to the genus Corchorus. Jute (Corchorus capsularis & Corchorus olitorius), Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) and Roselle (H. sabdariffa var (Altissima) are vegetable bast fibre plants next to cotton in importance. In the trade there are usually two names of jute, White and Tossa. Corchorus capsularis is called White Jute and Corchorus olitorius is called Tossa Jute. In India & Bangladesh Roselle is usually called Mesta.