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BAST FIBRES
• Bast fibres come from the stem of the plant.
• They are cemented together with non cellulosic
material to form continuous strand that may run
the entire length of the plant stem.
• These fibres are extracted from the cellular and
woody tissue of stem by a process of natural
decomposition called retting.
• Jute is the most important of these fibres, its
production is more than that of all the other bast
fibres combined.
• Flax is the fibre from which linen is made, which
is mostly used in apparels. 2
 EXTRACTION OF BAST FIBRES
• The dried straw is retted to break down the gums that
binds the fibres together in the bark.
• Retting is a controlled rotting process, which is
performed by exposure to the weather, or soaking in
ponds/ streams.
• Bacterial action and the physical effects of weathering
or soaking cause the decomposition of gum.
• Retting is complete when bark become loose so that it
can be easily removed from the woody portion of
stem.
• This process takes one to three weeks according to
weather or the temperature of the water.
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 KINDS OF RETTING
1. DAM RETTING: After pulling, the straw are tied-up in
bundles and immersed for about two weeks in water
in special dams or ponds dug in the ground. It is an
obsolete method.

2. DEW RETTING: After pulling, the straw are spread

on the ground for several weeks. In this method
fermentation by moulds takes place by wetting
through dew and rain. It is used in regions where
water is in short supply. It tends to produce dark
coloured fibres. 4
 KINDS OF RETTING
3. TANK RETTING: After harvesting, the seed bolls are
stripped from the stems by reciprocating metal
combs. The de-seeded straw, tied in bundles, is
packed into concrete tanks and filled with water. The
tank is heated to about 30oC. Retting is complete in
about three days. This is the best method of retting.
The partly retted straw is removed from the tank,
dried and then again retted.

4. CHEMICAL RETTING: Chemical solution is used for

retting process. It is an expensive and pollution
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generating method which is not commonly used.
 SCUTCHING
• Scutching is the process by which fibres
are separated from the woody material.
• This involves the use of fluted rolls and
beating blades which break the brittle
woody parts into shives and leave the
fibres largely intact.
• Scutched fibre are baled and sent to the
mills

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 HACKLING
• After scutching the fibres are usually combed
/ hackled by drawing them through sets of
pins.
• Most of the fibres are separated from one
another.
• Short and irregular fibres are removed by this
process.
• It also removes remaining woody portion and
arranged the fibres in parallel fashion.
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 MAJOR BAST FIBRES
• Flax
• Jute
• Hemp
• Ramie
• The production of Jute is maximum but
mostly it is used for Bag & Sacks therefore
linen is most important fiber due to its use
in apparel.
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 JUTE
• The jute plant flourishes in hot / damp
regions of Asia.
• India is the largest producer of Jute. It
produces about 37% of world’s production.
• Bangladesh is second largest producer of
Jute. (25% of world’s production)
• Jute is cheap and reasonably strong fibre.
• Jute is creamy white to brown in colour.
• Jute plant may grow to 5 meter with stalk
dia of 20 mm.
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 Production
• Jute plant are cut near root & retting is
done similar to that used for flax. The
stalks being steeped in sluggish stream of
water. They are examined daily until the
stage is reached at which fiber can be
separated easily from the stem. The
strands of fiber 2 mt long are washed &
hung- up in the sun to dry. They are
compressed into bales & sent off to the
mills for spinning. 10
 Fine Structure
• Retting destroys the cellular tissues that holds
the bast bundles together but does not separate
the individual cells from one an other. Some of
the fiber ends become detached from the
strands giving the jute its hairy, rough feel.
• The individual cells of jute are about 2-6 mm
long. The cell surface is smooth, but disfigured
here & there by nodes & cross markings The
fibers are coated with woody material

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 Fine Structure
• Cross-section : The Cross-section of cell is
polygonal usually with five or six sides. It has a
thick walls & a broad lumen of oval cross-
section. In contrast to regular lumen of flax, that
of jute is irregular. It becomes narrow in places
quite suddenly. Towards the ends of the cell,
which are tapered, the lumen widens, the cell
wall becomes thin.

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 PROPERTIES OF JUTE
 Jute usually feels coarse and rough to the touch,
although the best qualities are smooth and soft.
 Jute fibre is brittle in nature.
 Jute is not so strong as flax nor it is so durable.
 Owing to the variation in wall thickness, strength of
individual fibre vary greatly.
 Jute fibre do not stretch much. Jute has poor
elasticity and elongation. Its elongation is 1.7%.

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 PROPERTIES OF JUTE
 Jute is sensitive to chemical. Moisture
encourages deterioration of Jute, which looses
strength with age.
 It has low sun light resistance and poor colour
fastness.
 Jute contains about 20% of lignin, which make it
excellent resistance to micro organism.
 Jute is a hygroscopic fibre, its moisture regain is
13.75 %. It can absorb up to 23% of moisture in
high humidity conditions.
 It has high specific gravity of 1.5, similar to
cotton.
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 USES OF JUTE
Jute is extensively used for storage and
transport of agricultural products.
It is also commonly used in carpet backing,
cordage, bags, sacks, and packaging clothes.
Finer quality of Jute are used in making
furnishing fabrics and curtains.
Other uses of Jute are in Cattle bedding, horse
cover, fire curtain, wall covering, roofing felt,iron
and steel rod wrapping, plastic reinforcement,
tarpaulin,etc.
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