The jute plant is an annual plant with arrow shaped green leaves
and small yellow flowers which bloom singly and in clusters. It
is hand sown in the month of may and matures in 3-4 months depending
on the climatic conditions. Its height is around 3 to 3.6 meters.
It requires a hot, humid climate and moist soil. It is largely
cultivated in Bangladesh, India and China. The annual production
of jute and allied fibers is around 3.0 million tonnes depending
on the world demand, price and climatic conditions.
When the plants are harvested, the cut stalks are made into bundles
and immersed in shallow pools of stagnant water for retting. After
they are softened enough, the fibers are separated and hung on
for drying. Then the fibers are sorted, graded and baled for storage
and export.
There are two types of jute. "Corchorus Capsularis - White
Jute" and "Corchorus Olitorius - Tossa Jute". The
third genus is called "Roselle - Meshta". This jute
like plant has a coarser and weaker fiber than jute.
This so called Golden Fibre is biogradable and therefore environment
friendly. Jute products dissolve in soil and enriches it with
organic substance. When burnt its fumes are non toxic and produces
no residue. Jute Bags and Hessian Cloth are widely and safely
used for packing food commodities because of its excellent "breathing
qualities". Finer jute yarns are largely used in the machine
made carpet industry as weft yarn. Currently jute fiber is also
used in various textile applications as it is blended with many
other fibers successfully.
