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Fibers: Cotton and Jute (Morphology, extraction and uses), BOT-A-CC-4-9-TH

INTRODUCTION: a. Jute is a natural popularly known as the "Golden Fiber". b. Jute fiber comes from the stem of an herbaceous annual plant Jute Plant ―". c. Jute is the second in the world's production of fibers after cotton d. , , are leading producers of Jute e. Jute is almost entirely a market oriented crop

f. Bangladesh is the largest cultivator of raw jute g. The plant has a height of 8 to 12 feet

STRUCTURE OF FIBER: Commercial jute varies from yellow to brown to greyish in color. The bundle of fibers held together by gummy material; lignin which plays an important role in structure of plant. By contrast with the regular lumen of , that of jute is irregular; it becomes narrow in places quite suddenly. Types of jute: Jute is a obtained from the secondary of two species of the genus Corchorus belonging to the family Tiliaceae. Two species of Corchorus are (a) C capsularis L and (b) C olitorius L and C olitorius are considered to have originated in Indo-Burma and Africa respectively.

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Fibers: Cotton and Jute

Corchorus capsularis L-Jute, jute; pat or tita-pat. It is a lowland species. Plant is an annual under- reaching up to a height of 3-6 m. Stem branched or unbranched. Leaves stipulate, glabrous, 5-13 cm x 582 cm, ovate-oblong. Flowers in extra-axillary cymes in groups of 2-5 or more, smaller (0.3-0.5 cm in length). Sepals 5. coloured or green, petals 5, yellow or pale yellow; stamens 20-30; ovary rounded, 5-carpelled, ovules Sialy 10 in each loculus in two rows, styles 2-4 mm, stigmas 2-3 fid, pubescent. Capsule rounded, 1-1.5 cm in iameter, wrinkled, rarely smooth, muricate, 5-locular, seeds 7-10 in two rows in each loculus, without transverse cartitions. Seeds oval, small, chocolate brown.

C olitorius L- mallow or Tossa jute; Koshta or mitha-pat. It is an upland species. Plant is an annual under-shrub growing up to a height of 4.5 m. Stem branched. Leaves stipulate, stipules larger than capsularis; gatrous, 7-18 cm x 4-8 cm, oblong. Flowers in extra axillary cymes in groups of 2-5, about 1 cm in length, larger than capsularis. Sepals 5 or 6, coloured or green; petals 5 or 6, entire or splitted, yellow; stamens 30-60; ovary Bongated, 5 or 6 carpelled, ovules usually 40 in each loculus in one row; styles 3-5 mm; stigma globular, entire, pubescent. Capsule long cylindrical. 6-10 cm long, 0.3-0.8 cm in diameter, ridged lengthwise, 5-6 locular; seeds 40 in single row in each loculus with transverse partition between each seed. Seeds pyramidal in outline, smaller an capsularis, bluish-green to steel- grey or even black in colour. Climate- Generally warm and humid climate with temperature ranging from 24°C to 35°C and 90% relative nty favour the growth of jute plants. Untimely rain, continued drought, stagnant water are harmful but the pant can stand flooding to some extent at later stage of growth.

PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING OF FIBER: Jute is a rainy season crop, sown from March to May according to rainfall and type of land. Jute requires a warm and humid climate with temperature between 24c to 37°c. The soil of good depth, containing salts from annual floods, is best for jute. The stalk diameter of plant is3\4 inches. STAGES OF PRODUCTION & PROCESSING:

✓ Cultivation ✓Harvesting ✓ Retting ✓Stripping ✓Washing ✓ Drying ✓Bailing & Packing ✓ Storage

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Fibers: Cotton and Jute

Cultivation process: Sowing of jute starts with the showers in March or April and continues till early June. Phosphorus, Potash & Nitrogen fertilizers are used for this crop. Harvesting Process : Jute is harvested any time between 120 days to 150 days when the flowers have been shed, early harvesting gives good healthy fibers. The harvested plants are left in the field for 3 days for the leaves to shed (means leaves got dried up). Retting Process : Retting is a process in which fibers get loosened due to decomposition of hard cell walls by the action of bacteria. The bundles are steeped in water at least 60cm to 90cm depth. Stripping Process (Fiber Extraction): Stripping is the process of removing the fibers from the stalk after the completion of retting. Fibers are removed from the stalk by any one of the following methods: 1. Single plants are taken and their fibers are taken off. 2. Taken off a handful of stalks, breaking it in a to and fro motion in water. Washing Process: Extracted fibers are washed in clean water. The dark color of fibers can be removed by dipping them in tamarind water for 15 to 20 minutes and again washed in clean water. Drying Process: The fibers are hung on railings for sun drying for 2-3 days. After drying, the fibers are ready to be sold in the market. Bailing & Packing Process: The bailing of jute fiber is done according to grading system. The fiber is graded into Top, Middle, B, C and X- Bottoms. Packing into Kutcha bales about 250 pounds for use in mills or jute market.

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Fibers: Cotton and Jute

Properties: 1. Fiber Surface & Appearance: Yellow to brown to dirty grey in color and Natural Silky Lustrous appearance 2. Tensile Strength: Not stronger than flax because of the irregularities in the thickness of cell wall. 3. Elongation: Elongation at break = 1.7% 4. Elastic Properties: It is a stiff fiber and not tends to return its original length completely when the tension is relaxed. 5. Specific Gravity: 1.5 6. Length: 1-4 meters (3-12 feet) Properties 7. Effect of Moisture: Moisture Regain = 13.75% Jute can absorb as much as 23% of water under humid conditions 8. Effect of Age: High content of non-cellulosic matter makes jute sensitive against chemical and photochemical attack. 9. Effect of Microorganisms: Jute is more resistant to micro- organism due to protective effect of lignin.

Advantage: Great antistatic properties Low thermal conductivity. 100% Biodegradable; so it is environment friendly fiber like Cotton. Cheap in market. Can be widely used in Agriculture Sector, Textile Sector, Woven Sector, Nonwoven Sector. Jute Fiber can be blended with Natural and Synthetic fibers. Disadvantages: - The crease resistance of Jute is very low. Drape Property is not good enough. Create Shade effect and becomes yellowish if sunlight is used. If Jute is wetted it loses its strength.

End Uses: Jute is cheap and reasonably strong and is available in large quantities. Generally used in: ● Sacks & Packing Cloth

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Fibers: Cotton and Jute

● Food Storage ● Backing cloth for ● Curtains & Furnishing fabric ● Used in Geotextiles, technical and textile ● composites Mixed with , used in cheap clothing

COTTON FIBER Introduction: ● Cotton referred to as the "King of fibers" is most important textile fiber in the world. ● Cotton is a vegetable fiber which surrounds the seeds of the cotton plant. ● Cotton has been cultivated for more than 5000 years. ● Cotton plant belongs to the family "GOSSYPIUM". ● The cotton fiber is made up of countless molecules. Cotton is removed mechanically from the seed bolls by the cotton ginning. The ginned cotton is then pressed into bales and sent to the factories to be spun into .

Species of Cotton: There are four commercially-grown species of cotton: 1. Gossypium hirsutum – upland cotton, native to Central America, Mexico 2. – known as extra-long staple cotton, native to tropical South America 3. Gossypium arboreum – native to India and 4. Gossypium herbaceum cotton, native to Southern Africa Four species of cultivated Gossypium are : (1) Gossypium arboreum L-This species is diploid (2n-26 chromosomes) and forms the desi cotton of Inda It is also grown in Arabia and Africa. The staple is coarse, vary short (about 10.5 mm-110.05 mm in length) but strong. This cotton was probably the first to be used

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Fibers: Cotton and Jute commercially. Plant is a perennial tree. Leaves palmately lobed, lobes mucronate. Flowers axillary, large, solitary on jome peduncles; bracteoles 3, large, leafy, cordate. Calyx cupular, truncate or slightly 5-toothed. Petals 5, connate a base. Stamens numerous, monadelphous forming a staminal column, anther one-celled. Ovary 5-chambered, S clavate, 5-groved at the apex, stigmas 5; ovules many in each chamber. Fruit capsule, oblong, pointed. Se free, covered with white wool overlying a dense green down. (2) Gossypium herbaceum L-This species is also diploid (2n=26 chromosomes). It is the chief cotton of and also forms desi cotton. In India, this species has been growing since time immemorial. It is utilised lo quality fabrics, carpets, blankets etc and for blending with wool; obtained from this species are gene coarse and short to medium stapled.Plant is an annual shrub, sub-glabrous or hairy. Leaves cordate, 3-5 or 7-lobed, lobes broadly accuminate. Flowers yellow with purple centre, rarely yellow or white or purple, petals spreading, clayx truncate, obovate or cuneate; bracteoles equalling the capsule, not divided below the middle. Capsule ovate, globose, mucronate, 3-5 valved. Seeds 5-7 in each cell, ovoid. Cotton white, rarely brownish, overlying a greenish or greyish down. (3) Gossypium hirsutum L-It is a tetraploid (2n=52 chromosomes) and new world species. It is a native of America and constitutes American and Cambodia cotton and is commonly called upland cotton. Upland cotton stitutes the greater part of the cultivated cotton of the world. The fibres are fine and white, staple length ranges from 6.2 mm to 25.7 mm. This species is characterised by the following characters. Flowers are white or light yellow and unspotted. Fruits holls as these are called, are 4 or 5-valved. Seeds are fuzzy all over. Other characters are like those of G. arboreum. (4) Gossypium arboreum L var nadam (Watt) Prokh (Syn G barbadense L) -This is also a new world and tetraploid (2n-52 chromosomes) species. The native home of this species is probably South America. Under this Species, there are two distinct types of cotton e.g., (a) Sea-island Cotton-Purely cultivated form. Fibres are fine, light cream coloured, strong, regular in the number and uniformity of twist and silkier in appearance. Staples range in length from 38.0 mm to 50.8 mm or more. Sea-island cotton was introduced in USA. from West Indies in 1785. In India, another variety under this, known as Andrews having extra long staple can be cultivated successfully in the costal areas of Kerala and

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Fibers: Cotton and Jute

Karnataka. This variety is susceptible to large number of pests and diseases and very sensitive to environmental conditions. (b) Egyptian Cotton-It is grown mainly in Nile basin of , and was introduced from Central America. In appearance, this plant is very similar to sea-island cotton and is probabley of hybrid origin. Staples are brown in colour and somewhat shorter than sea-island cotton, measuring from 25.7 mm to 26.1 mm. This cotton is used for hosiery, tyre fabrics and fine dress materials. Plants are perennial shrubs or tall herbs, branches purplish. Leaves nearly glabrous, cordate, 3-5 lobed; lobes oblong acuminate, bracteoles very large, deeply gashed ; stipules linear-lanceolate. Flowers are bright yellow with purple spots. Petals convolute, Ovary ovoid, pitted, 3-5 celled. Fruits or bolls are oval acuminate 3-valved Seeds are fuzzy only at the ends, black, free or coherent. : It is generally understood as cotton grown from non-genetically modified plants that is ―to be grown without the use of any 100% BRGANIC 100% ORGANIC synthetic agricultural chemicals such as fertilizers or pesticides

Cultivation of Cotton: Cotton is essentially a tropical crop, but its cultivation is carried on successfully over many parts of the world, far removed from the tropics. The limits of cultivation may be said to be the 40th latitude on both sides of the Equator. It is grown either at sea level or at moderate elevations not exceeding 3,000 feet. Cultivation is confined largely to flat open country and rough hilly tracts, where the minimum temperature does not fall below 70°F. Higher temperatures are very favourable, and the upper limit may go up even to 105°F in the picking season. The crop thrives well in moderate rainfall. Rainfall exceeding 35 inches is supposed to be harmful to the crop. The lower limit for a purely rain-fed crop is 20 inches. On black cotton soils, hardly any rainfall is needed over most of the growing period provided good showers have been received before the crop was sown and a satisfactory start has been made. Cotton is grown both as a dry crop and as an irrigated crop. If the rainfall is distributed over both the , the extraordinary fertility of the black cotton soil allows a wide variety of

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Fibers: Cotton and Jute crops to be grown, and also taking of two crops in the year—one in the north-east period, and the other in the southwest monsoon period. On the other hand, if the rainfall is low and is confined to the north-east monsoon period, the only one crop is grown in the year. There is considerable mixed cropping practice with cotton. Pulses such as arhar, black-gram and green-gram and other crops such as groundnut and the castor, into the mixture. The ‘New World’ cottons are, however, grown pure— whether as dry crops or as irrigated crops. Cotton Industry: Several operations are necessary in order to prepare the raw cotton fibre, as it comes from the field, for use in the . In brief these operations are as follows— ginning; baling; transporting to the mills; picking, a process in which a machine removes any foreign matter and delivers the cotton in a uniform layer; lapping, an operation whereby three layers are combined into one; carding, combing, and drawing during which the short fibres are extracted and the others are straightened and evenly distributed; and finally twisting the fibres into thread. Harvest and Yield: The cotton crop is usually harvested in three or four pickings, taken at suitable intervals. Picking is carried out by hand, mostly by women, the amount of cotton collected ranging from 20 to 50 lb. per day ppr person. Cotton should be picked only when the bolls are fully mature, fully open and the floss has puffed up consequent on exposure to sun. The yield per acre is low in India as compared to yield in other countries PROCESSING: Before the raw cotton is spun into a and woven into cloths, it must pass through a number of processes such as ginning, baling, grading, marketing, opening, picking, carding, combing and drawing. For a long time, hand

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Fibers: Cotton and Jute separation was the only way to remove the fibres from the seeds. It was quite a tedious process, but the invention of the cotton gin in 1793 revolutionised the textile industry ● Ginning: After the removal of dirt, boll and leaf fragments and other foreign matter, the raw cotton is conveyed to the hopper of a gin of either roller or saw type. The former is mainly used for cotton varieties having a long staple such as Sea-Island and Egyptian cottons, whereas the latter is employed for the short staple American upland cotton and Asiatic varieties. The roller gin cleans more slowly than the saw gin but is less injurious to long valuable fibres. ● Baling: The fibre as it comes from the gin is pressed hydraulically into bales of 500 pounds (226 kg) which are partially wrapped in jute or hessian covers (baggings), bound with bands called 'ties' and are marketed in this form. ● Picking: Baled cotton is at first broken and then the fibres are passed through a 'scutcher'where they are beaten, shaken and rolled to remove all the foreign matter. The strands are then separated and delivered in a uniform layer. At the last picking machine, the cotton is condensed into a form of sheet known as lap'. ● Carding: The remaining lumps of fibres are further separated into individual fibres on the carding machine which helps to place the fibres parallel. It also facilitates the removal of immature fibres and impurities such as trash and vegetable matter. ● Combing and drawing or drafting: Combing is a process wherein short fibres are removed, while drawing involves straightening and aligning of the fibres. It is customary to apply two drawing operations after carding and two after combing. The fleecy lap is condensed through a funnel into a soft untwisted or 'sliver'. It is further drawn out, slightly twisted and wound on spools. In the process, the cotton is further drawn out and twisted into a fine yarn of required strength and firmness. The finished yarn is wound on bobbins or spools and then goes to the machines.

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Fibers: Cotton and Jute

Properties of Cotton Fiber 1. Fiber Surface and Color: Lustrous/ Creamy White color 2. Tensile Strength: Tenacity = 3-5 gm/denier Strength = 40, 000, 20,000 lb per square inch 3. Elongation: Not easily stretch Elongation at Break = 5-10 % 4. Elastic Properties: Rigid/ Less Flexibility At 2% Extension ----- 74% Recovery At 5% Extension 45% Recovery 5. Specific Gravity: 1.54 6. Effect of Moisture: Standard Humidity = 8.5 % %3D 7. Effect of Heat: Excellent Resistance 8. Effect of Age: Small loss of strength when stored 9. Effect of Sunlight: Gradual loss of strength when exposure to sunlight, major effect by Ultra-violet light. 10. Effect of Acids: By hot dilute and cold concentrated acids End Uses of Cotton 1. Poplins, voiles are made by using Cotton. 2. Cotton is used in great quantity as a fabric for hot weather wear. 3. The absorbency of cotton makes it an excellent material for household fabrics such as sheets and towels. 4. Cotton is widely used in making rainwear fabrics. It can be woven tightly to keep out the driving wind arid rain, yet the fabric will allow perspiration to escape. 5. fabrics, for example, are close-woven cotton mat erials of this sort which are given additional water resistance by a chemical proofing. 6. It goes into clothing (shirts, T-shirts, trousers, , etc.), undergarments, boots and shoes, carpets and curtains, hats, etc. 7. Heavy cotton yarns and materials are used for tyre cords and marquees, tarpaulins and industrial fabrics of all descriptions. 8. Cotton can be blended with other fibres like , to manufacture fabric for different applications. Household Items - Bed Sheets - Towels Carpets and Curtains Hats etc.

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