Examples of fibre crops

Examples of fibre crops includes cotton, jute, hemp, coir, flax

Cotton

• Cotton is a natural fibre that is obtained from fibre crop cotton. This is a tropical plant which grows well in black soil and warm climate.
• Cotton belongs to the Malvaceae family and falls in the Gossypium genus. It is a flowering plant.
• Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, rajasthan and Punjab are major cotton producing states in India
• The cotton plants seed is used to derive the cotton fibre. It is available widely, cheap and highly durable.
• It is majorly used in the production of textile fabrics or cloths such as shirts, trousers and other materials

Jute

• Jute fibres are derived from inner bast tissues of jute plant especially from Corchorus species. It is an annual crop.
• Jute fibres are yellowish brown in colour. Jute is also known as the “golden fibre” because of its colour. It is long, shiny and soft.
• They are highly tensile and durable. They are also called as lingo-cellulosic fibres as they contain lignin and cellulose.
• India is the world’s largest producer of jute majorly is states like West Bengal.
• It is used to make ropes, floor mats, carpets, sacks, jute bags etc.

Hemp

• It is a naturally obtained fibre and belongs to Cannabaceae family.
• It is very soft and durable. Fibres are derived from stalks of the plants.
• It was produced majorly for industrial purposes such as paper, textile, fuel, construction etc.
• It is in high demand and used to produce ropes, sacks and other items even today.

Coir

• It is extracted from coconut plant and is naturally occurring plant fibre.
• It is obtained from the husk of coconuts.
• It is majorly used in production of ropes, sacks, brushes and floor mats.

Flax

• The flax plant belong to the Linaceae family and falls in the Linum genus.
• It is also known as linseed or common flax seeds.
• They originated in the eastern Mediterranean and were grown in Egypt and Ethiopia.
• These fibres are old and existed around 30,000 BC.
• They were used in production of ropes, high quality papers etc…

Fibre crops are a group of plants that are specifically grown for the production of fibres. Fibres are thin thread-like structures present in the stems, leaves, or seeds of these plants. These fibres play a major role in making products such as ropes, clothes and other materials. Crops that are used to extract these fibres are hemp, cotton, flax, jute etc. As there is an increasing demand for eco-friendly products, the use of these fibre crops and their products is expected to rise in the future as they are highly beneficial.