Research and development in jute (Corchorus sp.) and allied fibres in India-A re- view

Abstract

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 Vha during independence to about 2.24 Vha during 2006-07. De- .l0 velopment of high-yielding varieties along with relatively cheaper and user friendly location specific technolo- gies 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 de- veloped 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 qual- ity research also, as it is the prime requirement for product diversification and value addition. In this paper, at- tempts have been made to summarize and present the achievements made so far in the jute and allied fibre re- search and also to highlight the constraints faced by this sector and its possible mitigation options.