ECONOMIC BOTANY

FIBRES, RUBBER, FIREWOOD, TIMBER AND BAMBOO

Dr. Balakrishna Gowda
Department of Botany
Univerity of Agricultural Sciences
Hebbal,
GKVK Campus
Bangalore 560065

CONTENTS:
FIBER CROPS
RUBBER
FIREWOOOD
TIMBER
BAMBOO

FIBER CROPS
Fibre-yielding plants have been of great importance to man and they rank second only to food plants in
their usefulness. In ancient times, plants were of considerable help in satisfying mans necessities in respect
of food, clothing and shelter. Although other materials like animal skin and hides were also used to meet
the demands with regard to clothing, they were quite insufficient for the purpose. Further, the need for
some lighter and cooler substance was keenly felt. In those days, man also required some form of cordage
for his snares, bow-strings, nets, etc, and also for better types of covering for his shelter. Tough, flexible
fibres obtained from stems, leaves, roots, etc., of various plants served the above purposes very well. With
the advancement of civilization, the use of plants fibres has gradually increased and their importance today
is very great. Although many different species of plants, roughly about two thousand or more, are now
known to yield fibres, commercially important ones are quite small in number.
In commerce, fibres include practically all small, thin, fragments of any substances. There are fibres of
mineral origin (asbestos, spun glass, and so on) and of animal origin (wool and other animal hair, silk,
feathers, and so on), as well as the more important plant fibres.
The fibres may be grouped into two broad categories, namely, (i) natural fibres, and (ii) synthetic or
artificial fibres. The natural fibres include fibres obtained from plants and animals. Wool, hairs of many of
the animals, and silk are animal fibres. Nearly 90 percent of the world production of fibres is from the
natural vegetable fibres.
The plant fibres are among the most important of the worlds crops, and a valuable commodity in world
trade because they are essential to man for the manufacture of much of his clothing, his cordage and coarse
fabrics. The plant fibres are classified into there groups according to their anatomical origin in the plant.

Soft, Stem, or Bast Fibres

These are sclerenchyma fibres associated with the phloem, pericycle or cortex of the stems of plants. They
are consequently rather easy to separate from underlying woody tissues as a constituent of the bark which
can be peeled from the stems, They arise with primary tissues from the apical meristem, or with secondary
tissues produced by the lateral meristem, the cambium, associated with the vascular tissues of the stem.
Important bast fibres are flax, jute, hemp, kenaf, ramie , etc.

Hard, Leaf or Structural fibres

The hard fibres are bundles of small, short lignified cells unsheathing xylem and phloem which occur in the
leaves of some monocotyledons, notable examples are Agaves, Manila hemp, Sensivieria, Mauritius hemp.

Seed and Fruit fibres

Surface hairs associated with the fruits and seeds of plants are single-celled outgrowths from the testa or
from the ovary wall, which protect developing seeds. Cotton, which belongs to this group, consists of the

surface hairs produced by the testa of the seeds of cultivated species of the genus Gossypium. Kapok,
which is the floss, filling the capsules of the tree, Ceiba pentandra, consists of single-celled, lustrous hairs
with a waxy coating, which grow from the ovary wall.
In the coconut, the fruits have sclerenchymatous fibres, which are hard due to high lignifications.
Fibre crops can also be classified based on the their applications and uses:

Textile fibres it is the most important group; the fibres are used for manufacture of fabrics,
netting and cordage. The textile fibres of economic importance are cotton, flax, kenaf, hemp,
Roselle hemp, deccan hemp, sun hemp etc.

Brush fibres tough and stiff fibres used for the manufacture of brushes and brooms

Rough weaving fibres flat, pliable fibrous strands used for making straw hats, sandals, baskets,
mats, chair seats, etc. These include hard fibres like Palmyra leaves, Coconut coir, Agave fibres.

Filling fibres fibres used in upholstery and for stuffing cushions, mattresses, pillow, etc. They
are also used as packing materials. These include Cotton, floss of many species ex. Calotropis,
Inflorescence of Aerva tomentosa, soft parts of coir, sun hemp etc.

Natural fibres basts extracted from bark in layers or sheets and used as substitutes for cloth or
lace

Paper making fibres wood fibres, etc, used for papermaking

The same fibre may be used for different purposes as one particular plant may yield more than one kind of
fibre. Fibres may be found in different parts of the plant, namely stems, leaves, roots, fruits and seeds, and
may be different in their characteristics, like texture, strength, chemical composition, etc. However, they
are, with certain exceptions, long sclerenchyma cells with thick walls, small cavities and pointed ends. The
walls of the cells usually consist of lignin and cellulose. The fibres may occur singly or in small groups,
According to their origin, the fibres are of four chief types, namely, bast fibres, wood fibres, sclernchyma
cells associated with strands of vascular bundle in leaves, and surface fibres or the hair-like outgrowths
present on the seeds.

Textile fibres
Those fibres, which are required mainly for the textile industry, must be long with high tensile strength,
pliability and cohesiveness and they must possess fine uniform lustrous staple. The chief textile fibres may
be of three categories namely, surface fibres, soft fibres and hard fibres. Cottons belong to the first
category, flax, hemp, jute and ramie which are base fibres to the second category; and sisal, coconut, pine
apple, etc. fibres of which are found chiefly in the leaves of monocotyledonous plants, to the third.

Cotton
Cotton is the oldest and the most important commercial crop of the world. It has been grown in India in the
Indus valley for more than 5000 years. It is considered to be indigenous to south -east Asia and also to
south Central America. The crop is grown chiefly for fibre in many countries of the world, of which
principal ones are USSR, USA, China, India, Brazil, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Mexico and Sudan. These
countries account for nearly 85 per cent of the total world production, in acreage, India ranks first among
the cotton growing countries. With regard to production, however, it occupies the fourth position. The crop
is grown in this country from the sub-himalayan region in the north to the Cape comarin in the south, the
major cultivation being confined to peninsular India.
The cotton goods, in the trade with the West, were carried either on camels or in boats which plied between
India and the Middle East.
A cotton fibre is a single celled hair, a delicate tubular prolongation of the epidermis of the outer
integument of seed. It may be of varying lengths, the maximum being about 51-mm. The fibre has
characteristic twists and is commonly referred to as lint fibre. The lint hairs are mixed with some much
shorter hairs known as fuzzy hairs, which do not exceed 10 mm in length and, unlike the former, lack the
twists.
Cotton fibres are obtained on a commercial scale from the four cultivated species of the geneus Gossypium,
belonging to the family, Malvaceae. Varieties of these four species of Gossypiun namely arboreum and
herbaceum of the old world and hirsutum and barbadense of the new world are grown in India. Of these
species, G. hirsutum occupies the largest area roughly about 50 percent of the total cotton acerage in the
country. This is followed by G. arboreum and G. herbaceum with 29 percent and 21 percent, respectively.
G. barbadense occupies a few thousand hectares only.
Botanical Name: Gossypium
Family: Malvaceae.
Vernacular: Assamese-Kapah; Bengali-Karpas; Oriya- Kapa; Telugu-Pratti; Tamil-Paruthi;
Malayalam-Paruthi;Kannada-Hatti; Marathi- Kapus; Gujarati and Hindi- Kapas; Punjabi- Kapa.

History
Cotton finds mention in the Rig-veda, the oldest scripture of the Hindus and Manus Dharma shastra. In
India it has had the pride place among the cash crops from the earliest times. India was having a
flourishing export trade in cotton and cotton goods as early as 569-525 B.C. Two Arabian travellers,
describing Indian fabrics have recorded that the Garments were of such extraordinary perfection that
nowhere else were the like to be seen, being woven to that degree of fineness that they might be drawn
through a moderate size ring. Marco Polo mentioned the coast of Coromandel as producing the finest and
most beautiful cottons. One of the army generals of Alexander the Great, during his sojourn in India

described cotton as a plant from which the natives plucked the vegetable wool which they spun in to
admirable clothing.
Cotton made its appearance in England in 1298 and soon established there as a major industry. The rapid
development of the cotton industry brought unprecedented prosperity. The fortune of Indian cotton seems
to have been always linked with the adequacy or otherwise of cotton exports to England from America. The
East India Company had conducted extensive trials with exotic cottons over a long period of time in an
attempt to develop an alternative source of supply. American cotton was introduced into India during this
period.
In respect of acreage, India now occupies the foremost position among the cotton growing countries of the
world. In respect of production, however, it has the fourth place, the first, second and third positions being
taken by USA, USSR and China, respectively (Table 11.4).
In India, the yield per acre varies appreciably from state to state and sometimes even in the different parts
of state (Table 11.3). The yield of rain fed cotton is highest in the Punjab 343 kg/ha and followed by
Haryana and Rajasthan. (298 kg/ha, 208 kg/ha respectively).

Cotton Field

Origin and Distribution

The genus Gossypium, comprises approximately thirty tropical and subtropical species that have been
assigned to six cytologically defined diploid, genome groups, A,B,C,D,E, and F and one tetraploid genome
group AD.The lint bearing species of Gossypium, which are the true cottons, include the diploid G.
arboreum and G herbaceum indigenous in Asia and Africa, and the tetraploid G hirsutum and G.
barbadense.
It has been shown that the New World Cottons are natural amphidiploids combining the A genome from a
taxon of the Asiatic diploid group (G. arboreum, 2n=26) and a D genome from a taxon of the American
diploid group (G. thurberi, 2n=26). Crossing the two species and doubling the chromosomes of the sterile
hybrid with colchicine experimentally showed this probable origin. The resulting amphidiploids (4n= 52)
crossed and produced partially fertile hybrids with the New World tetraploid cottons.
The earliest civilization known to have spun and woven cotton was the Harappan in the Indus Valley in
Pakistan(2300-1750 B.C.) and for many centuries the cotton plant was known outside India only in
travellers tables.The original cultivatable Asiatic cottons belong to the species G. arboreum and G.
herbaceum, both of which have short staple length. G. arboreum is grown in 40 percent of the total acreage
in India and about 30 percent of the acreage by G. herbaceum. The dating of the origin of the cottons has
been the subject of two major theories, the ancient origin theory of Harlans (1939) and Stebbins (1947) and
the recent origin theory of Hutchinson, Silow and Stephens (1947).

The recent origin theory states that wherever the true cottons are found growing wild, their closest relatives
are the earliest known cultivars in the same region, and not wild cottons growing at the center of the origin.
It has been argued that such a situation would arise if the cottons now growing wild were to escape from
cultivation, and not truly wild forms. It follows then that the very large genetic gulf between the cottons
and the wild species of Gossypium arose as a result of the selection by man of mutant types which bore
spinable lint (Santanam & Hutchinson,1974).

New World Cottons

The origin of the New World Cottons has been attributed to allopolyploidy resulting from the cross
between the 13 chromosome American wild species and the old world cultivated type bearing Agenome.
The American wild species, G. raimondii (Fig.11.1) is probably the nearest relative of the D genome that
has entered into the ancestry of the present day New World cotton.

A complete list of cultivated and wild species of Gossypium is presented in following Table.

TABLE 1. Species of Gossypium (Compiled from Hutchinson (1962)

Saunders (1961) and Stephens (1947)

Species

Genome
symbol

Geographic
origin

Use

A1
A2
B1
B2
C1
C2
C3
E1
E2
E3
E4
E5

Asia
Asia
Africa
Africa
Australia
Australia
Australia
Indo-Arabia
Arabia-India
Africa
Africa
Africa

Cultivated.
Cultivated.
Wild.
Wild.
Wild.
Wild.
Wild.
Wild.
Wild.
Wild.
Wild.
Wild.

G. Thurberi Tod.
G. armourianum Kearn.
G. harknessii Brandeg.
G. klotzschianum (Kell.) Hutch.

D1
D2
D2
D3

Wild.
Wild.
Wild.
Wild.

G. aridum (Rose & Standl.) Skovsted

G. raimondii Ulb.

D4
D5

G. gossypioides (Ulb) Standl.

G. lobatum Gentry

D6
D7

N. America
N. America
N. America
Galapagos & N.
America
N. America
N. America
(Peru)
America
America

(AD)1
(AD)2
(AD)3

N. America
S. America
Hawaii

Cultivated
Cultivated
Wild.

I Diploid, old World species 2n=26

G. herbaceum L.
G. arboreum L.
G. anomalum Waw.& Pcy.
G. triphyllum Hochr.
G. sturtii F. Muell.
G. robinsonii F. Muell.
G. australe F. Muell.
G. stocksii Mast.
G. somalense (Gurke) Hutch.
G. somalense (Deflers) Hutch.
G. incanum (Schwartz) Hillcoat
G. longicalyx Hutch.& Lee

II Diploid, New World species 2n=26)

Wild.
Wild.
Wild.
Wild.

III Tetraploid, New World species

(2n=52)
G. hirsutum L.
G. barbadense L.
G. tomentosum Nutt. Ex. Seem.

Species of Gossypium Linn.

1.

G. arboreum Linn. (Chinese cotton, Tree cotton, Ceylon cotton)

Vernacular: Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi and Punabi-Kapas, Rui,Tula: Kannada-Hathi; TeluguPatti, Karpasma; Tamil and Malayalam-Paruthi,Panji; Oriya-Karpasu, Kopa.
The plant is distributed throughout the rain-fed savannah areas from Africa, through Arabia and India, to
China Japan and East Indies. The species in now divided into six races, based mainly on geographical
distribution. These are bengalense,burmanicum, cerunum, indicum, sinense and sudanense. The first four
comprise all the cultivated types belonging to G. arboreum in India. G. arboreum is a diploid Old World
species with n=13 chromosomes. It includes perennial or annual shrubs,0.6-3m high, bearing slender,
trailing, purplish branches; flowers-purple, red, yellow or white; capsules tapering,3-4 locular, opening
widely when ripe. Seeds small with two coats of hairs, lint white, grey or brown, fuzz green, grey or white.
2.

G. barbadense Linn.

Vernacular: English-sea Island cotton, Egyptian cotton Brazilian cotton Peruvian cotton, kidney cotton.The
centre of origin of this group is tropical South America, particularly Columbia, Ecuador and Peru. It is a
tetraploid New World species with n=26 chromosomes. It includes perennial shrubs or small tree, 0.9-4.5m
high, or annual shrubs, moderately high, tree cottons are monopodial. Capsules large, 3-4 locular broad at
the base, tapering to an acute tip, rough with oil glands at the bottom of pits; seeds 5-8 per loculus; lint pure
white or light cream to deep mahogany red, fuzz coat full, partial one or both ends, or entirely absent.
3.

G. herbaceum Linn.

This species occurs in Africa, Middle east countries, Central Asia and Western India. Commercially the
cottons belonging to this species constitute a fairly large percentage of medium staple cotton grown in
India. There are five races: persicum in South Central Asia, Kuljiamum in Chinese Central Asia,
acerifolium in North Africa, wightianum in Westrn India and africanum in South Africa (Hutchinson
1950). It is a diploid Old World species with n=13 chromosomes. It includes small shrubs,0.6-2.4m high
with thick and rigid stems: flowers medium sized, yellow with purple center, rarely white, capsules
rounded, beaked, with smooth surface, 3-4 locular,opening slightly when ripe. Seeds usually with two
coats of hairs; lint hairs white, grey or red-brown in colour and fuzz hairs, nearly of the same colour and
distributed uniformly over the seed.

4.

G. hirsutum Linn.
Vernacular: English American cotton,

Bourbon cotton Upland cotton

The center of origin of this group is Central
America. It comprises a large number of
types often classified into groups, varieties
and races. It is a tetraploid New World
species with n=26 chromosomes. It includes
perennial or annual shrubs. 0.9-4.5m high,
stems usually green, brown or reddishbrown, capsules rounded,3-5 locular; seeds
bearing copius lint hairs and usually, also fuzz hairs, lint variable in quality white, brown or rust coloured.

Indian Cottons
Botanically, the cotton varieties of India, belong to three distinct species, namely G.arboreum

G.

herbaceum and G. hirsutum. Of these, G. arboreum is supposed to be indigenous to India. Fragments of

yarn found in the excavation at Mohen-jo-Daro have been identified to belong to this particular
species. The second species G. herbaceum seems to have been introduced in India from the Middle East
countries and the history of its introduction can be traced back to the early days of the British East India
Company.
The arboreum group includes varieties which are predominantly coarse and short stapled, though a few
among them are medium stapled and fairly fine. They are cultivated to a varying extent in almost all cotton
growing States. The varieties belonging to the herbaceum group are generally much finer and longer in
staple than arboreum varieties. Their cultivation is confined to part of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh and Karnataka.
The hirsutum group includes varieties which are medium to long staple and are much finer than those of
the other two groups. These varieties are largely grown in the Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra
Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. The cultivation of these varieties is also spreading in some parts of
Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.

Fig. Gossypium Sp.

Improved Varieties
As a result of intensive research work carried out in the recent past, India has now a wide range of cotton
varieties to meet the varying requirements of the industry. With the facilities for fibre testing and spinning
quality evaluation, at the Cotton Technological Research Laboratory, Bombay, good number of improved
varieties with better fibre and spinning quality have been evolved. The I.C.A.R. has sponsored an All
India Coordinated Cotton Improvement project since 1970 for evolving better yielding varieties of cotton
suitable for different cotton tracts.
1.

G. barbadense: varieties with superior long staple length. Sujata, Sea Island, Andrews. Sujata:
Extra-long staple length high spinning Egyptian type, suited for irrigated cotton tracts in Tamil
Nadu.

2.

G. hirsutum: Varieties: Gujarat-6,7 Hybrid-4, MCU-4, MCU-5, B. 100. Deviraj Krishna.

3.

Krishna: A short duration variety of cotton with better fibre quality suited for Andhra Pradesh.

4.

MCU varieties are suited for the irrigated cotton tracts. MCU-5, is superior in yield to MCU-1 and
MCU-3 varieties. MCU-5 is suited for cultivation in Tamil Nadu, Nagarjuna Sagar Project area of
Andhra Pradesh and the Deccan Canal area in Maharashtra.

5.

G. arboreum: Improved varieties: K-7 Gaorani-46, CJ-73, (Sanjay),

6.

Virnar, AK-235,AK-277, Y-1, Adonicum Maljari, Coconadas-2, 741 Gl,

7.

Syyamali, 231-R,G.27.

8.

G. herbaceum. Varieties:

Digvijay, Suyodhar, Wagad 797, Jayadhar Westerns-1, Kalyan.

Khandwa-varieties: K-1 to K-7, K-1 is suited for rainfed Nimar tract of Madhya Pradesh.

Ecology
The climatic requirements for the successful cultivation of cotton are a mean annual temperature of over
15.40 C, an annual rainfall of at least 50 cm, abundant sunshine during the period of boll maturation and
harvesting of the produce, and a frostless season of 180-240 days in North India.
Cotton needs a soil with good moisture-holding capacity, drainage, and aeration with optimum pH 5.5-8.5.
The cotton crop is grown in India mainly on alluvial, black cotton, red sandy loam and lateritic soils.

Botany of the Plant

G. herbaceum L.-Shrubs usually 1-1 m tall with few or no vegetative branches; Stems thick and rigid, twigs
and young; leaves usually sparsely hairy, rarely glabrous, fruiting branches many jointed, leaves usually
flat, 3-7 lobed, lobes ovate rotund to rounded, stipules small, linear, caducuous bracteole large rounded or
broadly triangular; stamens monodelphous on a column; Anther filaments short, styles short, stigmas
usually united throughout, rearely cleft at the top;
Gossypium herbaceum
Capsules rounded, beaked, 2-3.5 cm
long,

surface

shallowly

smooth

dented, with

or

very

few oil

glands, 3 or 4 locular, usually only

opening slightly when ripe, sutures,
devoid of hairs, not more than 11
seeds per locule; Seeds usually
bearing two coats of hairs, long lint
hairs and short fuzz hairs, in rare
types bearing lint only.

Cultivation Practices
In India it is mainly grown as a
Kharif of autumn harvested crop. The
sowing of the rainfed crop is done with the commencement of themonsoon in June or July, whereas the

irrigated crop is sown one or two months earlier, i.e., in May or April, depending on the varieties grown
(desi or American). Like most crops cotton gives better yields when grown in rotation with other crops like
methi, berseem, peas, senji, mung or shaftal. In the black soil tracts the usual rotation for rainfed cotton is
Kharif jowar.
The seed of most of the cotton varieties are covered by short fibre called fuzz which makes the seeds
cling together. The seeds are rubbed with mud or mixture of earth and fresh cow-dung and dried for
separating the seeds. In Uttar Pradesh, the desi variety forms the bulk of the crop.
After sowing, the rainfed crops are hoed 4-5 times for removing the weeds. Cotton requires heavy
manuring during the growing period.

Manuring
Of the three chief elements of plant nutrition, viz., phosphorus and potash, the application of nitrogen alone
was found essential for increasing yield. For the quick ripening, early maturing at sowing time was found
the best. About 22.5 kg/ha of nitrogen for rain fed cotton and 45-67.5 kg/ha for irrigated seems good under
average conditions. Basal application of farmyard manure at the rate of about 13 cart loads per hectare also
essential for high yields.

Harvesting
The flowering season usually starts from 2-21/2 months after the sowing of seed and lasts for a period of 810 weeks. The crop produces only a few flowers during the first 8-10 days but after that, the rate of
flowering increases rapidly. The peak rate continues for 3-4 weeks and then it gradually tapers off. As a
result of this phenomenon, the production of ripe fruits or bolls is also gradual being spread over a period
of 3-4 months. Ripe cotton is usually collected or picked periodically i,e., whenever a sufficiently large
number of mature bolls are there to make collection an economic operation.

Development of Cotton Fibre

Cotton fibres are elongated epidermal cells present on the seed coat. The cells pass through three stages of
development (i) differentiation, (ii) growth and (iii) desiccation. Differentiation of some epidermal cells
into fibre cells starts even before pollination, but becomes an active process only after the pollination is
accomplished. Mitotic divisions take place till about the tenth day after flowering and the number of lint
cells continues to increase up to about third week after flowering. In this way epidermal cells are
transformed into lint cells. The growth of hair cell begins as bulge on the outer wall of the epidermal cell
and they elongate for about 3 weeks. Deposition of secondary cellulose takes place on the primary walls of
tubular hairs. 20-50 concentric layers of secondary cellulose are deposited.
Desiccation: The period lasts for 15 to 25 days during which tubular fibre collapses and a residue of
proteinaceous solids is left in the lumen.

Structure of Cotton Fibre

Size. The fibres of cottoncultivated in India are as long and broad, the average width very-ing
between 20 and 30 microns. The fibre is a translucent, collapsed, hollow tube, charactericed by
the presence of convolutions which repeatedly change direction along its length.

Primary wall. The cellulose of the primary wall is an open mesh of fine thread-like strands that
frequently anastomose. The strands may be arranged in a spiral, right-or left-handed, inclin-ed to
the main axis at an angle of 65-700. recent studies with the help of the electron microscope have
shown that the primary wall is probably less than 0.2 microns thick and is made up of laminated
microfibrils whose diameter ranges from 100 to 400A.(A, angstrom unit which is equivalent to 108

cm).

Secondary wall. The first layer of the secondary thickening called the winding layer is thicker
than the other layers, which are called growth rings. The growth rings are concentric and their
number varies from fibre to fibre.

Fibrils. These are strands of pure cellulose and are made up of a number of microfibrils, referred
to as crystallites or micellae. The cellulose chains constituting the fibre are held parallel to each
other and to the fibre axis, by the secondary forces between hydroxyl groups. The average cotton
cellulose molecule contains about 3,000 glucose residues linked together by 1:4 oxygen bridges to
form a chain.

Chemical composition : Raw cotton consists principally of cellulose. The composition (dry basis)
of the fibre is as follows: cellulose-94%, protein-3%, pectic substances.-0.9%; ash-1.2%, wax0.6%; and sugars 0.3% pigments traces.

Cotton Seed
Commercial cotton seed is produced after ginning seed-cotton (kapas) for the staple fibre. Cotton seed has
three principal parts viz. linter, hulls and kernel (meat). The linters consist mainly of cellulose. The minor
constituents ar pectins, minerals, waxes, resins, pigments, and water soluble carbohydrates etc.
The hull or seed coat is brownish red to jet-black in colour. The main constituents of the hulls are
cellulose complexes, lignin and furfural, and the minor constituents are tannins, mineral matter, colouring
matter and other substances. In between the inner surface of the hull (spermoderm) and the kernel (embryo)
there is a thick membrane which forms the attachment to the cotton seed hull at the chalazal cap.
Embryo. It has two cotyledons, theaxial organs and the enveloping membrane. It contains largely oil and
protein besides the pigment glands. The pigment glands contain pigment materials which impart the
characteristic yellow-red colour to the cotton seed meal and oil.

The major constituent of cotton seed are fat, protein, moisture, crude fibre and carbohydrates. The minor
constituents are pigments, phosphorus compounds, sterols. anti-oxidents, mineral compounds and other
substances. All these reside entirely or mostly in the kernel.

Pigments
1.

Gossypol. It is one of the cotton seed pigments. It is a complex polyphenolic compound, yellow in
colour, molecular formula C30 H30 O8.

2.

Gossypurpurin. Purple coloured pigment of the cotton seed.

3.

Gossyfulvin. Orange coloured pigment of the cotton seed.

4.

Gossycaerulin. Blue coloured pigment of the cotton seed. 11 other pigments are also presnt in the
cotton seed.

Cotton Ginning and Baling Industry

Seed cotton or kapas, as harvested, contains both lint and seed, the latter forming about two-third of the
weight of kapas,. Cotton is ginned, on a cottage industry basis, in the charkha and the Foot Roller. Now
most of the cotton is ginned in ginning machines.
Pressing. Ginned cotton is marketed in the form of pressed bales. The ginning and pressing of cotton is
regulated by the Cotton Ginning and Pressing factories Act, 1929. In 1818 Bowreah Cotton Mill Company,
was started at Calcutta. Now, Bombay holds the leading position among the States in the Indian cotton mill
industry. In the cotton mill, cotton is cleaned and the spinning machines spun the cotton into yarn.

Uses of Cotton
Cotton is a major cash crop which gives three important products fibre, food and feed. Lint fibre is used for
clothing, household and industrial articles. Articles of clothing include shirtings,outer-wear, underwear,
gloves, hosiery etc. Household articles include bed sheets and covers, pillow cases, towels, table clothes,
mosquito nettings, flannel, blankets etc. Industrial articles include bags, belting, industrial thread, awnings,
tents, tarpaulins, insulation, cellulose, plastics, etc. The linter is used for stuffing cushions, pillows,
mattresses, etc. It also finds wider application in the manufacture of high quality paper cellophane, rayon,
varnishes and absorbent cotton. Figure1 gives the manifold uses of cotton seed in detail.
The cotton seed is used for extracting oil. Cotton seed oil is used in the manufacture of Vanaspati. Cotton
flour is obtained from the seed and used for brad and biscuit making in USA. Cotton seed cake after
extraction of oil is a good organic manure.

Fig. 1
Cotton Seed Uses
COTTON SEED

Meats
(Kernel after
removed
removing the hull)

Hulls

Linters
(Short fibers
from the seed)

Flour (Bread, Cake, Crackers)

--Cake and Meal
Feed for dairy cattle, sheep,horses and mules, poultry & Hogs.
Fertilizer

Meats
Refined oil (Salad and cooking oil, mayonnaise, salad dressing,
margarine, packing oil (sardines etc.)

Soap

Glycerine (Explosives, pharmaceuticals, food preparations &

cosmetics)

--Crude Oil

Fatty Acids (Rubber, plastics,

finishes (leather, paper, textiles),
Insecticides, fungicides, metallic soaps & waterproofing.

Feed for (Beef cattle, dairy cattle, sheep, horses & mules)
Fertilizer (mulch and soil conditioner)
Hulls
Bran (Livestock feed)
Fiber (pulp-same uses as linters)

Furfural (Synthetic rubber, petroleum refining & plastics)

LINTERS

Chemical

Non-Chemical
Absorbent Cotton
Medical Supplies

Films (Sausage casings, cellophane tape)

Viscose
Rayon (Industrial fabrics)

Yarns (Lampand candle

wicks, twine,
rugs,mops)

Cellulose Esters and Ethers

Cellulose Nitrate (Plastics, lacquers, smokelss powder)

Felts for (Automotive
upholstery, pads,
cushions, furniture
upholstery, comforts,
mattresses ).

Yarn (Clothing, household fabrics)

Cellulose Acetate
Plastics (Automotive parts, electrical
Equipment, toiletware, pens and pencils)

Films-X-ray and Photographic

DISEASES AND PESTS

Fungal disease. Wilt disease caused by Fusarium-vasinfectum, root rot caused by Rhizoctonia
bataticola and R. Solani anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum capsici and G. gossypii, damping
off of seedlings caused by Pythium debaryanum, Sclerotium wilt, Cercospora leaf spot,
Helminthosporuim leaf spot, Alternaria leaf spot, rust caused by Uredo gossypii.

Bacterial disease. Bacterial blight caused by Xanthomonas malvacearum.

Viral disease. Small leaf or smalling

varieties like 134xCo.2,170xCo-tom-23 etc.

Insect pests. Bell worms, cotton leaf roller, cottonsemi-leoopers, cotton budmoth, Hairy
caterpillars, cotton stem weevil, cotton stem borer, cotton jassid, cotton white-fly, cotton aphid,
red cotton bug, dusky cotton bug, mealy bugs, scale insects, thrips etc.

Namatodes. Root-knot caused by Meloidogyne incognita.

or

stenosis,

control;

Cultivating

resistant

FLAX
Botanical Name: Linum usitatissimum L.
Family: Linaceae
Vernacular:English-Linseed, Flax;Sanskrit-Atasi,Ooma: Hindi-Alsi, Tisi: Gujarati-Alashi; MarathiAlashi; Bengali-Mosina,Tisi; Oriya-Pesu; Punjabi-Alsi, Tisi; Tamil-Alsivirai,Aalivirai; Telugu-Avisi;
Malayalam- Cheru.chana vittinte; kannada-Alshi, Agasi, Alasee; Urdu-Alasi,Kash, Alish, Keun.
In India flax has been under cultivation from pre-historic times. Flax fibre is the earliest vegetable fibe used
by man. The plant also yields oil of commercial importance. From the records available, the Egyptian
fabrics (mummy-clothes) which are probably over 4,500 years old have been found to be of flax.
According to De Candolle Linum angustifolium. Huds, the perennial flax, found wild from the Canary Isles
to Palestine and the Caucasus, was cultivated in Switzerland and the North of Italy by peoples more ancient
than the conquerors of Aryan race. Its cultivation was replaced by that of the annual flax Linum
usitatissimum L. which was cultivated for at least 4,000 or5,000 years in Mesopotamia, Assyria, and Egypt.
It occurs wild in the districts include between the Persian Gulf, the Capsian Sea and the Black Sea. This
plant appears to have been introduced into the north of Europe by the Finns, afterwards into the rest of
Europe by the western Aryans and perhaps here and there by the Phoenicians, lastly into India by the
eastern Aryans, after their separation from the European Aryans.

Geographical Groups
Two main geographical groups corresponding to the oldest areas of cultivation and the centers of diversity
may be recognized. Linseed has been cultivated since antiquity in the Mediterranean coastal lands, Asia
Minor, Egypt,Algeria. Tunis, Spain, Italy and Greece; in all these areas, only fibre-flaxes are cultivated.
The second group comprises south-west Asia, indluding Turkestan, Afghanistan and India; only oil types
are grown in these areas. In Asia Minor and in SouthRussia, transitional forms are cultivated for both fibre
and oil.
Now the linseed crop is cultivated in the U.S.S.R., the Argentina, Uruguay, India, Pakistan, China, Japan,
Morocco, Australia Ireland, Scotland, Poland a few other European countries (Table 11.5). In India, about
1.6 m ha are under flax cultivation and about 0.4 m mt of seed is produced annually.

Cytogenetics
The cultivated flax is one of a well-defined group of North African and Eurasian species with 2n=30
chromosomes L. africanum, L. angustifolim,L. corymbiferum, L. decumbens, L. nervosum

and

L.pallescens. They produce fertile hybrids (Gill and Yermanos,1967). L. usitatissimum is nearest to the
highly variable L. angustifolium (2n=30 ,32), a strongly branching and tillering, perennial or biennial with
dehiscent capsules, common in southern Europe and western Asia.

Wild Species of Linum in India

In India three or four species of Linum are recorded, of which L. usitatissimum is cultivated widely for its
oil-seed . L. bienne Mill. (Syn.L. angustifolium Huds.) and L. grandiflorum Desf. are grown in gardens for
ornamental purpose.
1.

L. mysorense Heyne. An annual glabrous herb, 47-50 cm high, found in West Himalayas at altitudes of
920-1,500 m. and in Punjab, Rajasthan and Hilly regions of Deccan and western Ghats: flowers
yellow, in panicled corymbs: capsule globose,0.3 cm diam., containing small flat, oval seeds. The
plant is a weed.

2.

L. perenne Linn. A perennial herb, 30-90 cm high, found in north-west Himalayas at altitudes of
3,000-4,000m: Leaves lanceolate: lower oblong, upper linear-acute: flowers blue, in few flowered
cymes, capsule as large as pea. It is an ornamental plant.

3.

L. strictum Linn. An annual herb, 30-50 cm high, found in north-west Himalayas upto 3,500 m and in
Punjab, Leaves linear-lanceolate, rough: flowers yellow, capsule globose, 0.5 cm. diam. The plant is
cultivated on a small scale.

Botany of the Plant

Annual: stem-cylindric, erect, simple below, 0.6-1.2 m, often solitary corymbosely branched above: leaves
narrow sub-3-nerved, linear or lanceolate without stipular glands: flowers 2.5cm diam, in broad cymes:
sepals ovate, acuminate, 3-nerved, eglandular, margins ciliate or not, petals blue, styles quite free: stigmas
linear-clavate: fruit---is a rounded capsule about one fourth inch or more in diam, surrounded by the
persistant sepals. It possesses 10 locules, each with one seed. The seed is oval, lenticular, and pointed at
one end. Its length varies between 4 and 6 mm. and breadth between 2 and 3 mm. Each capsule contains
ten seeds.

Ecology
In India, flax is a winter crop and flourishes equally well in both the peninsular region of the South and the
alluvial soils of the North. In general a lighter soil where the rainfall is heavy and a heavier soil, where

drier conditions prevail, suit the flax plant very well. Soil pH 6.6-7.6 is best suitable for the plant. The flax
is primarily a rain-fed crop and it requires average rainfall ranging from 75-175cms in a year.

Cultivation Practices
Flax is primarily a winter (rabi) crop all over India. Its normal time of sowing differs from region to region.
In the Peninsular India, it is generally sown early in October, whereas in the North in the Gangetic
alluvium, it is generally sown in November. In Kashmir,the crop is sown in February and March. When this
crop is sown broadcast in the standing crop of paddy, the system is called utera in Madhya Pradesh and
paira in Bihar. Under this system the sowing time is earlier by about a month. The seed rate of a normal
flax crop in different localities in India varies between 22.5-33.5 kg/ha. When grown as utera or paira crop,
the seed rate does not ordinarily exceed 11.25 kg/ha.
Linseed (flax) is grown as a mixed crop with gram, wheat, barley, mustard etc. there is a general belief that
flax is an exhaustive crop and, therefore, raising flax after flax is not often practiced as the land is said to
become flax-sick. So rotation practices with jowar, arhar, til, coriader, wheat, gram, cotton etc. are
followed.

Harvesting
In India, the crop is harvested generally in February and March in two ways viz., either by cutting the
plants close to the ground with sickle or by uprooting the plants by hand. For oil-seed purposes the first
method is employed and for fibre purposes the latter method is followed. The harvested plants are
subjected to threshing. The separation of the seed from the chaff (winnowing operation) is easily carried
out during hot months by exposing the threshed material to the blowing winds, when the seeds fall down
and the chaff (bhusa) is blown away to a distance before it settles down. A hand-winnowing machine
utilised for crops like wheat can also be utilised for flax in separating the seeds from the chaff.

Flax Fibre
The fibre of commerce is obtained from fibrous (essentially cellulose) bundles, running the length of the
stem and forming a ring in the cortex, the bundles individually consisting of overlapping strands, averaging
4 cm in length. Flax fibre is stronger than cotton or wool and linen fabrics have special qualities of
strength, durability, gloss, water absorption and drying. Linen thread is used in gloves, footwear, netting
and sports gear.

Extracting of fibre
It is very necessary that straw to be utilized in the fibre production should be reasonably long and
unbroken. Good quality, fibre could be made available after the water retting and chemical retting process.
But economic extraction has been found possible only after the newly developed process called the dryscutching process which enables the fibre being extracted without any pre-treatment of the straw with the

help of a specially designed machine. The fibre obtained by this process is, however, rough and crude, but
simple treatments, such as washing in hot water, render it soft.

Use of Fibre
The fibre is used in the manufacture of strong ropes, twines and cordage, cheap and rough textiles such as
blankets, carpets, hessian-like cloth, galicha, mats, mattresses and newar in the, manufacture of fine
textiles called as Linso- fabrics, the fibre is also used in the manufacture of straw boards, writing paper
parchment paper, cigarette paper, toys etc,; it is a good fuel of domestic use; in the railways it is used in the
feed boilers to run the steam engine.
The seed contains 40 percent linseed oil, a drying oil used in varnishes, paints and linoleum. The residue
after oil extraction is a valuable high protein cattle food called linseed cake or, when ground, linseed cake
meal.

JUTE
Botanical Name:Corchorus capsularis L. and C. olitorius L.
Family: Tiliaceae.
Vernacular: Bengali-Pat, Nalita, Koshta:Assamese-Pata, Marapata: Oriya-Jhot,
Jhout,Jhuta:Hindi-Tita-Pat,Guti-pat,Miltha-pat: Sanskrit-Patta: Telugu-Janapanara.

The two species of Corchours, C. capsularis and C. olitorius, yield a best fibre of great commercial
importance. Jute is used extensively in the manfacture of gunny bags for packaging materials. The jute
fibre is obtained from the bark of the plant. The jute is the secondary phloem fibres of the stem.

Origin
There are about 40 species distributed throughout the tropics of the world. Out of these, eight species occur
in India. C.capsularis is considered to have its origin in the Indo-Burma region. C. olitorius is found wild
both in Africa and India. The plant has been used (hardly cultivated) as a minor vegetable in Africa and the
middle East for a vary long time. The cultivated type under this species are found only in India. It has been
thought that the primary center of origin of C. olitorius was Africa and the secondary Centre may be India
or Indo-Burma. The data when the fibre-yelding properties of the jute plant were utilised by the Indians is
not definitely known, there is, however, evidence of trade in jute cloth in the sixteenth century in Bengal.
Towards the end of the eighteenth century jute was exported to England. Subsequently, the growth of this
industry was rapid and by the beginning of the twentieth century, it occupied the foremost place among the
Indian industries. The crop is cultivated for fibre only in West Bangal, Bangladesh, Malaya and Sri Lanka
(Table 11.6); and Table 11.7 gives world statistics of jute.

Cytogenetics
Most of the species have 2n =2x=14. A few tetraploids (2n=28) are also known. There is no information
about cytotaxonomic relationships of the wild species.

Botany of the Plant

Though the two species from which the jute fibre of commerce is obtained are similar in general
appearance, the leaf of C. olitorius has a shining upper surface and rougher under surface and is almost
tasteless, when chewed. The leaves of C. capsularis contain a bitter glucoside corchorin-and tastes bitter
on chewing, hence it is often known as tita (bitter) Pat, whereas C. olitorius is mitha (sweet) pat, The
flowers of C. olitorius are larger than those of C. capsularis. C.olitorius seeds are bluish-green to steel-grey
and smaller than those of C. capsularis seeds which are copper coloured.
Plants herbaceous annuals (duration 3-5 months) 1.5-4.5 m high; Stem cylindrical, branched or
unbranched; leaves glabrous, oblong, acuminate, coarsely toothed, lowermost pair of serrations enlarged
and end in filiform appendages; petiole 4-8 cm: stipule usually 0.5-2 cm or more, foliaceous in some
varieties of C. capsularis; Flowers small, in leaf opposed cymes in groups of 2-5 or more: sepals 5,
yellow, pale yellow or green; petals 5-6, yellow entire or split, stamens 30-60 I(stamens 20-30 in C.
capsularis). Ovary round or elongated, 5-carpellary syncarpous, ovules axile: Seeds 25-40 in single row in
each locule, with transverse partitions between each seed, 127-200 in each fruit (seeds 7-10 in two rows in
each locule without transverse partitions 35-50 in each fruit in C. capsularis). Seed small, chocolate brown
(C. capsularis) or bluish green to steel grey or black (C. olitorius).

Fibre
The fibre of C. olitorius is finer, softer, stronger and more lustrous than that of C. capsularis. The fibre of
C. capsularis is ordinarily whitish, and is, therefore, called white jute by the trade. The C. olitorius fibre
has either a yellowish, reddish or grayish colour, depending upon the nature of the retting water.

Ecology
Jute requires a warmer and humid climate with medium rainfall. The crop can be cultivated in a wide range
of soils. Generally well drained loam soils with pH between 5 and 7, and rich in potassium and phosphorus
are suitable for jute cultivation.

Cultivation Practices
Preparatory tillage of the land starts just after the first shower of rain is received during the latter part of
February or the beginning of March. Jute lands are usually manured with cow-dung, ashes, and compost
house sweepings. As jute is a bast fibre crop, the yield of the fibre is dependent on the vegetative growth of
plant. Application of ammonium sulphate at the rate of 11.2.5 225 kg/ha during the active period of
growth of the plant gives good results.

Sowing. Seeds are usually sown broadcast method at the rate of 11.25 kg/ha for C. capsularis and 6.75
kg/ha for C. olitorius. During the first two months of the crop, manuring, weeding and thinning operation
are done.

Harvesting
Jute plants may be cut any time before they are dead ripe, but harvesting is not usually done before the
flowering stages in flooded areas, the crop may have to be harvested some times even before the
appearance of the flower buds, for fear of its complete, destruction by early floods. The ideal stage of
harvest is when the plants are in small pods. The plants are cut close to the ground with sickles and tied
into bundles.

Extraction of Fibre
Retting. Retting is a process by which the fibres in the bark get loosened and separated from the wood
stalk due to the removal of pectins, gums and other mucilaginous substances. This is usually effected by
the combined action of water and microorganisms. The tied bundles of jute stems are taken to the nearest
pool or ditch for retting. The bundles are laid flat in water atleast 0.6-0.9 m in depth, and arranged side by
side so as to form a regular platform, which is usually known as jak. The retting process is completed in
830 days. Fibre is extracted from the stalks of retted jute by hand or by decorticators. Retting can also be
done by chemical process.
Yield. The normal average yield per acre is estimated at about 481---518.5 kg in India and about 592.5 kg
in Pakistan.

Structure of Jute Fibre

The fibre of jute is a bast fibre obtained from the stem (secondary phloem). The fibre cells are longer in
length and considerably lignified, and the fibre bear a silky lusture.
The longest fibre cells occur in the stems of the longest internodes. In general, the fibre cells of jute are
much shorter than those of hemp, flax or cotton, since the fibres are short, spinning by ordinary methods
becomes difficult, and hence the use of the jute fibre is limited to coarse fabrics only.

Uses
Jute is an important textile fibre next in importance to cotton. It is also a cheap fibre. The jute fibre is spun
into yarn and yarns of good quality are used for certain fabrics and for coarse sacking and package material.
Nearly 90 percent of the jute fibre goes into fabric and sack manufacture with the rest being utilized for
making twines,m ropes, paper and as filling material. Different types of cloth are made for the purpose of
upholstery, for linoleum, for tapestries and mats.

Pests and Diseases

Beginning with the seedling stage, the jute crop is liable to be attacked by various diseases, mostly caused
by fungi, Wilt caused by Sclerotium rolfsii, black band caused by Dipldia corchori seedling blight and
collar rot caused by Ozonium spp. Anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum corchori, mildew caused by
Oidium sp.
Insect pests. Jute stem weevil, semi-looper, indigo caterpillar, hairy caterpillar, mealy bug, yellow mite,
cornu and root-knot nematodes.

KENAF
Botanical Name: Hibiscus cannabinus L.
Family: Malvaceae.
Vernacular: Hindi- Patwa, Mesta: Kannada- Pundi: Telugu- Gogu:
Tamil- Pulichi, Puli Manehi: English- Bimlipatam Jute: Marathi- Jute Kenaf, Deccan hemp, Bimli Jute.

Kenaf is an important jute substitute. It is a common wild plant of tropical and subtropical Africa and is
wild or naturalized in Asia. It has been widely introduced recently as a potential fibre crop. Cultivations,
have been established in China, Russia, Thailand, South Africa. Egypt, Mexico and Cuba. An Indian origin
for kenaf is suggested by some authors but the peoples of Western Sudan domesticated the plant before
4000 B.C. (Murdock1959). Wild forms occur in several parts of Africa, especially in the upper Niger and
Bani valleys. Wild collections have also been made in Angola and Tanzania. The Angolan collections
appear primitive and may indicate Angola as the centre of origin of kenaf (Simmonds, 1976).
Kenaf is an important fibre crop in South India. It is cultivated as a rainfed crop in large areas in Madhya
Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. It is sown on the bunds of irrigation channels and in small
patches in garden lands. It is stronger than jute, but not so flexible and soft.
The plant is said to have been introduced from South Africa and it is grown in India from time immemorial.
Cultivated forms are annual, erect herbs, largely self-pollinated. The chromosome number of the Bimili jute
is 2n=2x=36.

Botany of the Plant

The plants are herbaceous annuals; growing to a height of even 5 m. the stems are straight, with small
prickles: leaves alternate, stipulate, lobed and with serrated margins,stipules long and pointed: flowers
solitary, with short pedicels and axillary, epicalyx stiff, consisting of seven to eight bracteoles: corolla
larger, spreading pale yellow or yellow with crimson or purplish centre: stamens numerous on a staminal
column: ovary superior, five carpelled: style passes through staminal

column and terminate in five

stigmatic branches: fruit capsule, five loculed each containing four to five seeds. It is mainly as selfpollinated crop.

Ecology

The plant is best grown in tropics and to some extent in subtropics. It is sensitive to frost. In India, kenaf is grown often
as a border crop in garden areas where the soil is loamy and
affords good drainage. It is grown mixed with most cereals
in dry lands or as a pure crop.

Cultivation Practices
The plant is sown with the commencement of monsoon in
all kinds of soils. Seeds are sown at the rate of 28-34 kg/ha.
One or two hoeings are given and the leaves are picked,
when they are tender for use as a green vegetable. The plants flower in three to three-and-half months and
are harvested before the seeds mature. Water is let into wet lands and the plants are pulled out with the
roots. The tender top portions are cut and the green plants are made into small bundles and steeped in water
for retting. They are kept in a vertical position to start with and laid flat after a few days to bring about
uniform retting from the base to the top. Retting process takes about 15 to 20 days, and the fibre is
extracted later.

Nature of the Fibre

The yield of dry fibre ranges from 225-1350 kg/ha. Bimli jute fibre is extracted from the inner part
of cortex, outside the cambium layer. The fibre strands range in length from 0.15-6.0 mm in length. The
ultimate fibres are cylindrical in shape with thickened walls and blunt or pointed ends, polygonal and
rounded in cross-section with small or large lumen. Two types of fibres, primary and secondary, are
reported to be present in the bark. The primary fibres arising from the terminal meristem are more glossy
and flexible than the secondary fibres, which arise from cambial activity. The barks of early maturing types
contain larger percentage of primary fibres than those of late maturing ones. The fibre is comparable to
jute in luster, but is some what coarser, harsher and more brittle and inflexible, it is more resistant to rot.

Uses
Bimli fibre is widely used for rope and cordage. Large quantities are used in making fishing nets and
strings for training rafters. It is also used for coarse canvas, sacks and gunny bags, floor matting, rug
backing, etc. The stalks left after fibre extraction can be used as fuel. Leaves are used as green vegetable.

Diseases and Pests

1.

Fungal diseases. Dry rot caused by Macrophomina phaseoli, leaf spot by Cercospora hibisci,
leaf blight by Phyllosticta hibisci, and stem rot by Diplodia hibiscina.

2.

Insect pests : Podagrica apicefulva, Agrilus acutus.

COIR
Botanical Name: Cocos nucifera L.
Family: Arecaceae
Vernacular: English-Coconut, Porcupine wood: Tamil- Thennai, Kalpakaviruteham: Malyalam- Thengu,
Nalikeram: Telugu- Tenkayi chettu, Kobbari chettu: Kannada- Tenginagida; Hindi- Naril.
Coir or coconut fibre belongs to the group of hard structural fibres. It is an important commercial product
obtained from the husk of the coconut. Industries based on coir have developed in many coconut producing
countries especially India, Tanzania, Kenya, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Ghana etc.
In India, coir manufacture is a traditional industry, which has taken deep roots in the economic structure of
the rural areas in the coastal states. The industry sustains over half a million people and contributes
substantial foreign exchange to the national exchequer. India was ranked
producing

first among the coconut

countries of the world until 1921, since then, the position has changed. Indonesia and

Philippines have increased their production and India now occupies a third place. These three countries
together account nearly 65 percent of the world production (4.5 m mt) out of which Indias share is about
25 percent.
Harvesting and Processing. The fruits are harvested when still green to obtain the best quality coir. Husk
usually forms 35.45 percent of the weight of the whole nut, when ripe. Husks from ten to eleven month old
nuts have been found to give superior quality fibre possessing a golden yellow colour. The fibre from the
husk is extracted on a commercial scale, either by natural retting process or by mechanical decortication.

Natural Retting
The process involves soaking of the husks in water preferably saline water for a certain period until the
fibre becomes loose and soft. The soaking is done either in pits dug near lagoons or by the sides of
backwaters where water flows in and out with the rise and fall of the tide.
In some areas soaking is done in enclosures erected in shallow brackish waters with coconut leaves and
petioles. After the husks are filled in the soaking pits, nets or enclosures, they are covered with coconut
leaves and mud and weighted down to prevent floatation when immersed in water.

During the retting process, the husk becomes soft and a number of substances like carbohydrates,
glycosides, tannins and nitrogen compounds are brought into solution. The carbohydrates and nitrogen
compounds are acted upon by a great variety of anaerobic organisms, which produce various organic acids
and gas. When the fermentation progresses, the temperature of the husk increases, water becomes turbid
due to gas formation and frothing, and the pectin in the middle lamella of the husk slowly dissolves
subsequently, the rate of fermentation slows done and the water becomes clear without the evolution of
gases and the consequent frothing. At this stage, the husks are ready for removal. The period of retting is
longer (8-10 months) in saline water and shorter (4-6 months) in fresh water.

Mechanical Methods
Mechanical methods of retting are employed in areas where facilities for natural retting do not exist. Either
dry or green husks are soaked in cement tanks for a period varying from a few hours to three weeks and the
fibre extracted manually or mechanically. In one method, the husks are first crushed through a series of
corrugated iron rollers, a machine called husk crusher. Then the husks are thrown into a retting tank where
they undergo fermentation for a minimum period of 72 hours. This process, however, does not yield fibre
of spinnable quality as in the case of natural retting, but yields only bristles and mattress fibres.

Chemical Methods
Various chemical methods have also been developed for the retting of husk. The advantages claimed are:
higher yield of uniform quality fibre and a considerable saving of time.
1. Nanji Process. The green or dry husks are partially crushed and treated under steam pressure of 36.445.4 kg/sq. inch. With sodium sulphate or sodium carbonate containing traces of aluminium sulphate for 12 hours . During this process the pith is loosened from the fibre and removed by washing. The fibre
obtained is of good quality but slightly darker than that of natural retting.
2. Elod and Thomas Process. The crushed husks are immersed in hot water twice. Slaked lime or similar
substance is added during the second immersion in order to avoid discolouration. Subsequently, the fibre is
extracted mechanically.
3. Rowel Process. The crushed husks are subjected to a high steam pressure and the fibre come out loose
from the steaming chambers.
4. Vander Jaget Process. The husks are first split into pieces. The pieces are than boiled with a weak
solution of caustic-soda and squeezed. The compressed fibres are reopened, softened and cleaned. It is
claimed that good quality fibre could be produced using this technique in less than two hours.
5. Caraan Process. The husk is fermented for four days at 370C with the aid of the fungus Aspergillus sp.,
previously isolated from partially retted husks. This process is reported to give 37 percent fibre output.

Extraction of Fibre
After retting, the husks are taken out of water and washed. Outer skin peeled of, placed on wooden blocks
and beaten with a wooden mallet for separating the fibres from the pith. After fibres are separated from the
pith, these are cleaned and then spread on shade for drying. The fibres spread for drying are occasionally
beaten and tossed up with poles to remove the remnants of pith and impurities still adhering to the fibre.
For making superior types of fibre, especially for spinning, improved methods exist.
It is estimated that the annual production of coir in India nearly amounts to 1 m mt. Three classes
of fibre are recognized in the

trade. They are Mat, Curl (toe or mattress)and Bristle fibre. The bulk of

fibre produced in the west coast of India is mat fibre. Mat fibre is sometimes used as a substitute for hemp
in certain cordages. Curl fibre is obtained mostly from unretted husk and is short; it is used for mattresses
or for stuffing upholstery, cushions etc. Bristle fibre, which is coarse and thick, is used for making brushes,
and brooms. Bristle fibre is not produced in India, but mostly imported from Sri Lanka.

Fibre Structure

Individual fibres are 0.3-1.0 mm long and 0.01-0.0.2 mm in diameter; the ratio of length to
diameter being 35. The lumen is medium to large, polygonal-rounded, or elliptic. The vascular
bundle is collateral and is surrounded by thick sclerenchymatous sheath. Lignin and
hemicelluloses, which form the cementing materials of fibre cells, increase with the age of the
fibre and the pectin decreases. As the lignin content increases, the fibre becomes stiffer and
tougher.

Length of the fibre determines its spinnability and commercial utility. Spinnability may be
defined as the ease with which textile fibres may be twisted into continuous, uniform yarns,
having commercially acceptable properties.

Fineness of a fibre is usually expressed by its diameter in microns or by the weight of the fibre
per unit length- dinier. The compactness and strength of a yarn or cord depends on the cohesion
between individual fibres.

Strength or tensile strength of a fibre is determined by its ability to resist strain or rupture induced
by tension , and is a determining factor in the selection of a fibre.

Elongation at rupture is a criterion of practical value and is an index of the work that could be
performed by the fibre within the limits of its breaking load.

Torsional rigidity. Stresses in the fibre due to twisting and bending or important factors which
affect the diameter of the yarn, its ability to snarl, its pliability and elastic recovery from small
strains and internal pressures.

The chemical composition of coconut husk and coir fibre is as follows:

Percentage
1. Total water solubles
2. Pectins etc. soluble in boiling water
3. Hemi-celluloses
4. Lignin
5. Cellulose

26.00
14.25
8.50
29.23
23.81

Grading
Indian coir is classified into four grades: (1) Cochin fibres, (2) Lustrous fibre, (3) Reddish or Greyish fibre
and (4) Inferior quality.

Long fibres
Medium
Short
Very short

FFFF
FFF
FF
F

(15 cms. And above)

( 12-15 cms.)
( 6-8 cms.)
(4 cms.)

Deterioration
Coir has been found to be remarkably resistant to both fungal and bacterial decomposition.

Spinning
Spinning of coir yarn is mainly a cottage industry in India and abroad. It is produced either by wheel
spinning or hand spinning or mechanized spinning. Handspun yarn is soft and the twist and thickness are
even. Wheel spun yarn has a hard twist; it is stronger and more uniform in size and twist than handspun
yarn.
The classification of coir yarn is based on variations of color, twist, pitch, scorage etc. and also area of
production like; Anjengo, Aratony, Alapat, Beach, Rope yarn, Parur, Muppiri etc.

Weaving
Coir yarn is treated with dilute solution of sulphuric acid, which improves its colour and gives a certain
amount of brightness for the production of mats, Coir mats, fibre mats, speciality mats, Mattings, rugs,
mourzouks, carpets etc.

Dyeing and Printing

Colour and design play an important part in the marketing of coir products. Dyed yarn is exported to
Australia for the manufacture of matting. The following dye stuffs are employed in coir dyeing. Chrysodin
YS, Bismarck Brown, Methyl Violet, Malachite Green, Magenta, Naphthalene orange, Naphthalene Red,
Naphthalene Green etc.

Ropes & Cordages

Coir is resistant to the action of water and has the property of elongation without breaking. By
virtue of these properties, coir has long been used for ropes and cordages.

Uses of Coir

Besides its main use as floor covering and in rope making, coir fibre finds extensive use as
packaging material to protect goods against shock in transport.

Coir fibre finds its use in the production of activated carbon, artificial horse hair, paper pulp,
roofing tiles, writing boards, thermal insulations, high stretch paper, manufacture of olive oil
filters etc.

In Germany, coir is rubberized for making cushion seating for automobiles and railways. The
rubberization is brought about by Splashing layers of coir fibre and rubber with the help of a
specialized machine.

Coir yarn has been found to be ideal lead for hop wines which is used in brewery in U.S.A Coir
bags are used in tea estates for collecting tea leaves and for
transportation: and also for lifting
coal from mines.

Coir yarn is used for making fenders which are attached to ships and boats for preventing
collision and shock.

Coir mats are used for commercial packaging purposes and circular brush mats are used for
packing.

Coir mattings after bituminisation offer possibilities of being used as floor covering in godowns to
withstand moisture adsorption by stored goods.

Rubber backed coir mats are sol-proof, sound absorbent and do not scratch polished floor. Heavy
matting made out of thick coir rope is being used for transporting gas cylinder. It is used as a
strainer in tube wells in place of wire mesh.

Hardboards made of coconut husk shorts and coir dusts are durable, smooth, insect proof, fire
retarding and water-repellent. They may be sawed, nailed, glued and finished into particular
requirement.

Coir waste has been recently used in the manufacture of Coirolite by incorporating with resins and
other ingredients by the usual techniques of plastics manufacture. The powder so obtained is hotpressed to obtain articles of any shape using appropriate moulds. It is a tough and hard material
and possesses good strength and electrical resistance.

KAPOK
Botanical Name: Ceiba pentandra (L) Gaertn.
Family: Bombacaceae.
Vernacular : Sanskrit-Svet salmali; Hindi- safed simal, hattian, katan;
Bengali-schwetsimul; Marathi- Salmali, pandhari; Tamil-Ilavum;
Telugu- Tella buraga; Kannada- Buraga, bili buraga; Malyalam-Illavu, mulli lavu; English- White Silk
Cotton Tree, True Kapok Tree.
Before 1940, the kapok tree was an important commercial crop in the world, grown for its fibre. In recent
years, these fibres have been replaced by synthetics but the kapok tree is still cultivated on a small scale for
local use. Major producers of Kopak are Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, East Africa and India.

The plant is considered to be a native of America. The plant is very variable, in the spininess of its stem,
habit of branching, colour of flowers, size of fruits, manner of fruit opening, and in the length, colour and
springiness of the floss. Based on these differences three varieties are recognized.
1.

C. pentandra var. indica,

2.

C. pentandra var. caribaea, and

3.

C. pentandra var. africana. The plant is widely distributed in the hotter parts of western and
southern India Andaman Islands, Burma, Sri Lanka, Malaya, Java,Indo-China and other south-east
Asian countries.

Botany of the Plant

A tall deciduous tree, 15-30 m high, with broad buttress-based trunk and horizontal whorled branches. The
branches are prickly when young and bear digitately compound leaves. The fruits are oblong capsules, 15
cm long and 5 cm in diam., enclosing numerous black obovoid seeds, which are enveloped in copious,
shining, silky hairs arising from the inner walls of the capsules.

Cultivation Practices
Propagation is by seeds or from cuttings. It thrives best in a warm tropical climate at elevations less than
450 m with abundant rainfall during the growing season, and a dry period from the time of flowering till
the pods ripen. It requires a well-drained soil, grows rapidly and begins to fruit when 3-6 years old.

Harvesting
The pods from which the floss is obtained are brought down, before they are ready to burst, by hooked
knives attached to long poles. The fruits are dried in the sun and split open with mallets. The floss is taken
along with seeds, dried in the sun and the seeds separated by beating the dried material with sticks.

Kapok Fibre
Kapok fibre is light, brittle, elastic, lustrous and white or pale yellow in colour. Individual fibres are
cylindrical, each being a single cell with a bulbous base. The cells of the inner epidermis of the epicarp
form the fibres, which are about 1-2 cm long. The air-filled lumen is broad and the wall rather thin. The
fibre is, therefore, fragile, which together with smoothness of the outer surface, makes spinning impossible.

Uses
Kapok finds use in bedding and upholstery industries, in the production of life-saving equipment, and in the
construction of thermally insulated and soundproof covers and walls. On account of its buoyancy, freedom
from water-logging and weight-bearing capacity, it is the material par excellence for the manufacture of
lifebuoys and belts, waistcoats and other naval life-saving appliances. The buoyancy of kapok is about five
times as great as that of cork and about three times that of reindeer hair. During the war, kapok was
employed for insulating tanks, for lining aviation suits, for filling floats of army assault-bridges, and
generally for replacing cork wherever lightness, moisture-resistance and floating power were needed.

Kapok was considered unsuitable for textile purposes, because the fibre is brittle, smooth and
slippery.

Refined kapok seed oil is used for the same purposes as refined cottonseed oil. The wood is light
and soft and is suitable for making canoes and toys. It is used for matches. The root bark yields a
fibre.

SUNN HEMP
Botanical Name: Crotalaria juncea L
Family:Fabaceae.
Vernacular: Hindi & Sanskrit-Sanai, Sani; Tamil-Sadambu, Sanapu, Shanal; Malayalam-Wuckoo; TeluguJanumu; Kannada- Sanabu.

Sunn hemp is a bast fibre grown on a large scale in India, for local use and export, as a raw material for
sacking and cordage. The plant is indigenous to India and is cultivated for fibre and for green manure in
many states, viz., Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. It is also grown on limited scale in
Maharashtra, Punjab, West Bengal and Orissa.
The fibre has a fair demand from overseas
countries and a large proportion of it is exported.
A great quantity of the fibre exported is said to be
used primarily in the preparation of cigarette
papers and high quality tissue papers. The sunn
hemp is often referred to as Bombay hemp. The
fibres are stronger than the fibres of jute, but
lighter in colour and more enduring than that of
jute.
C. juncea (2n=2x=16) is not found as a wild plant
but its ancient cultivation in India may indicate
that it originated there. Crotalaria is a large genus
with many species native to the Asian tropics, but
mostly concentrated in Africa. Sunn hemp is
cultivated widely throughout the tropics as a green
manure since it is a large, fast growing, rapidly
rooting, annual legume which can be ploughed in
after 8-10 weeks.

Botany of the Plant

Erect, annual, grows to 1.2-1.5 m or more; leaves alternate, short, petiolate, lanceolate, obtuse with a small
bristle like apex, stipulate; Inflorescence in terminal racemes; flowers bracteate, papilionaceous, bright
yellow, calyx gamosepalous of 5 lobes, deepley cleft into two lips, the upper two lobed and the lower lip of
three lobes; corolla polypetalous, standard broad, wings oblong, keel much pointed lightly twisted at the
apex; stamens 10, monadelphous, dimorphic with 5 short, versatile anthers on slender filaments alternating
with long

basifixed anthers with flattened filaments; ovary

superior monocarpellary, marginal

placentation, ovules few; style long bearded at the top; stigma small oblique; pod oblong, inflated 2.5-3 cm.
long, downy; seeds kidney shaped, exendospermous.

Pollination
The crop is almost completely cross-pollinated by bees,
which are exploited by an intricate pollen release
mechanism involving dimorphic stamens.

Varieties
There are many varieties of sunn hemp and they are
generally named after the tracts, where they are grown.
Three main varieties of sunn hemp are known to exist in
India; white, green or ganjam and dewghuddy. The
dewghuddy variety produces a creamish coloured fibre with
good length and texture, is considered to be best in quality. The white variety; produces fibres white to
grayish coloured, lustrous, and fine textured. The green or ganjam variety produces the fibres green to grey
and stronger than the white fibres.

Ecology
The crop thrives best in tropical and subtropical climates. It is a hardy and drought-resistant crop, growing
on poor soils. The crop needs a moderate, but well distributed rainfall of at least 50-75 cms, during the
growing phase.

Cultivation Practices
The land is prepared thoroughly with pre-monsoon showers. Seeds are sown at 45-112.5 kg/ha. The
sowings are done in the Kharif season. The crop requires thorough weeding operations in the early stages.

Harvesting
The harvesting of the crop can be done when the pods are just setting or when the pods dry up. Immature
crops give clean white fibres, fine in texture and of little strength. The fibre from mature crop is coarse and
strong.

The crop is harvested by cutting the plants close to the ground with sickles. The tops of immature crops are
cut and used for feeding cattle and the pods are stripped from mature crops, for use as seed. The plants are
then tied into small bundles and steeped in water for retting. When dry stalks are retted, the bundles are
immersed in water for about, 5 days and then dried in the sun for 3 days, before taking up the extraction of
the fibre. The cleaned fibre is packed in bales for export.

Uses
Sunn hemp is essentially cordage fibre and is used in the manufacture of ropes, twines, cords and marine
cordage, it also finds application in the manufacture of sail-cloth, canvas, matting, sacking and rope soles
of shoes and sandals, etc. being resistant to deterioration in water, sunn hemp is used for making fishing
nets and marine cordage.

RAMIE
Botanical Name: Boehmeria nivea Gaud.
Family: Urticaceae.
Vernacular: Bengali- Kankura; Assamese-Rhea; Burmese-Gun, goun; Chinese-Schou (the plant) and
Schou-ma (the fibre)
Ramie or China grass was an important fabric fibre produced in ancient China and exported to Egypt,
Babylon and neighbouring countries. As the Ramie material was in the form of ribbons, it was often
referred to as China grass. It is also known as nettle fibre or rhea fibre.
Ramie is a perennial shrub 0.9-2.1 m high monoecious, wind-pollinated with small unisexual flowers, the
stems yield a very strong, lustrous bast fibre. The plant is indigenous to China and Japan and now
introduced into southern USA. It is cultivated in some parts of India. In Bengal, it is a garden crop and in
Assam it is grown as a scattered crop.
The plant has two distinct varieties---nivea proper (Rhea), with leaves that are green above and whitish
beneath and tenacissima(Ramie), with leaves green on both sides. The var. nivea belongs to somewhat
cooler climate than the other.
The species is diploid, with 2n=2x=14.

Cultivation Practices
Plants can be raised either from seeds, or preferably from root and stem-cuttings. The root system is
perennial and gives rise to abundant fresh shoots after each cutting of stems. If properly cultivated, no
replanting is necessary for about six years. The usual time for transplantation is either April-May, or
September-October. The stems become mature in 10 months and change colour, from green to brown. For
obtaining fine, soft fibre, shoots must be cut before they mature and begin to flower. The quality of fibre

depends on the age and length of shoots. Shoots not more than 0.6 m in height give very fine fibre, but the
quantity obtained is small. In long stems the fibre is coarse but yield is good.
The crop thrives on a rich loamy soil, and is of an exhausting nature. Heavy manuring at frequent intervals
is necessary. Japan has made considerable progress in the cultivation of Ramie and also in the technique
of processing the fibre. Formosa and the Philippines cultivate Ramie. Japan imports considerable quantities
of this fibre from the Philippines to supplement their own production.

Extraction of Fibre
The cut stems are decorticated by hand as in India and China, or by machinery as in America, and the fibre
is stripped off. Retting does not yield satisfactory results. The crude fibre is heavily coated with gum which
is removed by treatment with soap solution or lime steaming. The resulting clean fibre is called filasse.
Ramie fibre is regarded as the longest (40-20 mm ), toughest, and most silky of all vegetable fibres. It has
great strength and durability, and is highly resistant to the action of water.

Uses
Ramie is used in Europe for sacks, sail cloth, belting, table-cloth sheeting, nets, threads, cordage, paper etc.
Gas mantles of good quality are also made from it. Ramie is rarely used by itself in textiles, but is mixed
with wool, silk and cotton. Its special use is in the preparation of lustrous, non-creasable fabrics.

MANILA HEMP
Botanical Name: Musa textiles Nees.
Family: Musaceae.
Vernacular: English-Manila Hemp, Abaca; Tamil & Malayalam- Naaru, Vazhai;
Kannada-Nati bale.

Abaca fibre or Manila hemp is obtained from the sheathing leaf bases of Musa textilis. The plant is a
member of the section Australimusa of the banana family, the Musaceae. It is the strongest of the structural
fibres and, because it does not deteriorate or rot in fresh or salt water, and is elastic, light and durable, it is
used mostly for the manufacture of ships cables and ropes, for strong sacking, coarse fabrics and strong
paper.
The wild bananas are all diploid and are distributed in south-east Asia and the Pacific. It has chromosome
number of 2n=2x=20. The plant is native to and cultivated in the Philippine Islands and Borneo.
Manila hemp is a tall, stout, stoloniferous plant, 2.5-4.0 m high; Leaves broadly oblong, leathery, firm in
texture, bright green above, glaucous beneath, often with large brown spots: fruits compact, nearly terete,
5-7 cm. diam., with pale cream coloured inedible pulp filled with many seeds. This species is valued for its
fibre extracted from leaf sheaths of mature plants.

The plant was introduced and experimentally tried in India for its fibre. Experimental cultivation of M.
textiles has been tried in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Andaman Islands. The plant has been reported to
thrive well in Andaman, but little attention seems to have been paid to cultivation and fibre extraction.The
plant thrives in well-drained, moderately rich loams at elevations of 60-150 cm. with an annual average
rainfall of 250- 275 cm., evenly distributed throughout the year.
The plant is propagated by suckers or from parts of mature rootstock containing one or more growing buds.
The largest producer of abaca in the world is Indonesia and some countries of Central America also
produce abaca fibre in small quantities.

Fibre
The harvested stalks of the plant are utilized for the extraction of fibre. The fibre is located primarily
adjacent to the outer surface of the leaf sheath. Each leaf sheath consists in cross-section of 3 layers, the
outer fibrous layer, the middle containing a small quantity of fine white fibre, and the inner layer, which
contains no fibre at all.
The fibre consists of strands ranging in length from 0.9-2.7 m. Each strand is made up of bundles of fibre
cells irregularly round or oval with tapering ends and with long distinct lumens. The fibre is strong and
flexible. It is highly resistant to microbial rotting and to salt water.

Uses
The fibre is used mainly for twines, ropes and cable. It is much valued for hawkers, ships cables and
riggings. It is also used in the manufacture of tough paper.

Diseases
Abaca plant is susceptible to bunchy top, mosaic, wilt diseases and insect pests like the banana borer.

HEMP
Botanical Name: Cannabis sativa Linn.
Family:Cannabinaceae
Vernacular: Sanskrit-Bhanga, Vijaya; Hindi, Bengali and Gujarati- Bhang, Ganja, Charas, Siddhi, Jia;
Telugu-Ganzai,kapam-chettu; Tamil-Ganja, Bjangi; Kannada-Bhangi; English-True Hemp, Soft Hemp.

Hemp is an ancient crop plant, which provides a fibre, a psychotomimetic drug, minor food and a fixed oil
from the seeds. The plant is considered to be a native of western and central Asia. It is practically
naturalized in the sub-Himalayan tract in India, and is abundantly met with in wastelands from Punjab
eastwards to Bengal and Bihar and extending southwards to Deccan.

Hemp is tall annual herb; 1.2-4.8 m high with erect angular stem, bearing palmately divided leaves. The
plant is dioecious or rarely monoecious. Flowers, greenish, male flowers borne in long drooping panicles
and female flowers in short axillary spikes; fruit is an ovate seed-like achene.
The plant is cultivated commercially for its fibre mostly in Europe and parts of China, Japan and USA. In
India, the cultivation of the hemp plant is permitted in the districts of Almora, Garhawal and Nainital in
Uttar Pradesh for its fibre but not for the production of hemp drugs. The plant is also cultivated to a small
extent in Kashmir, Nepal and Travancore.
For obtaining fibre the plant is grown on rich loamy soil
in a mild humid climate, with a temperature range of 1526oC during the growing season. The land is well
prepared and liberally manured. The seeds are sown
either broadcast or by drills.
The crop is harvested as soon as the lower leaves are shed
and the tops of stalks and flowers turn yellow. Harvesting
at the time the plants are about to flower gives the
optimum yield of high quality fibre.

Extraction of Fibre
The fibre is extracted from stalks, either by water-retting or dew-retting. The latter method is common is
Europe and America, while in Italy, and in some parts of Russia, Hungary, Yugoslavia and in India, water
retting is the common practice. The stalks are tied in bundles and immerse in ponds or slow-running
streams until the bark including the fibre, separates out from the woody inner portion. The duration of
retting varies in different localities depending upon the temperature of water. In hot and damp weather, 3-4
days may be sufficient. In cool and dry weather 1-2 weeks are required. Dew-retted fibre is grey; while
water-retted hemp is usually cream-white.

Hemp Fibre
Hemp fibre is the bast fibre obtained from primary and secondary phloem fibres. Secondary phloem fibres
are smaller, shorter, thin walled or more brittle than the primary phloem fibres. The fibres from staminate
plants are considered to be superior to that of pistillate plants. Hemp fibre is strong, lustrous and durable.
Commercial fibre is 100-200 cm. in length. Its fineness of staple is less than that of linen, though its tensile
strength is appreciably greater.
Under the microscope the fibre is seen to consist of cell elements, which are unusually long averaging
about 2cm. In length, and 22 microns in diameter. The fibre ends are bluntly rounded. The fibre is

somewhat uneven in diameter and exhibits frequent joints, longitudinal fractures and swollen fissures. It is
made up of a mixture of cellulose and ligno-cellulose.

Uses
Hemp is used for the manufacture of fine cordage, twine, sailcloth, tarpaulins and carpet yarns. Loose fibre
is used for caulking boats, pumps, engines and other machinery. During the last war, green fibre prepared
without retting by a process of decorticating and cottonising, was used as a substitute for jute in making
binder-twine and sacks. The use of hemp in cordages, twines and ropes has declined, its place being taken
by the hard fibres. Manila and sisal. Hemp stems can be used for the manufacture of coarse paper.

SISAL HEMP
Botanical Name: Agave sisalana Perr.
Family: Amaryllidaceae.
Vernacular: English- Sisal.

Several species of Agave are cultivated for their leaf fibres which provided over 90 percent of the hard
fibres of commerce, A. cantala Roxb. yielding maguey or cantala and A. letonae F.W. Taylor (Salvador
henequen) are grown to a limited extent. These four species are usually referred to as long-fibre agaves as
against the brush-fibre yield A.lecheguilla Torrey and A.angustifolia Haw., dwarf sisal.
World production of Agave fibres in 1980 was estimated at about 0.5 m mt (Table 11.9). The agaves are
tropical by origin and there are very few commercial plantations outside the tropics. The major sisal
producers are Brazil, Tanzania, Mozambique, Angola, Kenya, Madagascar and Haiti.
In India sisal has been cultivated on an experimental scale in Assam, Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and
Karnataka.
The sisal Agave has a short stem, 37.5cm, thick bearing a number of dark green thick, fleshy, rigid leaves.
Generally, no spines are found on the leaf margin.
The plant grows well on a dry, permeable sandy loam and is exceedingly drought-resistant. Bulbils or
suckers usually carry out propagation. Bulbils are grown in nursery beds and seedlings are transplanted
when 20-30 cm. high. They are usually spaced 2.4 m apart in rows of 1.8 m. The oldest leaves (the lowest
on the trunk) are cut close to the trunk. Each plant yields about 250-300 leaves during its lifetime of 7-8
years.
The average weight of sisal leaf is approximately 0.9 kg and 1,000 leaves yield 27-36 kg. of dry fibre. Sisal
hemp consists of strands of filaments 0.9-1.5m long. of a nealy white or pale yellowish colour. The fibre is
strong, coarse, somewhat harder and more flexible than Manila hemp.

The cultivated agaves originated from wild

ancestors in Central America and Mexico
but their precise botanical origins are
unknown. Nothing is known about the
primary ancestors of the cultivated polyploid
species, A. sisalana.

Uses
The leaves of agaves yield valuable fibre. A. cantala is grown in the Philippines, Java and Cuba, A.
fourcroydes Lam., a native of Mexico, is cultivated chiefly in Yucatan and A, sisalana, the source of the
well known sisal fibre, a native of Central America, is now grown largely in east Africa and to a smaller
extent in the Bahamas, Java and Florida. In India, A. cantala A. sisalana and A. vera-cruz are planted
along railway embankments and road-sides and are suitable for hedging and fencing. They may also be
planted to check soil erosion.
Agave fibre is one of the important hard fibres. The fibre is mostly used for making ropes, cordage and
twine. The shorter fibres are used for making mops and brushes. In recent years, it has also been used for
the manufacture of coarse fabrics, etc. Agaves flower only once during their life time and they die after
fruiting.

ROSELLE

Botanical Name : Hibiscus sabdariffa L.

Family: Malvaceae.
Vernacular: Hindi-Lal-ambari, Patwa; Bengali-Lal-mista, Patwa, Chukar; Marathi-Lal-ambadi, Patwa;
Telugu-Yerra gogu; Tamil-Pulichchai kerai, Assamese-Chukiar; English-Rosselle, Jamaica Sorrel, Red
Sorrel.

Roselle is a native of tropical Africa or Asia. The plant is now found under cultivation throughout the
tropics and comprises a large number of cultivated types. The edible types are cultivated in warm countries,
particularly in the Philippines,Malaya and Indonesia, for their calyces. In India, they are grown in Punjab,

Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal, Assam, Orissa, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu as
a Kharif crop.

Cultivation Practices
Seeds are sown on well-prepared seed beds and the seedlings when 10-12.5 cm. high are transplanted in the
field in rows 1.5-1.8 m apart, the distance between the plants in the row being 0.9-1.2 m. The capsules are
ready for picking in November-December and the picking season lasts for about two months. The yield of
calyces averages to 1.3 kg per plant.

Harvesting
For the production of fibre the crop should be harvested at the bud stage. The stalks are tied into bundles
and left on the field for 3-4 days, and retted as in the case of H.cannabinus. In Sri Lanka, the bark is
stripped off the cortex, tied into bundles and retted in tanks. The retted fibre is washed in running water and
dried in the sun. Then it is combed and baled. The average yield of fibre is reported to be 11 11.5 kg/ha.

Fibre Characteristics
Roselle fibres resemble jute and bimli fibre in general appearance and characters. It has a length of about
3.6 m, the ultimate fibre being 1.2-3.3 mm long. It is silky, soft, lustrous, white to pale yellowish brown in
colour, with chemical and physical properties similar to those of jute.

Uses
Roselle fibre is employed for sacking, cordage, rope, fishing nets and generally for all purposes for which
jute is used. Bags made of Roselle fibre are extensively employed in Java for packing sugar. The stalks left
over after extractions are used as fuel.

CONGO JUTE
Botanical Name: Urena lobata L.
Family: Malvaceae.

Vernacular: English- Aramina, Caesar weed; Spanish-Carillo.

Congo Jute is a superior jute substitute producing a fine, pale fibre. It is normally used as an admixture in
spinning jute. Congo jute is widely grown in the tropics but chiefly in Zaire; also in Brazil and Madagascar.
The fibres are obtained from the bark of the stem.

Botany of Plant
Shrub, with a short taproot, 4-5m, tall and with many widespread branches. The leaves are alternate, and
may be simple, notched or lobed. The red flowers arise from the leaf bases. The fruit is round with stiff
hooked hairs containing five seeds.

Cultivation Practices
Propagated through seeds. The seeds are treated with conc. Sulfuric acid for 3 hours and soaked in water
for 1-2 days for good germination. Seeds are then sown with 5 cm, spacing in rows 60-80 cm, apart. High
rates of NPK manures are needed.

Harvesting
Harvesting is done when flowers appear, at 4-6 months and height 2-3 m. the stems are soaked in water and
retted for 5-14 days to remove non-fibrous material. Yields of 700-2250 kg./ha of fibre may be obtained.
Rotation with other crops often proves beneficial.

Uses
Urena lobata is grown as a fibre crop in Brazil, where it is known as Aramina fibre and in Congo under
the name of Congo Jute. The fibre resembles jute more closely than other jute substitutes; it is as fine as
jute and can be spun on the same machinery; and is often mixed with jute. The fibre is soft, pale yellow and
is used for making ropes, carpets, lessain etc.

Other Fiber yielding Plants

Corchorus olitorius

TABLE 2. Other Vegetable Fibres of Minor Importance

Botanical Name

Family

Phomrium tenax Forst.(NewZealand flax)

Liliaceae

Juncus effuses L. (Rushes)

Juncaceae

Maranta dichotoma

Marantaceae

Musa paradisiacea L(Plantain fibre)

Musaceae

Phoenix sylvestris (L.)

for Ro Arecaceae

Calamus rotang Linn.

Arecaceae

Borassus flabellifer L.
(Palmyra tree)

Arecaceae

Crotalaria tenuifolia

Fabaceae

Sesbania aculeata Pers.

Fabaceae

Bauhinia racemosa Lam.

Caesalpiniaceae

Butea frondosa Koen boat ex Roxb.

Fabaceae

Melliotus arborea

Fabaceae

Calotropis gigantea (L.) R. Br ex. Ait.

(Mudar fibre or Yurcum fibre)

Asclepiadaceae

Cordia rothii Roem. &

Boraginaceae

Schult. (Narvali fibre)

Uses
The fibre from the stem is used
for making ropes, twine, yarn,
lines, sailcloth etc.
The fibre from the stem is used
for making mats, baskets, and
bottoms of chairs
The fibre from the stem is used in
making mats.
The fibre from the stem and
leaves is used for textile or
cordage purposes, while tow,
which is separated in preparing
the fibres, forms an excellent
material for the finest and
toughest kinds of paper.
The leaves are used for thatching
the cottages of the poor or
making umbrellas
Their smooth and shining stems
are employed for caning the
bottoms of chairs and other
articles. They are used as sticks,
and for mat making and canning
work for furnitures. The cane is
extremely strong.
The wood near the circumference
of old trees is very hard, heavy
and durable. Employed in
thatching houses, making
baskets, mats and the leaves are
made into fans. The fibres of
leaves are employed in making
twine and rope.
Fibre used in cordage
Fibre is fine, long silky. Used in
cordage, cables, ropes
Fibre used as ropes and strings.
The fibre from bark and roots is
used as cordage and also in
construction.
Strong fibre used as ropes.
Used in the paper industry and
also in textile, used for stuffing
pillows etc.
Yields fibre from the bark, used in r

Botanical Name

Family

Trema orientalis Blume

Ulmaceae

Artocarpus communis (Bread fruit tree)

Moraceae

Broussonetia papyrifera (L.) L Heritier in Vent

(Paper mulberry)

Moraceae

Eringa saccharifera

Arecaceae

used in shipping

Saccharum munja Roxb.

Poaceae

Saccharum sara

Poaceae

Used for tying up of cattle and also

making tow ropes by boats men in
Banaras.
Used by boats men as towline for
its strength and durability even
the exposure of water.
Sacred grass of the Hindus, is also u
in rope making

Poa cynosuroidis Retz

(Kooshagrass or Dab)

Poaceae

Uses
making.
Used in textile industry.
Fibre used in clothing and paper
industry.Forest.
Fibre from the bark is used in clothi
and paper industry.

Vetiveria zizanioldes (Linn,)

Poaceae

Fibers are remarkable for their agre

odour and also for their Nash(Khus
khus) their tenacity.

Bambusa arundinacea Wild

Poaceae

Used for making mats, other

implements in agriculture,
house-hold articles, also in the
paper industry.
Used in Bengal for making elegant
shining mats
Seed fibre is used for stuffing
pillows and used as wicks of
candles and in paper industry.
. Leaf fibre is twisted into rope, also
in the manufacture of coarse cloth

Cyperus tegetum Roxb.

Cyperaceae

Eriophorum cannabinum
(Cotton-grass)

Cyperaceae

Bromelia penguin

Bromeliaceae

Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.(Pine-apple)

Bromeliaceae

Aloe barbadensis Mill.

Liliaceae

Sanseviera zeylanica Wild. T

Liliaceae

The fibres are used in the

manufacture of linens.
The fibre from the leaves is used
for papermaking and in textile
industry.
he leaf fibre is used in the
manufacture of bowstrings,
(Bowstring-hemp) twins and
ropes.

RUBBER
Rubber was known to people in the western hemisphere much before Christopher Columbus visited South
America. Almost for the past 400-500 years there is a continuous increase in the knowledge, awareness and
usage of rubber. A large number of plants were the source for natural rubber, especially known in the
tropical America, Africa and Asia, Rubber cultivation became an important activity during twentieth
century with the advent of use of rubber in variety of applications.

The use of rubber became popular with the discovery of vulcanization process in 1839 and manufacture of
varieties of articles. The most common ones across the globe consisted
of Castilla in Mexico, Hevea in Brazil, and Ficus in Asia. This was an
effort to utilize the locally available species that yield rubber. It was
with the introduction of rubber to Europe and Asia by British
administration obtaining seeds of Hevea from Brazil in 1876.

The rapid increase in the growing of rubber tree Hevea because of its high and consistent yield over a long
period made it unchallenged species and became a chief source of natural rubber across the globe

among a host of rubber yielding plants of the world (Table 1.).

Botanical
Name

Family

Common
Name

Organ yielding Origin

rubber

Castilla elastica

Moraceae

Stem

South Mexico

Hevea brasiliensis
Ficus elastica
F. vogelli
Manihot glazaiovii

Euphorbiaceae
Moraceae
Moraceae
Euphorbiaceae

Panama or Castilla
rubber
Para rubber
Indian Rubber
Kobo or Memluka
Ceara rubber

Stem
Stem
Stem
Stem

M. dichotoma

Euphorbiaceae

Jequie rubber

Stem

M. heptaphylla

Euphorbiaceae

Jequie rubber

Stem

M. piauhyensis

Euphorbiaceae

Jequie rubber

Stem

Funtumia elastica
F. latifolia
Mascarenhasia
elastica
M. arborescens
M. velutina
M.geayi
Parthenium
argentatum
Taraxacum koksaghyz

Apocynaceae
Apocynaceae
Apocynaceae

Lagos silk

Stem
Stem

Apocynacee
Apocynaceae
Apocynaceae
Asteraceae

Barobanja
Guidroa
Kokomba
Guayule

Whole plant

S. America
India
Africa
S. America
(Brazil)
S. America
(Brazil)
S. America
(Brazil)
S. America
(Brazil)
Africa
Uganda
Kenya,
Mojambique
Madagascar
Madagascar
Madagascar
USA

Asteraceae

Koksaghyz

root

Russia

`mgoa rubber

Ceara rubber (Manihot glazaiovii)

During twentieth century, Hevea became the most important and sole source of natural rubber unchallenged
by any other source of plant both in wild and cultivated.

The major constituent of rubber obtained from Hevea rubber tree is the hydrocarbon with a chemical
composition designated by the formula (C5H8)n, where n represents a large but indefinite number of
replications of the basic unit. The basic unit is generally considered to be isoprene, C5H8, and thus the

rubber hydrocarbon is a polyisoprene. This hydrocarbon is found in all natural rubbers and is responsible
for their resilience and elasticity.

Raw natural rubber is not a pure material but contains a complex of chemical substances of considerable
diversity, The non-rubber constituents of some rubbers may exceed the rubber itself by weight, and,

although these constituents are minor in amount in Hevea rubber, they include sugars, inorganic
compounds, resins and traces of many other organic compounds.

The latex gutta or gutta-percha is obtained form the gutta tree, Palaquiun oblongifolium. Structurally,
rubber and gutta are polymers of isoprene, but differ only in atomic arrangements before and after the
double bonds. In rubber, the cis arrangement is found, the approach and continuation of the molecular chain
being both on the same side of the plane of the double bond, whereas in gutta the arrangement is trans, the
approach and continuation being on opposite sides, the latex of Cryptostegia madagascariensis is a
triterpene ester, lupeol.

Para Rubber Tree

Hevea brasiliensis (HB.&.K.) Muell.-Arg.
Euphorbiaceae
The genus Hevea is confined to south America- primarily the Amazon valley. It is by far the most
important species producing ninety-nine per cent of the natural rubber produced in the world. Chemical
analysis of rubber from wild trees of some of the species have indicated that, in general, the rubber from H.
brasiliensis is superior to that of most other species in that it has a low percent of non-rubber constitutents,

its latex varies from white to cream-white. Rubbber is extensievely grown in Africa, Malaysia, Thailand,

India etc.

Hevea brasiliensis is a tall tree. The trunk is 2-3 m in girth. The leaves are trifoliate with long petioles.
Leaflets are stalked and elliptic to obovate with acuminate apex. Flowers are small, green and are borne in
pubescent panicles. Fruit is a tripartite capsule. The latex vessal run in anticlockwise spirals to the right at
an angle of 300 from the perpendicular. They are arranged in concentric rings in the bark alternating with
rings of secondary phloem. For best growth Hevea tree requires a fairly evenly distributed rainfall of 175250 cm per annum, a temperature of 24-350 C, a high atmospheric humidity, well drained fairly deep loamy
soil with a pH value of 4.5-6.0.The tree grows well in well-drained upland areas and reaches a height of 35-

40 m. Rubber production in Hevea is entirely from the bark. Tree stumps without leaves have been taped
and have continued to yield latex for long periods,tapping of a felled tree continues for 4-6 weeks

Rubber
Rubber is the main constituent in Hevea latex other than water, making up to 30-35 percent of wet-weight
of latex. The tapping operation sets up a movement of latex in the latex vessels and at the same time, a
movement of water and water soluble materials from the surrounding tissue into the latex tubes to equalize
the pressures resulting from the out flow of the latex. This movement of water and solutes into the latex
vessels from surrounding tissue commonly termed the dilution reaction.

Nature of Bark
The bark is therefore the important tissue in rubber formation and from the standpoint of rubber production
the anatomy of the bark, and the difference in the bark of individual trees are important in the selection and
propagation of superior types. The rubber from the so-called black-barked trees is reported to be of

particularly good quality, and the yield of the trees is said to be high. Bark texture, thickness, latex-vessel
rows, latex-vessel size etc., play significant role on the yield of rubber.

Tapping
When the rubber tree has reached a circumference of 45-55 cm at about 0.9 m from the ground, it is large
enough to be tapped. The Rubber Research Insitute of Malaya (RRIM) has made the following
recommendations for the initial tapping of young rubber trees.
1.

Alternate day tapping of clonal `seedling through a half spiral cut usually results in a
physiological disorder called brown bast.

2.

Tapping towards a junction of bark of different ages leads to severe drop in yield.

3.

Bark of the second renewal is often thin and yield from it is disappointing

Rubber is obtained from the tree by a system of tapping that consists of paring off a small amount of barkjust sufficient to open up the ends of the latex vessels. A flexible template is
used to mark the limits of the tapping panel on the tree and the desired slope
of the tapping is cut. The latex vessels in the bark of Hevea do not ascend
vertically but have a slight slope to the right. To intercept maximum number
of latex vessels, the tapping cut is sloped upwards to the left at an angle of
about 300 above the horizontal.

The tapping cut is opened along the mark made in laying out the panel, and a
vertical groove is made in the bark at the lower end of the tapping cut. This vertical groove is to direct the
latex to the spout that is driven into the bark about 4 inches below the lower end of the tapping cut. Some
five tapping cuts are required to bring the cut to the correct depth and during this period the yield of latex is
low. For tapping the tree tapping equipment like knife, spout, latex cup, cup hanger, and ammonia solution
are necessary.

Collection of Latex
The latex is collected in a large receptacle and a small quantity of ammonia is added to avoid precoagulation of the latex.

Straining
The latex is assembled and passed through an aluminum plate 0.01 cm perforation spaced 0.31 cm from
center to center, to remove large particles such as bark shavings, twigs, leaves etc.

Rubber content of latex

The rubber content of the latex is estimated by measuring the specific gravity of latex and estimates the
rubber content on the basis of the relative specific gravity of the major constituents. For measuring the
specific gravity of the latex, Metrolac hydrometer or latex meter are used.

Dilution and Second straining

The rubber is then diluted with water to a concentration of 12-15 percent. After a short wait for the
precipitation of heavy particles of sand, the latex is strained through a fine screen which will catch the
small particles of dirt and trash that pass through the coarse screen.

Concentration
Fresh latex has a rubber content of 30-35 percent that must be increased to 60-70 percent. This
concentration of latex is accomplished by centrifuging in a modified cream separator, by creaming with
alginates or other suitable creaming agents, or by evaporation in the presence of protective colloids.

Coagulation
The latex is then coagulated by treatment with acetic and formic acids. If ammonia has been added to the
latex, it is necessary to add sufficient acid to neutralize the ammonia as well as to coagulate the latex. The
latex coagulates into a thick sheet.

Sheeting
In coagulation, the rubber must be passed through power rolls to reduce the thickness sufficiently to assure
adequate drying. The sheet is passed through a marking roll after it has reached its final thickness, and
sheeting is done in mills with smooth rolls.

Smoking

Sheeted rubber is dried in a smokehouse where temperature is maintained below 500C, Sheet rolled to a
thickness of 2.5 mm should dry under these conditions within four days.

Grading
Before packing for shipment, the rubber is inspected carefully for defects or blemishes and graded
accordingly.

Shipment
Plantation latex is normally shipped in drums, tanks, or tankers. The containers in which the latex is
shipped must be thoroughly sterilized.

Vulcanization
Good year (1839) discovered the process of vulcanization. Rubber heated with various quantities of sulphur
(only about 2 percent for soft rubber, as much as 40 percent for hard rubber) retained its firmness at normal
temperatures and did not become tacky. Alexander Parkes (1846) found that thin films of rubber could be
changed from the plastic to elastic state by the use of sulphur monochloride, and this change could be
accomplished without heat. This is called cold vulcanization of rubber.

Mechanism
The rubber hydrocarbon, polyprene, combines with sulphur without the evolution of sulphureted hydrogen.
The vulcanization process is thus an addition reaction. The vulcanization process results in the formation of
a continuous series of addition products of sulphur and polyprene. The upper limit of this series is
represented by the compound C100H160S20 and the lower limit by the compound C100H160S.

According to L.A. Wood (1957), United States National Bureau of Standards, vulcanization is a chemical
reaction in which the physical properties of a rubber are changed in the direction of decreased plastic flow,
less surface thickness and increased tensile strength by reacting it with sulphur or other suitable agents.

Spread of Rubber Industry

Following Goodyears invention, factories for manufacture of articles made of rubber began to spring up in
the principal industrial countries. Solid rubber tyres were first used on road vehicles in 1867. In 1888
Dunlop invented the pneumatic bicycle tyre, from which the motorcar tyre was developed.

Uses of Rubber
Many kinds of articles can be fabricated from rubber: strong structural materials, soft, yielding comfortable
materials, resilient, elastic materials, conductors and non-conductors of electricity, shock absorbers,
mountings for motors and other machinery, transmission belts, gaskets, hoses for transportation gases and
liquids, transparent material, translucent materials, articles, or clothing to keep out rain or to control figure,
sports goods, cements, paints, plantics, pharmaceuticals, and above all, tyres , the chief outlet for rubber.

Rubber industry
Before pneumatic tyres (discovered by R.W. Thompson, 1845 and manufactured by J.C. Dunlop, 1888)
came to dominate the world market for rubber, it was used in boots and shoes, mechanical rubber goods
like packing for engines, rubber tyres for bicycles and carriages, water proof clothes raincoats and caps,
drug sundries like syringes, hot water bottles, bandages, air pillows, cushion, atomizers, hard rubber goods.
Rubber finds important application in civil chemical and electrical engineering, in automobile and aviation
transportation, in belt conveyors of materials and in escalators.

In home
Electrical fixtures and appliances, plumbing fixtures and appliances, cleaning equipment, and childrens
amusements, each require the use of dozens of rubber articles.

Electrical appliances and tubing

Many electrical appliances including floor and table lamps require use of extension of cords that must be
flexible and reliable. Rubber is important in the insulation of these cords. Heating pads and electric
blankets must be protected by the use of rubber insulation, rubber hosing is being used in washing
machines, and dish washers, shower connection in bath etc, soft rubber tubing is used in medicine fountain
syringes.

Non-electrical appliances
Pails, garbage and trash cans flexible baskets, tubs,, cups dishes tea wagons

Floor coverings
The use of rubber tilling in floor surfacing in the home has increased greatly.

Rubble backing for rugs to give resistance, and anti slip factor.

Wearing apparel
Its resistance to water has been applied in raincoats, rubber with other combination of fibres in elastic
garments etc.

Miscellaneous
It has been used in the manufacture of pillows, bathing caps, foot wear, baby pants, hospital sheeting crib
sheets, heating pads, gloves, aprons, hot water bottles, ice caps, rubber hose catheters, hard rubber fittings
for couches, enemas

FUEL WOOD
Fuel is one of the first commodity mankind has identified for the basic necessity. It is an inseparable
component with mankinds living and forms a primary source of energy. Wood being used as a fuel
primarily related to heating and cooking known since its invention by early man. In all cases of generating
the heat energy wood was being used and only recently, fossil fuels originating from the buried wood
remains through geological ages are being utilized for this purpose.
Any material that burns well in air is suitable for generating heat. The most popular fuels today represent
different stages in the carbonization of the original plant tissues.
Which is the best tree species for firewood? There is plenty of scope for debate, however, it is suggested
that the best species in your area is the one that is most plentiful, easy to split and doesn't cover your hands
and clothes with sticky sap.

Cassia fistula

Albizzia odoratisma

All wood, regardless of species, has about the same energy content per pound. The different species vary
only in density. Traditionally, the commonly occurring and easily available ones are favored trees in most
of the tropics except the ones that are worshipped or revered in the tradition and culture. Most often the
trees that are burnt are valuable ones and owing to their rich availability, they are burnt. It is only after the
decrease in the populations that have led people to consider trees that are less or not much value otherwise
are considered for fuel.

Ultimately, it is more important to have wood that is cut and split to the right size

and properly dried than it is to get the hardest wood available

Wood is considered as the immediate source easily available for generating heat energy. The present day
technology has provided alternate source energy, but wood being used as fuel still commands the highest
position among all uses of wood in terms of quantity. For quite some time wood was being used to fuel
railway engines in many parts of Africa owing to its easy availability.

Butea monosperma

About 99 percent of dried wood is combustible and hence forms an excellent fuel. The combustible value
of the wood varies greatly due to their density and moisture content. The wood should always be as dry as
possible to get maximum heat generated during combustion and fewer amounts are wasted in vaporizing
water content.
Most often hard woods are considered as best source of fuel wood. The average calorific value of seasoned
wood is around 4600 calories / kg. Two kilograms of such wood will be equal to one kilogram of quality
coal in terms of the heat energy produced.
Use of wood as fuel provides ample scope for most of the so called wastes accumulated out of use of wood
for variety of applications in saw mill, building material, furniture making, wood shavings etc.

Varieties of fuel produced by wood are fossil fuels viz. Peat, Coal, Petroleum while the living forms
harvested as wood for various purposes includes fuel also.

Peat
Peat consists of deposits of vegetable matter which have accumulated in boggy and swampy places, It is
made up of mosses, largely Sphagnum spp., grasses, sedges which have decomposed slowly, carbonized
and then compacted over thousands of years. The original structure of the tissue is still retained due to wet
acidic soils apparently have preserved properties, intact logs and even well preserved human bodies have
been discovered after a century in bog water. In Ireland and Scotland, where other forms of fuel are in
scarce, peat is compressed, dried and burned, it is more bulky to handle and leaves five to fifteen times
more ash than wood. A soft brown coal known as lignite may be found at the lowest strata of some peat
bogs. Here also original plant structure is visible.

Coal
Coal represents the fossilized remains of plants and is believed to have been formed by the slow
decomposition of vegetable matter buried beneath the earth in the remote past. Because of the high pressure
of rocks, the internal heat of the earth, water and the limited supply of air, the carbonization of woody
vegetable matter resulted in the formation of coal. The original plant structure is altered and converted into
pure carbon, unlike peat or lignite; coal is much harder and compact. It has a greater heating power,
producing large amount of smoke and ash. Anthracite or hard coals are the oldest, having about 95 per cent
carbon. Bituminous or soft coals are of relatively more recent origin and, therefore, are not so completely
carbonized, tending to soften and fuse at temperatures below the combustion point. Cannel coal develops
from fossilized spores and is very compact and oily in nature, burning with a candle like flame, it does not
soil the hand.
Coal is a cheap source of heat and power generation, being extensively used as fuel for steam boilers,
railway engines and kilns, It also finds wider application in the manufacture of producer gas, semi-water
gas and synthetic petrol. On destructive distillation, coal gives many valuable products such as coke,
benzol, naphta, ammonical liquor and coal tar ( a source of many organic compounds, for example, dyes,
explosives and chemicals).

Petroleum
It is generally assumed that petroleum had an organic origin, resulting under pressure from the minute
floating plants and animal life of former shallow seas. Crude petroleum has many applications. On
fractional distillation it gives a number of products that are even more important than the parental form,
including gasoline, kerosene, petroleum jelly and paraffin.

Implications of wood as fuel

Benjamin Franklin's prediction in the 1700s when he launched a new and more efficient wood heater, that
' ... our wood may grow as fast as we consume it, and our posterity may warm themselves at a moderate
rate, without being obliged to fetch their fuel over the Atlantic' may have been a little too optimistic for
present Australian conditions.

Prosopis juliflora

Firewood has become expensive, and is becoming scarce in some areas with the sources becoming further
and further away from the major cities. In India the price range from Rs. 1000 to Rs.2500 a tonne.
Wood fires, primarily as a source of heating, and sometimes as a source of cooking, have increased in
popularity and usage in the past decade or so. This is not really surprising, with the possibility of ever
increasing oil prices in the years to come, when oil for heating could become exorbitant, and when even
electricity could rise dramatically in price.
The development of new designs has led to efficient, clean and easy-to-use heaters. Wood as a cheaper
source of energy in rural settings has distinct advantages, but free firewood has even more attributes. Some

firewood is collected from private land, or from clearing associated with other agricultural or forestry
practices. Continued demand

leads to a reduction or scarcity in supply from these sources.

Growing trees for firewood is therefore one option to overcome this scarcity of firewood in the years ahead.
While growing a large number of trees for energy would not normally be feasible in an urban environment,
there are nevertheless many thousands of farms and rural holdings where this can be easily achieved.
Growing trees for commercial supplies has considerable merit just as it is more than feasible to grow them
for your own small-scale domestic use. Trees are a renewable resource, and if they are properly managed,
they can alleviate shortages of firewood, even if only as far as your own individual consumption is
concerned.

While many farms have retained at least some trees, consideration has to be given to just how many more
years these can be harvested. The rural areas usually used to grow trees for the purpose of energy
requirement and used to have a balance. However, use of energy of other than domestic purpose has been
the cause for concern. Most of the resource of fuel wood species have been used for small and large scale
industrial application like brick making, tobacco curing, and other industrial needs resulted in severe
scarcity of wood and loss of forest vegetation to meet the demand.
Many huge areas were cleared of timber decades ago, leaving no real resources of firewood, and farmers or
landholders throughout these areas should give serious consideration to not only establishing their own
small scale plantings for domestic use but also the additional option of commercial-scale plantations.
The typical household in India uses between one and three tonnes of wood each year.
Yields of around 20 tonnes of wood (dried) per hectare per year are feasible with plantations. Trees used
for firewood do not have to reach maturity before they are harvested, nor do their trunks have to be straight,
or the diameters a minimum or even size. Trees with short holes, with knots, warps and splits are all
useable because in fuel heaters it doesn't make any difference what they look like and whereas the need to
split logs used to be a problem with some woods with difficult grains, smaller logs can be used just as
successfully and may require no splitting; slow combustion heaters can take logs both large and small,
small branches have their value too as kindling.
The trees can have several uses while they live providing food and shelter for birds, cleansing air, flowers
for honey production, fodder, or they may serve as windbreaks etc. A combination of variety of trees with
periodical pruning and harvesting of intermediaries, improperly grown trunks etc, could be harvested for
fuel.
A practice of planting trees as regular phenomena may to a greater extent meet the requirement of the wood
for fuel and also keep the environment better and have a sustainable management of fuel wood.

TIMBER YIELDING PLANTS

Timber is one of the important necessities of mankind from time immemorial. Housing and other
construction activities depend solely on timber obtained from well-grown tree stems. The central part of the
stem referred to as wood is the main component. The wood in the stem is often characterized by the way it
develops, the influence of the season on the growth of wood, the type of cells contributing to the formation
of wood is also important.

Wood is preferred over other types of structural materials for its classy and elegant looks, durability and
eco friendly nature.

The wood is divided into two distinct regions. The outer light colored part known as sapwood, while the
inner region is of dark colour and is known as heartwood. The latter region, which is filled with tannins,
oils, gums, resins, etc., is hard and durable. The heartwood usually takes good polish and can be put to
various uses. It can be used for making furniture, doors and windows, bridges, railway sleepers, boats,
ships, etc.

India, being tropical country, is the home for a large number of trees, growing in varied environmental
conditions viz. hot plains to subtropical and temperate regions provide different quality wood that is
suitable for a variety of utilities. This has resulted in providing timber for the needs of world across. The
woods obtained from these are both soft and hardwoods that can be used for specific needs of building and
industrial purposes.

Indian forests are predominantly non-coniferous, occupying nearly about 20% of the geographical area.
Vast stretches of forest are available in Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra, Andhra
Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, Assam occupy the top positions in the maximum extent of the
area while North eastern part of the country account for almost 25% of forest cover of the country.

The major timber species of the country from the temperate regions are Pinus roxburghii (chir pine),
Cedrus deodara (deodar) and Pinus wallichiana (blue pine). The most important hard wood species are

from the tropical and sub tropical forests like teak (Tectona grandis Linn. f.) sal (Shorea robusta Gaertn.f.),
laurel (Terminalia tomentosa Wight & Arn.), gurjun (Dipterocarpus spp.) sissoo (Dalbergia sissoo Roxb.)
are well known across the country. However, other most sought after wood for variety of applications are
obtained from rose wood (Dalbergia latifolia Roxb.), Andaman padauk (Pterocarpus dalbergioides), red
sanders (Pterocrpus santalinus ) and sandal wood (Santalum album L.). Many other species are also used
as timber specific to certain regions like Nandi (Lagerstroemia parviflora ) mathi (Terminalia paniculata )
are also quite popular. Timber value has also been given to some of the trees like mango, jackfruit, acacia,
rubber tree etc. in some parts of the country. The lightwood like Melia dubia is also known for their use in
making canoes.

Wood is considered as very strong structure based on its weight, where it scores over iron, five to six times
stronger than cement. On the whole, the strength, elasticity and toughness, it out beats others in the
competition. Wood is poor conductor of heat and electricity. It has high salvage value when compared to
steel as it can be easily fashioned, fastened with nails and glue, altered, moved, rebuilt, reused etc. It is free
from corrosion that makes wood to beat other competitors.

Anatomical characters of wood

The anatomy of the stem as seen under the microscope in the sectional view reflects distinct regions the
outer epidermis, followed by cortex made of parenchyma, collenchyma and sclerenchyma cells enclosing
the central cylinder the vasculature that eventually develops in to wood. The sectional view of vascular
tissue in the younger stages is made up of primary phloem and primary xylem with a layer of specialized
cells in between, the intra fascicular cambium, which has the meristamatic property. As the plant grows
older, the intra fascicular cambium of the bundles becomes connected on either side of inter fascicular
cambia developing from the parenchyma between bundles, thus forming a circular ring of vascular
cambium. In the woody forms of dicotyledons and gymnosperms, this cambium continues to produce
inwardly secondary xylem and outwardly secondary phloem year after year, so that the stem increases
progressively in thickness. The quality of secondary xylem produced is more than secondary phloem. The
secondary xylem persists and forms the greater part of the vasculature and secondary phloem is pushed

outward and crushed and maintained as a relatively very thin layer. Secondary growth can take place for
several years and ranging to several thousand years as in case of Sequoia in America.

The secondary xylem of the dicotyledons plants is considerably more complex, consisting of different cell
types such as vessels, tracheids, fibers, xylem parenchyma, rays of different forms and types often specific
to some species. The first three components run longitudinally, while, the rays run horizontally and xylem
parenchyma may occur either as an occasional longitudinal cell or as the chief or exclusive component of

the rays. Trachieds perform both the function of support and conduction, vessels are mainly conductive
tissue, fibers are chiefly supportive tissues, ray cells are for horizontal transmission and xylem parenchyma
is for storage and to a limited extent for conduction.

Many of the Indian forest trees are highly valuable as they provide wood for various purposes. Wood used
for construction is called timber.

The timber yielding plants / trees are classified as soft woods and hard woods

Soft woods
Cochlospermum religiosum, Bombax ceiba, Cedrela toona, Thuja occidentalis, Abies balsamea , Tsuga
canadensis, Pinus palustris, Pinus strobus, Sequoia sempervirens, Picea mariana

Hard woods
Hardwikia binata, Shorea robusta, Fagus grandifolia, Prunus serotina, Castanea dentata, Tilia americana,
Tectona grandis, Dalbergia sissoo, Diospyros ebenum, Switenia mahogany

Chemical Constituents of wood:

There are three main chemical constituents common t all woods viz. Cellulose, which accounts for 45-60
percent of total weight built up of sugar and glucose; Hemi cellulose accounting for15-20 percent of total
weight mad up of sugar residues and Lignin, which comprises some 25-30 percent of organic matter, its
function is to act as cement holding the cells together. In additions to these above, wood also contains
some minor components which vary form species to species like natural resins, oils, tannins, and alkaloids
etc.

Structure of wood
Wood is produced in Gymnosperms and Angiosperms as a result of secondary growth. Secondary xylem is
produced as a result of the activity of fascicular cambium.

After a certain period of growth, the cambium cuts off secondary xylem towards its inner face and
secondary phloem towards its outer face. In the secondary xylem, the peripheral zone is light in colour, rich
in starch content and other nutrients. This is called the sapwood while the central portion, which is dark and
oily, is called heartwood.

The wood consists of many types of cells. The following are the most important.

Vessels: These are tubular cells placed end to end, with open ends and have a number of pits. These are
dead cells and have a lignified wall. The arrangement and the size of the vessels are used in the
characterization of wood.
1.

Trachieds: These are fusiform cells, much like vessels but have their end walls

intact.

These are also non living cells with lignified, pitted walls,
2.

Ray trachieds: Elongate cells with bordered pits.

3.

Xylem fibres: These are elongated sclerenchyma cells found in the wood.

4.

Medullary rays: These are sheets or ribbons of tissue extending radically in the xylem. The cells
are thin walled and parenchymatous.

Based on the structural peculiarities, wood is characterized and identified as follows.

Porous and non-porous wood: In a transverse section vessels appear as large pores when
compared with trachieds. Hence wood with vessels is known as porous wood. While a wood
having only trachieds is called non-porous wood. Usually angiosperm wood is porous, while
gymnosperm wood is non porous. The presence or absence, and arrangement of pores serve as
ideal criteria for identification of woods

The porous wood is again divided into two types viz. Ring porous wood and Diffuse porous
wood. In ring porous wood, there is differentiation between autumn and springwood in an annual
ring so that there is a clear distinction between rings as autumn wood and spring wood alternate.
The pores are arranged in concentric rings. Ring porous wood is seen in Ulmus spp, Quercus spp,
Betula spp etc.

In diffuse porous wood, the pores are scattered in the ring ( Betula, Juglans etc.) and there is no
clear demarcation between autumn wood and spring wood. The increase in the size of the pores
from autumn wood to spring wood is gradual and it is not possible to draw a demarcating line
between the two.

Early wood and Late wood: The development of the secondary vascular tissues in a plant is
seasonal. The extent of wood formation during any part of the year is intimately associated with
the physiological activities of the plant. During spring, where maximum growth is seen and
demand for nutrients is more, the extent of wood formation is more and also the vessels have a
broad lumen, during autumn, the extent of wood formation is less and the vessels are narrow. The
terms spring wood and autumn wood are however replaced by early wood and late wood
respectively, because the two parts of the wood do not clearly represent the two seasons. The
wood formed during the early part of the growing season is called Early wood and the one formed
late in the growing season is called Late wood. The Early wood and late wood together constitute
an annual ring. Annual rings are also called growth rings.

Sapwood and Heartwood: Xylem elements formed first are most active physiologically and
gradually their activity ceases. The peripheral part of the wood containing living cells and still
performing conduction is said to be sapwood and the central party consisting of non-conducting
elements is said to be the heartwood. The sapwood and heartwood are also called laburnum and
duramen, respectively.

Sapwood helps in conduction and support while, heartwood provides only support. Sapwood is
light in colour and has living cells. The heartwood is completely non living and black in colour
due to the presence of tannins, oils, gums, resins etc. the heart wood is very hard, highly valuable
and used for high quality furniture, cabinet making etc.

Storied and Non-storied wood: In transverse section of stems, xylem elements are arranged
serially. In tangential sections however the xylem elements may or may not show the
stratification. Thus a stratified wood is called a storied wood. In a storied wood the ends of cells of

one tier appear at approximately same level and several clear-cut tiers (strata) are seen. In a nonstoried wood the wood elements are not arranged in clear-cut tiers. The cells of one tier overlap
the other. Storied wood is seen in Quercus, while non-storied wood is seen in Ficus. From the
phylogenetical standpoint; storied wood is regarded as more advanced than non-storied wood.

Grains: The size, shape and arrangement of cells in the wood contributing to the variation in
appearance is referred to as the grains of wood. Grains may be coarse, fine or arranged cross wise.
In a spiral grain, the cell systems wind spirally around the tree. Wood structure, annual rings and
wood ray together constitute the

conspicuous grain of wood. In trees like Quercus, where the

wood rays are large and dense, they take a high polish and are referred to as the silver grains. In
certain trees, numerous adventitious buds remain dormant under the bark and represent areas of
parenchyma. In a cross section, the fibres and other xylem elements swing around the buds or
eyes. Such grains are called birds eye grains.

Compression wood: In many conifers, the under side of the branches has a type of wood called
compression wood. It is darker than the sap wood and reddish in color resembling the heartwood.
It is also called red wood because of its color. It is more brittle than the normal wood.

Wood properties
The mechanical properties of wood either singly or in combination determine the quality of wood and its
suitability for various uses. The properties of wood render it strong and not to be easily influenced by
external agents. The important properties are as follows.

1.

Weight: Generally the wall materials of wood have a specific gravity of 1.53. Variations in the
weight depend on the thickness of the wall and size of the lumen. Wood with a narrow lumen is
heavier than wood with a broad lumen.

2.

Strength: The ability to withstand or resist mechanical forces such as crushing, shearing, pulling
(Tensile strength) and breaking is referred to as the strength of the wood. Strength of the wood
may also be measured in terms of its stiffness, toughness, hardness; cleavability etc. strength of

the wood mainly depends on its composition. The presence of large amount of fibres or fibre
trachiedes makes a wood very strong.

3.

Durability: The capacity of the wood to resist the attack of fungi and bacteria and thus remain
strong for a very long time is called the durability. This is dependent on the chemical composition
of the wood. Generally heart wood is durable because it has no food or living contents to offer to
the invading organisms, besides the tannins and oils act as antibacterial and antifungal agents. The
durability of the wood is not dependent on its weight.

4.

Wood Seasoning: The process of drying the wood (so that it loses its water content) before it is
used for any purpose is called seasoning. If the wood is used before seasoning it tends to crack,
shrink or break as it loses water. In a seasoned wood, ther is no moisture and the wood retains its
shape without shrinking. Exposing the wood to the heat of the sun by keeping them in shades may
do seasoning. This method is called air seasoning. In kiln seasoning heat is applied to wood in an
enclosed space by circulating hot air. Kiln seasoning takes a much shorter period than air
seasoning.

Some Important Timber Yielding Plant and their Uses:

Wood is a versatile material and finds extensive use in various human endeavors. The following are some
of the uses of timber (wood).

Structural timbers: These are used for buildings. Strength and durability of the wood is
important. Wood is used for doors, windows, frames, beams etc. Suitable trees are-Tectona
grandis, Toona ciliata, Hopea parviflora, Bischofia javanica, Shorea robusta, Mangifera indica,
Tamarindus indica, Terminalia arjuna, Lagerostromia lanceolata, Pterocarpus indica

Construction of Bridges: A strong and highly durable wood is needed for bridge construction.
Tree used for this purpose are: Hopea parviflora, Mesua spp, Anogeissus latifollia,Tectona
grandis

Timber used for Transport and Communication: Many trees yield valuable wood used for
railway sleepers, piles of bridges and telegraph, telephone and transmission poles. Strength,
toughness, resistance to decay is important for railway sleepers. Piles used for bridges should have
strength, durability, and resistance to shearing, crushing and splitting.

Timber used for Ship, Boat building etc: Many trees are highly suitable as they remain strong
even after a long contact with water. These woods will not decay easily. Trees used for marine
work should resist marine borers. These are-Tectona grandis, Xylia xylocarpa, Stereospermum
suaveolens

In fresh water, piles used in contact with water will remain strong if they are completely
submerged in water. But when they are alternately exposed and submerged, the wood is generally
treated with certain chemicals to prevent decay. Trees suitable for fresh water piles are-

Acacia

nilotica, Bischofia javanica, Xylia xylocarpa etc.

In ship and boat building various trees are used for a variety of purposes. These are:
a) For hulls:

Calophyllum inophyllum
Hopea parviflora
Lagerostromia microcarpa etc.

b) For ribs:

Thespesia populenea

c) Deck planking:

Adina cordifolia
Gmelina arborea
Mangifera indica

d) Oars:

Grewia tilifolia

The wood used for ship and boat building has to be treated with fish oil, tar etc to prevent attack by marine
organisms (Fungi, etc.)

1.

Timber used in Cabinet making: Many of the timber trees specially preferred for joinery,
furniture etc, as they are not only strong and durable but take a fine polish giving a beautiful
appearance, there should be good grains in the wood to give a good look. Some of these trees area.

Joinery:

Dysoxylum malabaricum
Hopea parviflora

Lagerostromia lanceolata
Terminalia paniculata
b.

Cabinets:

Tectona grandis
Dalbergia latifolia
Dispyros ebenum
Chloroxylon switenia
Santalum album. sandalwood is used for caskets and carving as it is
fragrant and pliable.

c.

Furnitures:

Dalbergia latifolia
Tectona grandis
Dysoxylum malabaricum
Kirugiodendron pinnatum

d.

Ornamental veneers: These give a fine-grained appearance after polishing. Trees used for
this purpose areTectona grandis
Dalbergia sissoo
Toona ciliata
Switentia mahagony etc

e.

Plywood: Used for shelves, partitions etc

Vateria indica
Dipterocarpus indicus
Canarium strictum
Bombax malabaricum

2.

Timber used in transportation vehicles. Frames of railway carriages, carts and other types of
vehicles (body building) need good timber. Wood for frame should be light and strong.
a.

Wood for frames:

Shorea roxburghii
Gmelina arborea

b.

Axles and hubs:

Acacia nilotica
Anogeissus latifolia
Dalbergia sissoo
Xylia xylocarpa

Hopea parviflora
c.

Spokes (for carts):

Acacia nilotica

Anogeissus latifolila
Xylia xylocarpa
Dalbergia spp
Lagerostromia spp
d.

Shafts:

Shorea sp.
Grewia tilifolia
Pterospermum suberifolium

e.

Rims:

Vitex leucoxylon
Xylia xylocarpa
Mangifera indica

3.

Wood used for tool handles: The wood suitable for tool handles must have closely located
grains, must be tough and not liable to split.

The texture of the wood should be smooth and as to be easily handled. The wood used for this purpose
belongs to:
Acacia nilotica
Grewia tiliifolia
Anogeissus latifolia
Schleichera oleosa
Mesua nagassarium

4.

Wood used for packaging boxes: Wood used for this purpose must be light as it can be easily
transported. But it should be sufficiently strong to withstand damages. Trees that yield wood for
this purpose areAlstonia scholaris
Vateria indica
Holoptelea integrifolia
Bombax malabaricum

5.

Wood used for match boxes: Wood should be light and soft.

Bombax malabaricum
Ailanthus malabaricum
Alstonia scholaris
Symplocus spicata
6.

Wood used for sports goods: Cricket bats, Hockey sticks, tennis rackets are made out Morus
alba, Salix tetrasperma, Thespesia populnea.

7.

Musical instruments : Many musical instruments like flute are made out of wood of Bambusa
spp, others like Tectona grandis, Switentia mahagony are also used

8.

Fire wood: Fire wood is provided by practically all trees which have a sufficient amount of
secondary wood ex. Tamarindus indica, Mangifera indica, Acacia spp., Anogeissus latifolia,
Prosopis juliflora are common source of fire wood.

List of Indian timber trees

There are over 150 species of timber produced in India. Following are some of the timber trees which are
used frequently in India:

Common
name

Botanical
Name

Colour

Aini

Artocarpus
hirsutus

Yellowish
brown

Arjun

Terminalia
arjuna

Dark
brown

Axlewood

Anogeissus
latifolia

Babul

Acacia nilotica

Bakul

Mimusops
elengi

Bamboo

Family
Poaceae, tribe
Bambuseae

Banyan

Ficus

Location

Characteristics and usage

595
kg/m

Maharashtra,
Andhra Pradesh,
Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka,
Kerala

Elastic, close-grained, and

strong. It takes good polish.
It can be used under water. It
is used for ordinary building
construction, structural
work, paving, furniture, etc.

870
kg/m

Central India

It is heavy and strong. It is

used for beams, rafters,
posts, etc.

930
kg/m

Andhra Pradesh,
Tamil Nadu,
Maharashtra,
Madhya
Pradesh, Bihar
and Uttar
Pradesh

It is very strong, hard and

tough. It takes a smooth
finish. It is liable to cracking
.

Whitish
red

835
kg/m

Andhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra,
Madhya
Pradesh, Tamil
Nadu,
Karnataka, West
Bengal, Uttar
Pradesh, Gujarat

It is strong, hard and tough.

It takes up a good polish. It is
used in bodies and wheels of
bullock cart, agricultural
instruments, tool handles,
well curbs, etc.

Reddish
brown

880
kg/m

Some parts of
North India

It is close-grained and tough.

It is used for making
cabinets.

Throughout
India, especially
Assam and
West Bengal

It is flexible, very strong and

durable. It is used for
scaffoldings, thatched roofs,
rafters, temporary bridges,
etc.

Throughout
India

It is strong and durable only

under water. It is used for
tent poles, well curbs, etc.

Brown

Density

580
kg/m

Common
name

Botanical
Name

Benteak

Lagerstroemia
parviflora

Bijasal

Pterocarpus
marsupium

Casuarina

Colour

Density

Location

Characteristics and usage

675
kg/m

Kerala,
Maharashtra,
Karnataka,
Tamil Nadu

It is strong and takes up a

smooth surface. It is used for
building constructions, boat
building, furniture, etc.

Light
brown

800
kg/m

Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh,
Madhya
Pradesh,
Maharashtra,
Kerala, Uttar
Pradesh, Tamil
Nadu, Orissa

It is coarse-grained, durable
and strong. It is difficult to
work. Termite do not easily
attack it. It is used for
ordinary building
construction, Cart wheels,
etc.

Casuarina spp.

Reddish
brown

765
kg/m

Tamil Nadu

It grows straight. It is strong

and fibrous. It is, however,
badly twisted. It is used for
scaffolding, posts for
temporary structures, etc.

Coconut

Cocos nucifera

Reddish
brown

Throughout
coastal India

Takes polish. Requires

preservative treatment. Used
as poles, piles, furniture and
as framwork in concrete
construction.

Deodar
/Cedrus

Cedrus
deodara

Yellowish
brown

560
kg/m

Himalayas,
Punjab, Uttar
Pradesh

It is the most important

timber tree providing soft
wood. It can be easily
worked. It possesses distinct
annual rings. It is moderately
strong. It is used for making
cheap furniture, railway
carriages, railway sleepers,
packing boxes, structural
work, etc.

Guava

Psidium spp.

Yellowish
brown

560
kg/m

Himalayas,
Punjab, Uttar
Pradesh

It is the most important

timber tree providing soft
wood. It can be easily
worked. It possesses distinct
annual rings. It is moderately
strong. It is used for making
cheap furniture, railway

Common
name

Botanical
Name

Colour

Density

Location

Characteristics and usage

carriages, railway sleepers,

packing boxes, structural
work, etc.

Hopea

Hopea
parviflora

Light to
deep
brown

1010
kg/m

Tamil Nadu,
Kerala

It is extremely strong and

tough. It is difficult to work.
It is durable and not likely to
be damaged by white ants. It
can be seasoned easily. It is
used for ordinary house
construction, railway
sleepers, boat building, etc.

Indian Elm

Ulmus spp.

Red

960
kg/m

Throughout
India

It is moderately hard and

strong. It is used for door
and window frames, carts,
etc.

Iron wood

Mesua ferrea

Reddish
brown

1040
kg/m

Irul

Xylia
xylocarpa

Jack

Artocarpus
spp.

Yellow,
darkens
with age

It is durable. It is very hard

and is not easily worked. It
even resists penetration of
nails. It is used for ordinary
house construction, bridges,
piles, agricultural
instruments, railway wagons,
railway sleepers, etc.

835
kg/m

Karnataka,
Kerala, Andhra
Pradesh,
Maharashtra,
Orissa, Tamil
Nadu

It is very hard, heavy and

durable. It is difficult to
work. It requires slow and
careful seasoning. It is used
for railway sleepers,
agricultural instruments,
paving blocks, heavy
construction, etc.

595
kg/m

Karnataka,
Maharashtra,
Tamil Nadu

It is compact and even

grained. It is moderately
strong. It is easy to work. It
takes a good finish. It
maintains its shape well. It is
used for plain furniture, boat
construction, well curbs,
door panels, cabinet making,
musical instruments, etc.

Common
name

Botanical
Name

Colour

Density

Jarul

Lagerstroemia
flos-reginae

Light
reddish
gray

Kathak

Artocarpus
heterophyllus

Yellow to
deep
brown

Laurel

Terminalia
tomentosa

Dark
brown

880
kg/m

640
kg/m

Combretaceae

Location

Characteristics and usage

Assam, Bengal,
Maharashtra

It is hard and durable. It can

be easily worked. It takes a
good finish. It is used for
house construction, boat
building, railway carriages,
cart making, scaffolding, etc.

Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh,
Kerala,
Maharashtra,
Tamil Nadu

It is heavy and hard. It is

durable under water and in
damp conditions. It cracks, if
exposed directly to sun.
White ants do not attack it. It
is used for piles, platforms of
wooden bridges, door and
window panels, etc.

Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh,
Bihar, Orissa,
Madhya
Pradesh, Kerala,
Tamil Nadu

It is strong, hard and tough.

It is likely to crack and to
attack of dry rot. White ants
do not attack it. It takes a
smooth finish. It is used for
house construction, boat
construction, railway
sleepers, structural work, etc.

Mahogany

Swietenia spp.

Reddish
brown

720
kg/m

Mango

Mangifera spp.

Deep gray

655
kg/m

Throughout
India

It is easy to work. It
maintains its shape well. It is
moderately strong. It is used
for cheap furniture, toys,
packing boxes, cabinet work,
panels for doors and
windows, etc.

Mulberry

Morus spp.

Brown

650
kg/m

Punjab

It is strong, tough and elastic.

It takes up a clean finish. It
can be well seasoned. It is
turned and carved easily. It
is used for making baskets

It takes a good polish. It is

easily worked. It is durable
under water. It is used for
furniture, pattern making,
cabinet work, etc.

Common
name

Botanical
Name

Colour

Density

Location

Characteristics and usage

and sports goods etc.

Oak

Quercus spp.

Yellowish
brown

865
kg/m

Palms

Arecaceae

Dark
brown

1040
kg/m

Pine

Pinus spp.

Red ceder

Cedrella spp.

Red

480
kg/m

Assam, Nagpur

It is soft and even grained. It

is used for furniture, door
panels, well curbs, etc.

Rose wood
(black
wood)

Dalbergia
latifolia

Dark

790
kg/m

Kerala,
Maharashtra,
Madhya
Pradesh, Tamil
Nadu, Orissa

It is strong, tough and closegrained. It is handsome and

takes up a high polish. It
maintains its shape well. It is
available in large sizes. It is
used for furniture of superior
quality, cabinet work,
ornamental carvings, etc.

Sal

Shorea robusta

Brown

800
kg/m

Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra,
Uttar Pradesh,

It is hard, fibrous and closegrained. It does not take up a

good polish. It requires slow
and careful seasoning. It is

It is strong and durable. It

posses straight silvery grains.
It is used for preparing sport
goods.

Throughout
India

It contains ripe wood in the

outer crust. The colour of
this ripened wood is dark
brown. It is strong and
durable. It is fibrous. It is
used for furniture, roof
covering, rafters, joists, etc.

It is hard and tough except

white pine which is soft. It
decays easily, if it comes in
contact with soil. It is heavy
and coarse grained. White
pine is light and straight
grained. It is used for pattern
making, frames for doors
and windows, paving
material, etc. White pine is
used in the manufacture of
match stick.

Common
name

Botanical
Name

Colour

Density

Location

Characteristics and usage

Bihar, Madhya
Pradesh, Orissa

durable under ground and

water. It is used for railway
sleepers, Ship building,
bridges etc.

Sandal
wood

Santalum spp.

White or
Red

930
kg/m

Karnataka,
Assam, Nagpur,
Bengal

It gives out pleasant smell. It

is used for agricultural
instruments, well curbs,
wheels, mallets, etc.

Satin
wood

Chloroxylon
swietenia

Yellow

960
kg/m

Central and
Southern India

It is very hard and durable.

It is close grained. It is used
for furniture and other
ornamental works.

Simul,
Semal

Bombax spp.

White

450
kg/m

All over India

It is loose grained. It is an
inferior quality of wood. It is
light in weight. It is used for
packing cases, match
industry, well curbs, cheap
furniture, etc.

Siris

Albizia spp.

Dark
brown

North India

It is hard and durable. It is

difficult to work on. It is used
for well curbs in salty water,
beams, posts, furniture, etc.

Sissoo

Dalbergia
sissoo

Dark
brown

Mysore,
Maharashtra,
Assam, Bengal,
Uttar Pradesh,
Orissa

It is also known as shisham.

It is strong and tough. It is
durable and handsome. It
maintains its shape well. It
can be easily seasoned. It is
difficult to work, but it takes
a fine polish. It is used for
high class furniture,
plywoods, bridge piles, sport
goods, railway sleepers, etc.
It is a very good material for
decorative works and
carvings.

Spruce

Picea spp.

770
kg/m

480
kg/m

It resists decay. It is not

affected by the attack of
marine borers. It is liable to
shrink, twist and wrap. It is

Common
name

Botanical
Name

Colour

Density

Location

Characteristics and usage

used for piles under water,

airplanes, etc.

Sundri

Heritiera
fomes

Dark red

960
kg/m

Bengal

It is hard and tough. It is

difficult to season and work.
It is elastic and close grained.
It is strong and durable. It is
used for boat building, piles,
poles, tool handles, carriage
shafts, etc.

Tamarind

Tamarindus
indica

Dark
brown

1280
kg/m

All over India

It is knotty and durable. It is

a beautiful tree for avenue
and gardens. Its
developement is very slow.
But it ultimately forms a
massive appearance. Its fruit
is also very useful. It is used
for agricultural instruments,
well curbs, sugar mills, carts,
brick burning, etc.

Teak

Tectona
grandis

Deep
yellow to
dark
brown

625
kg/m

Central India
and Southern
India

It is moderately hard. It is
durable and fire-resistant. It
can be easily seasoned and
worked. It takes up a good
polish. It is not attacked by
white ants and dry rot. It
does not corrode iron
fastenings. It shrinks little. It
is among the most valuable
timber trees of the world. It
is used for house
construction, railway
carriages, flooring, structural
work, ship building,
furniture, mallets,
agricultural instruments,
well curbs, piles, etc. Its use
is limited to superior work
only as it is comparatively
very costly.

Toon

Toona ciliata

Reddish
brown or
dull red

530
kg/m

Assam

It can be easily worked. It is

light in weight. It is used for
furniture, packing boxes,
cabinet making, door panels,

Common
name

Botanical
Name

Colour

Density

Location

Characteristics and usage

etc.

BAMBOO
Bamboo, a member of the grass family, is one of the most useful and versatile plants in the world. It is best
known for its use as a construction material and is grown for shade, animal fodder and food. It is also
highly valued as a landscaping plant.
The origin of the word bamboo is not very clear. No definite records are available until 400 B.C. about
the reference to bamboo. The canes of plant are called by the Indians as mambu. Many species of
bamboo are native to India. The occurrence of bamboo in variety of habitats has found its use to human
kind in a variety of ways. Its more than 1250 species are so diverse that there is a bamboo to suit any need.
This natural resource plays a major role in the livelihood of rural people and in rural industry. Bamboo also
known as green gold, is sufficiently cheap and plentiful to meet the vast needs of human populace from the
"child's cradle to the dead man's bier". That is why sometimes it is known as "poor man's timber".
Bamboos has versatile uses as building material, paper pulp resource, scaffolding, food, agriculture
implements, fishing rods, weaving material, substitute for rattan, plywood and particleboard manufacture.
Pickled or stewed bamboo shoots are regarded as delicacies in many parts of the country. The major user of
bamboo in India is paper industry, which consumes sizeable proportion of the total annual bamboo
production. Bamboos are good soil binders owing to their peculiar clump formation and fibrous root system
and hence also play an important role in soil and water conservation.
Bamboo serves as major resource material for rural artisans for making variety of products. It is one of the
very versatile resources that meet the day-to-day needs of farming communities across the globe.
Bamboos are grown around habitats and also in home gardens in recent times. Generally, the temperate
bamboos tend to be runners while the tropical bamboos tend to be clumpers. Running bamboo spreads
underground, often by sending shoots several feet from the original culm. Clumping bamboo sends up new
shoots only a few inches from the culm, creating a tight clump. Though the clump size will increase
yearly, it does not spread as extensively as running types.

Botany of Bamboo
Bamboo is woody grass belonging to the sub-family Bambusoideae of the family Poacae. Worldwide there
are more than 1,250 species under 75 genera of bamboo, which are unevenly distributed in the various parts
of the humid tropical, sub-tropical and temperate regions of the earth (Subramaniam, 1998).
The bamboos are mostly distributed in India, Myanmar, Malaya, Japan, Philippines in Asia and New
Guinea, Queens land, South Africa.
Bamboos are characterized by woody pointed stems, commonly referred to as culms, often reaching 30 m;
15-18 cm in diameter arising from woody rhizomes. The growth of the culm is about 7.5 cm per day, often
reaching 30-40 cm per day as in Dendrocalamus giganteus. A clump of bamboos bears about 30-100 culms.
The culms are round and smooth. They are usually hollow (the `female bamboos), and have transverse
septas at the nodes. But the culms in Dendrocalamus strictus, Arundinaria prainii. Oxytenanthera stocksii

are solid (the `male bamboos). The bamboos bear large leafless, paniculate inflorescences. The bamboos
flower once in their lifetime (25-50 years) and die out soon after. Flowers are green and inconspicuous. The
bamboo fruit is indehiscent, single seeded. The fruit is a caryopsis, furnished with a thin pericarp and
shaped like a grain of wheat.

Species and Distribution

Majority of species of bamboo are indigenous to India, Myanmar, Southern China and Malayan region and
in South America.
In India an estimated 8.96 million ha forest area of the country contains bamboo (Rai and Chauhan, 1998).
Bamboo generally forms the under-storey in the natural forests. It is found to grow practically all over the
country, particularly in the tropical, sub-tropical and temperate regions where the annual rainfall ranges
between 1,200 mm to 4,000 mm and the temperature varies between 16oC and 38oC. The most suitable
conditions for the occurrence of bamboo are found in between 770-1,080 meter above sea level. However,
two-thirds of the growing stock of bamboo in the country is available in the northeastern states.
India is very rich in bamboo diversity. There are about 23 genera with 124 indigenous and exotic species,
found naturally and/or under cultivation (Naithani, 1993). Clump forming bamboo constitute over 67% of
the total growing stock, of which Dendrocalamus strictus is 45%, Bambusa bambos 13%, D. hamiltonii
7%, B. tulda 5% and B. pallida 4%. All other species put together are 6%. Melocanna baccifera, a nonclump forming bamboo, accounts for 20% of the growing stock and is found in the north-eastern states.
Bamboo falls into two main categories according to growth pattern, (i) sympodial or clump forming, and
(ii) monopodial or non-clump forming, runner bamboo.
An exhaustive account of nomenclature, description and distribution of Indian bamboo is available (Rawat
and Khanduri 1998)

Bambusa arundinacea

Table 1: Taxonomy and distribution of bamboo species in India

Sl.
No.
1.

2.

Name of bamboo

Description

Ampelocalamus patellaris
(Gamble) Stapleton,
(Dendrocalamus patellaris
Gamble, Chimonobambusa
jainiana Das & Pal)
Arundinaria simonii (Carr.) A. &
C. Riviere (Pleioblastus simonii
(Carr.) Nakai)

A rather soft, evergreen,

caespitose bamboo.
Culms 7-10 m tall, 2.5-3.8
cm in diameter.

Nainital (Uttaranchal),
Assam, West Bengal,
Sikkim and Bhutan.

Erect bamboo with long

creeping rhizomes. Culms
generally monopodial, up
to 6 m tall, 2.5 cm in
diameter.
A small bamboo.
Rhizome sub-terranean,
scarcely 5 mm thick.
Culms erect upto 1.5-m
tall, 1 cm in diameter.
A tufted reed like
bamboo. Culms upto 8 m
tall, 2-4 cm in diameter.

Arunachal Pradesh, India.

China and Japan.

3.

Arundinaria racemosa Munro

4.

Bambusa atra Lindl.

5.

Bambusa auriculata Kurz

6.

Bambusa balcooa Roxb.

7.

Bambusa bambos (Linn.) Voss

(Bambusa arundinacea (Retz.)
Willd.)

8.

Bambusa burmanica Gamble

9.

Bambusa cacharensis Majumdar

10.

Bambusa copelandi Gamble

An evergreen, tufted
bamboo. Culms 12-16 m
tall, 5-7 cm in diameter.
A tall caespitose bamboo.
Culms 12-20 m high, 8-15
cm in diameter, very thick
walled.
A very densely tufted
bamboo, producing large
dense clumps. Culms
strong, hollow, upto 30 m
tall, 15-18 cm in
diameter; branches with
thorns.
A caespitose bamboo.
Culms 10-20 m high, 7-10
cm in diameter; nodes
with white rings.
A tall bamboo. Culms 2021 m tall, 5-10 cm in
diameter.
A large, elegant, tufted
bamboo. Culms upto 20 m
tall, 16-19 cm in diameter.

Distribution

Endemic to West Bengal

and Sikkim.

Native of Moluccas and

New Guinea and
Tenasserim coasts Rutland
Island (Andamans).
Myanmar.

Northeast India and plains

of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
West Bengal. Bangladesh.
Throughout India.
Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri
Lanka, and Malaysia.

Native of Myanmar.

Endemic to Cachar Hills,

Assam, India.
It is so far known only from
under cultivation in
Myanmar and Indian
Botanical Garden at
Calcutta.

Sl.
No.
11.

Bambusa griffithiana Munro

12.

Bambusa jaintiana Majumdar

13.

Bambusa khasiana Munro

14.

Bambusa longispiculata Gamble

ex Brandis
Bambusa mastersii Munro

15.
16.

Name of bamboo

Bambusa multiplex (Lour.)

Raeusch. ex Schult.

17.

(Bambusa nana Roxb.)

Bambusa nutans Wall. ex Munro

18.

Bambusa oliveriana Gamble

19.

Bambusa pallida Munro

20.

Bambusa polymorpha Munro

21.

Bambusa pseudopallida
Majumdar

22.

Bambusa teres Buch.-Ham. ex

Munro

23.

Bambusa tulda Roxb.

Description

Distribution

A sub-scandent, soft
bamboo. Culms slender,
hollow, fistulose.
This species is allied to
Bambusa tulda but differs
in having glabrous culm
sheaths.
A graceful bamboo.
Culms 10-13 m tall, 2.5-4
cm in diameter, arising
singly from a creeping
rhizome.
Culms 10-15 m tall, 7-10
cm in diameter, green.
A small reed like,
climbing bamboo.
A thickly growing,
caespitose bamboo.
Culms usually 2-4 m high,
1.5-2.5 cm in diameter.
A medium sized graceful
bamboo. Culms 6-15 m
high, 5-10 cm in diameter,
loosely clumped.
A moderate sized
bamboo. Culms 13-15 m
high, 2.5-5 cm in
diameter, wall thick.
A caespitose bamboo.
Culms 13-20 m high, 5-8
cm in diameter, smooth,
covered with white
powder.
A large handsome,
densely tufted bamboo.
Culms 16-25 m high, 8-15
cm in diameter, grey to
greyish-green.
This species is allied to B.
pallida having shrubby
habit. Culm sheaths blade
longer than the sheath but
auricle pointed, one
projecting upwards and
the other downwards.
A large tufted bamboo.
Culms upto 20 m high, 8
cm in diameter.
An evergreen or
deciduous, tufted bamboo.
Culms 7-20 cm high, 5-10
cm in diameter,
sometimes streaked with

Manipur in India. Myanmar.

Endemic to Meghalaya,
India.

Endemic to Meghalaya and

Manipur, India.

North-east India.
Bangladesh, Myanmar.
A very rare species so far
known only from Assam.
Native of China and Japan.

It's natural distribution is

Yamuna eastwards to
Arunachal Pradesh.
Native of Myanmar.

Northeast India, Orissa,

Bhutan, Myanmar.

Native of Myanmar.

Endemic to Assam and

Meghalaya, India.

Northeast India,
Bangladesh.
Northeast India.

Sl.
No.

Name of bamboo

24.

Bambusa vulgaris Schrad. ex

Wendl.

25.

Bambusa vulgaris var. striata

(Lodd. ex Lindl.) Gamble

26.

Bambusa vulgaris forma waminii

(Brandis) Wen

27.

Chimonobambusa callosa
(Munro) Nakai (Arundinaria
callosa Munro)

28.

Dendrocalamus asper (Schult.f.)

Back. ex Heyne

29.

Dendrocalamus brandisii (Munro)

Kurz

30.

Dendrocalamus calostachys
(Kurz) Kurz

31.

Dendrocalamus giganteus Munro

32.

Dendrocalamus hookeri Munro

33.

Dendrocalamus hamiltonii Nees

et Arn. ex Munro

34.

Dendrocalamus longispathus
Kurz

Description
yellow.
A moderate sized
bamboo, with distant
culms. Culms strong,
green, 15-20 m tall, 4-10
cm in diameter.
This variety differs from
B. vulgaris in having clear
pale-yellow culms with
few narrow dark green
vertical streaks or rarely
light green with paleyellow streaks.
This form differs from
typical B. vulgaris by its
internodes 10-15 cm long,
rarely longer, at base
much swollen (pitcher
shaped), the swollen part
10-20 cm in diameter.
A shrubby bamboo.
Culms erect, 4-7 m tall,
1.2-2.5 cm in diameter,
grayish-green; nodes
armed with a circle of
conical spines.
Densely tufted bamboo.
Culms 20-30 m tall, 8-20
cm in diameter.
A large evergreen tufted
bamboo. Culms ashy-gray
to greenish-gray, 19-33 m
high, 13-20 cm in
diameter.
A large tufted bamboo.
Culms usually 20-25 m
high.
The tallest bamboo with
close culms. Culms 25-30
m tall, 20-30 cm in
diameter, usually 2-2.5
cm thick.
A tufted bamboo. Culms
15-20 m tall, 10-15 cm in
diameter.
A large caespitose
bamboo. Culms 10-20 m
high, 10-16 cm in
diameter, thin walled.
A handsome tufted
bamboo. Culms 20 m tall,
upto 10 cm in diameter.

Distribution

It is known only in
cultivation in many parts in
the country.

Commonly cultivated in the

gardens.

Introduced in the gardens.

Northeast India, Bhutan.

Its origin is not certain,

planted throughout tropical
Asia. In India it is planted in
Madhya Pradesh.
Manipur and Andaman
Islands, India, introduced in
Karnataka. Myanmar.

Meghalaya and Nagaland,

India. Myanmar.
Native of Myanmar.
Commonly cultivated in
India.

Northeast India.

Throughout Northeast India.

Myanmar, Bangladesh.

Northeast India. Myanmar,

Bangladesh.

Sl.
No.
35.

Name of bamboo
Dendrocalamus membranaceus
Munro

36.

Dendrocalamus parishii Munro

37.

Dendrocalamus sahnii Naithani

38.

Dendrocalamus somdevai
Naithani

39.

Dendrocalamus sikkimensis
Gamble

40.

Dendrocalamus strictus (Roxb.)

Nees

41.

Dendrocalamus strictus var.

sericeus (Munro) Gamble

42.

Dinochloa andamanica Kurz

43.

Dinochloa maclellandii (Munro)

Kurz

44.

Dinochloa nicobarica Majumdar

45.

Gigantochloa albociliata (Munro)

Kurz (Oxytenanthera albociliata
Munro)

46.

Gigantochloa apus (Bl. ex

Schult.f.) Kurz (Gigantochloa
takserah Camus)

47.

Gigantochloa atroviolacea
Widjaja

48.

Gigantochloa atter (Hassk.) Kurz

49.

Gigantochloa macrostachya Kurz

50.

Gigantochloa pseudoarundinacea
(Steud.) Widjaja

Description
A loose clump forming
bamboo. Culms 20-25 m
high, 6-10 cm in diameter.
Culm and culm sheath not
known.
A caespitose bamboo.
Culms 3 m tall, 2-3 cm in
diameter.
A caespitose bamboo.
Culms 12-20 m high, 6-7
cm in diameter.
A large bamboo with
caespitose culms. Culms
17-20 m tall, 12-18 cm in
diameter. Culm sheaths
golden-brown.
A deciduous, densely
tufted bamboo. Culms 816 m tall, 2.5-8 cm in
diameter, thick walled.
Similar to D. strictus,
differs in having silky
pubescent spikelets.
An evergreen lofty
climbing bamboo. Culms
90 m long.
An evergreen lofty
climbing bamboo. Culms
30 m long.
A climbing bamboo.
Culms green.
A densely tufted bamboo.
Culms 6-9 m high, 1.5-2.5
cm in diameter, greyishgreen with white stripes.
Strongly tufted bamboo.
Culms green or yellow
hollow, 8-22 m tall, 4-13
cm in diameter.
Clumps loosely tufted.
Culm 8-12 m tall, 6-8 cm
in diameter, purplish.
Large tufted bamboo.
Culms upto 22 m high, 510 cm in diameter.
A large evergreen
bamboo. Culms 10-16 m
tall, 6-10 cm in diameter.
A large evergreen
bamboo. Culms 10-30 m
high, 7-13 cm in diameter,
green to yellowish-green,
thin walled.

Distribution
A native of Myanmar.

Endemic to Himachal
Pradesh, India.
Endemic to Arunachal
Pradesh, India.
Endemic to Uttar Pradesh,
India.
North-east India, Sikkim.

Throughout India except

Northeast. Bangladesh,
Myanmar.
Endemic to Chota Nagpur,
Bihar, India.
Endemic to Andaman
Islands.
Native of Myanmar.

Endemic to Nicobar Island,

India.
Native of Myanmar. Widely
cultivated in India.

Northeast India. Myanmar,

Indonesia.

Native of Java.

Native of Malaya.

Northeast India.

Native of Java.

Sl.
No.
51.

Name of bamboo
Gigantochloa rostrata Wong
(Oxytenanthera nigrociliata
Munro)

52.

Melocalamus compactiflorus
(Kurz) Benth. (Dinochloa
compactiflora (Kurz) McClure)

53.

Melocalamus indicus Majumdar

54.

Melocanna arundina Parkinson

(Melocanna humilis Kurz)

55.

Melocanna baccifera (Roxb.)

Kurz (Melocanna bambusoides
Trin.)

56.

Neomicrocalamus
andropogonifolius (Griff.)
Stapleton

57.

Neomicrocalamus mannii
(Gamble) Majumdar (Arundinaria
mannii Gamble)

58.

Neomicrocalamus prainii
(Gamble) Keng f. (Arundinaria
prainii (Gamble) Gamble; A.
clarkei Gamble ex Brandis)
Ochlandra beddomei Gamble

59.
60.

Ochlandra ebracteata Raizada &

Chatterji

61.

Ochlandra scriptoria (Dennst.)

Fisch.

62.

Ochlandra setigera Gamble

63.

Ochlandra sivagiriana (Gamble)

Camus

64.

Ochlandra talbotii Brandis

65.

Ochlandra travancorica Benth.

Description
Tufted dark green
bamboo. Culm 5-8 m tall,
2.5-5 cm in diameter,
thick walled, basal portion
with yellowish stripes.
A arborescent, evergreen,
climbing bamboo. Culms
5-8 m long, 2.5 cm in
diameter, solid; climbing
over tall trees.
Evergreen scandent
bamboo. Culms 5-10 m
long, arching over the tall
trees.
An evergreen bamboo.
Culms 3-5 m high, about
2.5 cm in diameter.
An evergreen arborescent
bamboo. Culms
monopodial, upto 20 m
tall, 1.5-5 cm in diameter.
Culms semi scandent;
small, open, spreading, 12
m long, upto 1 cm in
diameter, hollow.
A slender graceful
climbing bamboo. Culms
10 m long, 1.2-2.5 cm in
diameter, smooth.
A small, wiry climbing
bamboo. Culms upto 10 m
long, upto 1 cm in
diameter, almost solid.
Culms erect, 10-12 m
high, 3-4 cm in diameter.
An erect, shrubby or
arborescent, reed-like,
gregarious bamboo.
Culms 5 m high, 2-3.5 cm
in diameter.
A gregarious shrubby
bamboo. Culms erect, 5 m
tall, 2.5 cm in diameter.
Culms erect or straggling,
6 m tall, 1-2 cm thick.
Small straggling reed-like
bamboo. Culms 5 m high,
2 cm in diameter.
Erect, arborescent
bamboo. Culms 3-6 m
tall, 1.2-2 cm in diameter.
Erect, shrubby or
arborescent bamboo.

Distribution
Northeast India, Orissa,
Bihar, Madhya Pradesh,
Karnataka, Maharashtra.
Malaya.
Northeast India. Myanmar,
Bangladesh.

Endemic to Assam, India.

Assam, India and Myanmar.

Northeast India.
Bangladesh, Myanmar.

Endemic to Nagaland, India

and Bhutan.

Endemic to Meghalaya and

Arunachal Pradesh, India.

Endemic to Meghalaya and

Nagaland, India.

Endemic to Kerala, India.

Endemic to Kerala, India.

Endemic to Western Ghats

i.e. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu
and Kerala.
Endemic to Western Ghats
i.e. Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Endemic to Tamil Nadu,
India.
Endemic to Karnataka,
India.
Endemic to Kerala and
Tamil Nadu, India.

Sl.
No.

Name of bamboo

66.

Ochlandra travancorica var.

hirsuta Gamble

67.

Ochlandra wightii (Munro)

Fischer

68.

Pseudoxytenanthera bourdillonii
(Gamble) Naithani (Oxytenanthera
bourdillonii Gamble)

69.

Pseudoxytenanthera monadelpha
(Thw.) Soder. & Ellis
(Oxytenanthera monadelpha
(Thw.) Alston)
Pseudoxytenanthera ritcheyi
(Munro) Naithani (Oxytenanthera
ritcheyi (Munro) Blatt. & McCann)

70.

71.

72.

Pseudoxytenanthera stocksii
(Munro) Naithani (Oxytenanthera
stocksii Munro)
Phyllostachys aurea Carr. ex A. &
C. Rivier.

73.

Phyllostachys bambusoides Sieb.

& Zucc.

74.

Phyllostachys mannii Gamble

(Phyllostachys assamica Gamble
ex Brandis)

75.

Phyllostachys nigra (Lodd. ex

Lindl.) Munro

76.

Pseudosasa japonica (Sieb. &

Zucc. ex Steud.) Makino ex Nakai

Description
Culms 2-6 m tall, 2.5-5
cm in diameter.
Leaves thick, margin
more cartilaginous.
Spikelets thickly clothed
with light brown valvety
pubescence, the rest as in
O. travancorica.
An erect shrubby bamboo.
Culms 6-7 m tall, 1.5-2
cm in diameter.
A moderate sized
bamboo, open clump
forming. Culms 6-9 m
tall, 2 cm in diameter.
A straggling or subscandent bamboo. Culms
soft, 8 m tall, 1-1.5 cm in
diameter.
A medium sized bamboo.
Culms 3-5 m high, 2.5 cm
in diameter, nearly solid,
covered with deciduous,
soft, pale-yellow, valvety
tomentose.
A medium sized bamboo.
Culms upto 9 m tall, 2.5
cm in diameter, glabrous.
Tufted bamboo with
creeping rhizome. Culms
2-8 m tall, 2-3 cm in
diameter; lower
internodes often
irregularly shortened and
swollen.
Rhizomes monopodial,
10-30 mm thick. Culms 922 m high, 10-15 cm in
diameter, flattened on one
side.
A caespitose bamboo.
Culms 5-6 m tall, 2.5-3
cm in diameter, green or
yellow, flattened on on
side.
Rhizome long creeping.
Culms 3-6 m tall, 2-4 cm
in diameter, olive green at
first, becoming purplish in
the second year,
ultimately purplish-black.
A shrubby bamboo.
Culms 2-5 m tall, 5-15

Distribution

Endemic to Tamil Nadu and

Kerala, India.

Endemic to Tamil Nadu and

Kerala, India.
Endemic to Kerala, India.

Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and

Kerala, India. Sri Lanka.

Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu,

Karnataka and Kerala,
India.

Karnataka, Maharashtra,
Kerala and Goa, India.
Native of China.

Native of China. Reported

from Himachal Pradesh and
Sikkim, India.

Endemic to Assam,
Meghalaya and Arunachal
Pradesh, India.

Native of China.

Native of Japan. Cultivated

in temperate gardens of

Sl.
No.

Name of bamboo

77.

Sasa palmata (Marl. ex Burb.)

Camus

78.

Schizostachyum arunachalensis
Naithani

79.

Schizostachyum beddomei
(Fischer) Majumdar
(Teinostachyum beddomei Fischer)

80.

Schizostachyum capitatum
(Munro) Majumdar
(Cephalostachyum capitatum
Munro)
Schizostachyum dullooa (Gamble)
Majumdar (Teinostachyum dullooa
Gamble)

81.

82.

Schizostachyum flavescens (Kurz)

Majumdar (Cephalostachyum
falvescens Kurz)

83.

Schizostachyum griffithii (Munro)

Majumdar (Teinostachyum
griffithii Munro)

84.

Schizostachyum helferi (Munro)

Majumdar (Teinostachyum helferi
(Munro) Gamble)

85.

Schizostachyum kurzii (Munro)

Majumdar (Bambusa
schizostachyoides (Kurz) Kurz ex
Gamble)
Schizostachyum latifolium
(Munro) Majumdar
(Cephalostachyum latifolium
Munro; C. fuchsianum Gamble)
Schizostachyum mannii
Majumdar
Schizostachyum pallidum
(Munro) Majumdar
(Cephalostachyum pallidum
Munro)
Schizostachyum pergracile
(Munro) Majumdar
(Cephalostachyum pergracile
Munro)
Schizostachyum polymorphum

86.

87.
88.

89.

90.

Description

Distribution

mm in diameter, green.
A shrubby bamboo.
Culms 1-1.5 m tall, 6-8
mm in diameter.
A semiscandent bamboo
with long internodes.
Culms 10-15 m tall 3 cm
in diameter.
Tall, semi scandent
bamboo. Culm 3-6 m
high, 2.5-3.7 cm in
diameter.
A shrubby, subarborescent bamboo.
Culms 4-10 m long, 2.5-3
cm in diameter.
Moderate sized to large
tufted bamboo, sometimes
scandent. Culms 6-9 m
tall, 2.5-7.5 cm in
diameter.
An evergreen tufted,
semi-arborescent bamboo.
Culms 3-6 m tall, 2.5-3.8
cm in diameter.
Straggling or sub-erect
bamboo. Culms drooping,
7-16 m long, 1.5-2 cm in
diameter.
Evergreen tufted bamboo,
forming large
impenetrable thickets.
Culms 6-12 m high, 2-4
cm in diameter.
An arborescent bamboo.
Culms 5-8 m high, 8-10
cm in diameter.

India.
Native of Japan. Cultivated
in temperate garden of
India.
Endemic to Arunachal
Pradesh, India.

A medium sized,
arborescent, semi
scandent bamboo. Culm 5
m tall.
Shrubby bamboo.

Northeast India. Bhutan.

A shrubby bamboo.
Culms not more than 2 m
tall.

Endemic to Northeast India.

A arborescent, tufted
bamboo. Culms 10-30 m
tall, 5-8 cm in diameter.

Northeast India, Orissa,

Madhya Pradesh, Andhra
Pradesh. Myanmar.

A large shrubby or semi-

Northeast India, Sikkim.

Endemic to Western Ghats.

Northeast India, Sikkim and

Bhutan.

Northeast India. Bhutan,

Bangladesh, Myanmar.

Andaman Islands, India.

Myanmar.

Endemic to Northeast India.

Meghalaya, India.
Myanmar.

Endemic to Andaman
Islands, India.

Endemic to Northeast India.

Sl.
No.

Name of bamboo
(Munro) Majumdar
(Pseudostachyum polymorphum
Munro)

91.

Schizostachyum rogersii Brandis

92.

Schizostachyum seshagirianum
Majumdar

93.

Sinarundinaria anceps (Mitf.)

Chao & Renvoize (Arundinaria
jaunsarensis Gamble;
Chimonobambusa jaunsarensis
(Gamble) Bahadur & Naithani)
Sinarundinaria arunachalensis
Naithani (Chimonocalamus
longispiculatus Majumdar)

94.

95.

Sinarundinaria densifolia
(Munro) Chao & Renvoize
(Arundinaria densifolia Munro)

96.

Sinarundinaria elegans (Kurz)

Chao & Renvoize (Arundinaria
elegans Kurz)

97.

Sinarundinaria falcata (Nees)

Chao & Renvoize (Arundinaria
falcata Nees; Arundinaria
khasiana Munro; A. gracilis (Hort.
Ex Riv.) Blan.)

98.

Sinarundinaria griffithiana
(Munro) Chao & Renvoize
(Arundinaria griffithiana Munro)

99.

Sinarundinaria hirsuta (Munro)

Chao & Renvoize (Arundinaria
hirsuta Munro)

100.

Sinarundinaria hookeriana
(Munro) Chao & Renvoize
(Arundinaria hookeriana Munro)

Description
arborescent bamboo with
single culms. Culms 7 m
tall, 2 cm in diameter, thin
walled.
Culm tufted, weak, upto 9
m high, 2 cm in diameter.
A scandent bamboo with
tufted branches. Culms 58 m tall, 7-10 cm in
diameter, thin walled.
A graceful bamboo, with
single stem from creeping
rhizome. Culms 2-6 m
tall, 1.3-2 cm in diameter.
Plant unarmed. Leaves
with setaceous apices.
Spikelets green, many
flowered in terminal
panicles.
A small densely
gregarious shrubby
bamboo. Culms 2-2.5 m
tall, upto one cm in
diameter, thin walled.
An evergreen, slender,
tufted bamboo. Culms
green, yellow to dark
purple, 4-7 m tall, about
1.5 cm in diameter.
A gregarious shrubby
bamboo with annual
culms from a central
rootstock. Culms usually
2-4 m high, 1-2 cm in
diameter.
An erect gregarious
bamboo. Culms 3-10 m
tall, olive green, 2.5-5 cm
in girth, nodes circled
with 2 cm long spines.
A shrubby bamboo with
single stem from the
rhizomes. Culms 1-2.5 m
tall, 5-7.5 mm in
diameter.
A caespitose bamboo.
Culms 5-6 m tall,
glaucous green, covered
with a white scurf when
young, 2-4 cm in
diameter.

Distribution
Bhutan, Myanmar.

A very rare species,

endemic to Andaman
Islands, India.
Endemic to Arunachal
Pradesh, India.

Endemic to Uttar Pradesh

Hills.

Endemic to Arunachal
Pradesh, India.

Anamalais hills, Kerala. Sri

Lanka.

India (Manipur, Nagaland),

Myanmar.

Himalaya from Kashmir to

Bhutan and Meghalaya,
Mizoram. Myanmar.

Eastern Himalaya,
Nagaland, Meghalaya and
Mizoram. Myanmar.

Endemic to Meghalaya,
India.

Endemic to Eastern
Himalaya.

Sl.
No.
101.

102.

Name of bamboo
Sinarundinaria intermedia
(Munro) Chao & Renvoize
(Arundinaria intermedia Munro;
Arundinaria suberecta Munro)
Sinarundinaria longispiculata
Chao & Renvoize

103.

Sinarundinaria maling (Gamble)

Campbell (Arundinaria maling
Gamble)

104.

Sinarundinaria microphylla
(Munro) Chao & Renvoize
(Arundinaria microphylla Munro)

105.

Sinarundinaria naglandiana
Naithani

106.

Sinarundinaria pantlingii
(Gamble) Campbell (Arundinaria
pantlingii Gamble)

107.

Sinarundinaria polystachya (Kurz

ex Gamble) Chao & Renvoize
(Arundinaria polystachya Kurz ex
Gamble)
Sinarundinaria rolloana
(Gamble) Chao & Renvoize
(Arundinaria rolloana Gamble)

108.

109.

110.

Sinarundinaria walkeriana
(Munro) Chao & Renvoize
(Arundinaria walkeriana Munro)
Sinarundinaria wightiana (Nees)
Chao & Renvoize (Arundinaria
wightiana Nees)

111.

Thamnocalamus aristatus
(Gamble) Camus (Arundinaria
aristata Gamble)

112.

Thamnocalamus falconeri Hk.f.

ex Munro

Description

Distribution

A slender caespitose
bamboo. Culms smooth,
greyish-green, 3-4 m tall,
1-1.5 cm in diameter.
Rhizome not known.
Culms erect, yellowishvalvety under the nodes,
bearing thorns on the
nodes.
An erect shrubby bamboo.
Rhizome stout, subterraneous producing
single culms at intervals.
Culms 3-9 m tall, 2-3 cm
in diameter.
A gregarious, low,
caespitose shrubby
bamboo. Culms 60-120
cm high.
Erect bamboo. Culms
caespitose, 3-7 m high,
olive-green, 2.5 cm in
diameter; node bearing a
circle stout short spines.
An erect shrubb bamboo.
Culms upto 9 m tall,
slightly hairy below the
nodes, 1.5 cm in diameter.
A small shrubby bamboo.
Culms rather soft, 7 m
tall, 2 cm in diameter.

Endemic to Eastern
Himalaya.

A shrubby bamboo with

stoloniferous distant
culms. Culms 2.5 m tall, 2
cm in diameter.
A shrubby bamboo.
Culms slender 4 m tall,
dark green.
An erect gregarious
shrubby bamboo. Culms
slender, 1.5-3 m tall, dark
green, 2 cm in diameter.
A tufted shrubby bamboo.
Culms at first mealy
white, then green, turning
to shining yellow, 2-5 m
high, 12-15 mm in
diameter.
A tall shrubby bamboo.
Culms fistular, 12-15 m
tall, olive green, 1.2-2 cm
in diameter.

Endemic to Nagaland, India.

Endemic to Mizoram, India.

Endemic to Darjeeling hills

(West Bengal) and Sikkim.

Bhutan.

Endemic to Nagaland, India.

Endemic to Sikkim and

Darjeeling hills(West
Bengal)
Sikkim, Darjeeling hills
(West Bengal) and
Meghalaya, India.

Hills of Kerala and Tamil`

Nadu. Sri Lanka.
Endemic to Nilgiris and
Palni hills of South India.

Himalaya from Eastern

Nepal to Arunachal Pradesh.

Himalaya from Uttar

Pradesh to Arunachal
Pradesh.

Sl.
No.
113.

Name of bamboo
Thamnocalamus spathiflorus
(Trin.) Munro (Arundinaria
spathiflora Trin.)

114.

Thyrsostachys oliveri Gamble

115.

Thyrsostachys regia (Munro)

Bennet (Thyrsostachys siamensis
Gamble)

Description
A gregarious caespitose
shrubby bamboo. Culms
4-6 m high, 1-2 cm in
diameter, glaucous-green
first, afterwards turning
yellow.
A handsome, densely
caespitose bamboo.
Culms 5-20 m tall, 5 cm
in diameter, with whitish
silky surface when young,
green or yellowish at
maturity.
A caespitose deciduous
bamboo. Culms usually 810 m tall, 4-5 cm in
diameter, thick walled.

Distribution
Endemic to Northwest and
Central Himalaya.

Native of Myanmar.

Native of Thailand.
Cultivated in many parts of
India.

Wood structure
The culms of bamboos have a smooth outer surface, and are jointed at intervals, the nodes showing more or
less prominent rings. At the nodes wood is solid whereas in the internodes, the culms are hollow, the cavity
being cylindrical. In the transverse section, a bamboo shows the form of a ring, whose outer portion is hard,
and made up of the fibro vascular bundles, very little intervening parenchyma.
Proceeding from the exterior towards the interior the wood becomes softer. The Shapes and arrangement
of fibro-vascular bundles are variable in different species of Bambusa.

Genetic Diversity of Bamboo

As already stated, India has 124 species of bamboo distributed through out the length and breadth of the
country. North-east India supports about 50% of the total genetic resources which is followed by peninsular
India where the Eastern and the Western Ghats are located which accounts for about 23% of the genetic
resources occurring naturally. North-western India, Indo-Gangetic plains and the Andaman & Nicobar
Islands account for the remaining diversity. More than 50% of bamboo species occurring in India are
endemic, and roughly 19 species are rare and threatened.

Ecology & Conservation of Bamboo

Bamboos thrive best in monsoon forests where they attain their maximum development. They dwindle into
under shrubs in temperate regions, and at high altitudes up to 3600 m some species look almost like
grasses.
Both In-situ and ex-situ conservation measures are being adopted to preserve the genetic resources of
bamboos. In-situ conservation measures include establishment of preservation plots in every state, where
the biodiversity is being periodically monitored. In addition, there are 10 biosphere reserves (Maikhuri et
al., 1998), 85 national parks and 450 wildlife sanctuaries (Anon., 1997), which include the natural habitat
of bamboo. These species are protected by the local people in sacred groves. However, in-situ conservation
sites with specific emphasis on conservation of bamboo are yet to be established. The major limitations of
in-situ conservation is that natural stands of bamboo are scattered in pockets over large areas making it
difficult to declare several bamboo reserves.

Ex-situ conservation activities for preservation of important genetic resources of bamboo and rattan need
more emphasis. So far these activities are limited to establishment of bambusetum and canarium. The live
collections of bamboos are now available only in a few centres in India (Subramaniam, 1998). Some of
these centres are :
(i)

Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun (37 species)

(ii)

Van Vigyan Kendra, Chessa, Arunachal Pradesh (35 species)

(iii)

Arunachal Pradesh Centre Bamborium, Bashar, Siang district )31 types)

(iv)

Botanical Garden, Punjab University, Chandigarh (20 species)

(v)

Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi, (Sub-centre at Nilambur) (21 species)

(vi)

Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi, (Sub-centre at Palappilly) (51 species)

(vii)

Kerala Forest Research Institute Campus, Peechi, Kerala (13 species)

(viii)

Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute, Palode, Kerala (32 species)

(ix)

Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore (26 species)

(x)

Forest Department, Begur, Wynaad Division, Kerala (12 species)

Production and Propagation

India is one of the leading countries in the world in bamboo production. In addition to their natural
occurrence, bamboos are also planted on private lands particularly in homesteads, field bunds and other
marginal lands available. Because of the versatile uses of bamboos there is great demand for this resource
throughout India. Annual production of bamboos in India is about 4.5 m tons out of which about 1.9 m tons
is supplied to the paper mills (Singhal and Gangopadhyay, 1999).
Under natural conditions, bamboo seeds germinate in rainy season after gregarious flowering. The
seedlings spring up and survive in large numbers on bare ground. Some of the seedlings develop into
clumps after 6-12 years.
Plantations of bamboo are either raised from seeds or by vegetative propagation. The major hurdle in
cultivation of bamboo from seeds is the poor availability of planting material. Most of economically
important bamboo species bear seeds only 2 to 3 times in a century. Moreover, the viability of seeds is only
for a short period. Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun has developed methods of storage, which
considerably prolongs the viability of bamboo seeds. For example, Dendrocalamus strictus stored at 15oC
over silica gel by reducing its moisture content to 5% retained viability for 34 months with 59% of
germination.
Bamboo seeds germinate within 5 to 10 days of sowing and seedlings attain solitary leaf stage within 7
days in polythene bags or nursery beds. Planting in the field is done as soon as the rains set in. The earth is
sloped around the plants to avoid water logging. Proper weeding is done during the first year.

When seeds are not easily available, bamboo is propagated by the following mentioned vegetative methods:
(i)

Planting offsets: This is the easiest and commonest method. One season old culms are
cut through with a slanting cut about 90-120 cm from the ground and the rhizomes are
dug out along with the intact roots and are cut off to a length which is sufficient to
include a well-developed bud. These offsets are planted out at a spacing of 7.0 x 7.0 m,
sufficiently deep to cover the first 2-3 nodes. The planting out of offsets is done after premonsoon showers or just before the beginning of rainy season. The earth above the
ground is well rammed around the offsets to prevent water logging. The top of the culms
are cut and sealed with earth or cow dung to prevent rotting. Weeding is done during the
first season.

(ii)

Rhizome cuttings: Sections of fresh living rhizomes of the preceding year measure about
15-30 cm long, containing at least one bud. These are planted in small pits of 30x30x30
cm size. The villagers for propagation of monopodial bamboos commonly adopt this
method.

(iii)

Stem cuttings: Stem cuttings or culm segments without rhizomes but with buds when
planted horizontally or vertically give a high rate of propagation in case of bamboo. In
some bamboos a notch is cut to allow water into the hollow internodes. Succes in
successfully regeneration of Dendrocalamus strictus is achieved by planting horizontally
cuttings of 90 cm long from two-year-old culms (Tewari, 1992).

(iv)

Macro-proliferation: A method has been developed at Forest Research Institute, Dehra

Dun for growing of field plantable saplings of Bambusa bambos, B. tulda,
Dendrocalamus strictus and D. hamiltonii through macro-proliferation on a large scale
(Adarsh Kumar, 1989). In this technique, each propagule possesses the shoot, root and
rhizome parts at the time of tiller separation itself, which ensures rapid establishment and
excellent survival rate.

(v)

Tissue culture: Tissue culture provides an important tool for faster multiplication of
superior clonal material of bamboos. The nodes bearing axillary bud are used as explant
for this purpose. Single nodes with axillary buds when inoculated on MS medium with
0.5 mg/l BAP and 0.1 to 1.0 mg/l of NAA produce multiple shoots with good rooting
success (Preetha et al., 1991).

Flowering:

The flowering in most species is either gregarious or sporadic at fixed intervals. All culms including those
of the current year die soon after flowering has occurred. Some species die within two year after flowering
e.g. Bambusa bambos while others do not die but there is a significant slowing down in their growth e.g.
Phyllostachys sp. Most of the bamboo falls between two physiological states of constant flowering (e.g.
Bambusa atra) and constant sterility (e.g. Bambusa vulgaris). A distinct flowering cycle is seen in the case
of most bamboo species in India. This may vary from 3,7,11,15,30,48,60 to 120 years. The flowering cycle
works with clockwork precision. All populations of a given species belonging to the same seed source, no
matter where they are situated, tend to flower simultaneously.
Dendrocalamus strictus, which is the principal bamboo species of India, tends to flower both sporadically
and gregariously at long intervals varying from 20 to 65 years. The period of time between two gregarious
flowerings over the same area for a particular species is known as the physiological cycle. It is more or less
constant for clumps of the same seed source. In case of sporadic flowering, only the culms that flower die;
though the entire clump will die after gregarious flowering has taken place.
The flowering and seeding cycle of some species are given in Table 2.

Table 2: Flowering and seeding cycle of some bamboo species

Name of the Species
Arundinaria racemosa
Bambusa atra
Bambusa bambos
Bambusa tulda
Dendrocalamus hamiltonii
Dendrocalamus strictus
Melocanna baccifera
Ochlandra travancorica
Sinarundinaria falcata
Sinarundinaria wightianus
Thamnocalamus falconeri
Thamnocalamus spathiflorus

Regeneration from seed:Profuse

Flowering and fruiting cycle (years)

30
Annual
32-45
35-60
30
30-45
45
7
28-30
Annual
30
16-17

natural regeneration comes up after gregarious flowering. Seed viability

varies from species to species they generally remain viable for one to two months. Seeds that fall on the ground
germinate immediately after the beginning of the rainy season. If seeds have fallen in moist river and streambeds they
may germinate even earlier.

Germination is usually complete within 1 or 2 weeks. Hundreds of seedlings come up and there is intense
competition amongst them for survival. The natural thinning out process spaces out the seedlings. The
better growing individuals may develop into clumps after 6 to 12 years.

The young seedlings are unable to thrive under conditions of heavy shade. They may die due to heavy
shade particularly that caused by weeds though a light shade protects them from drought and frost and
helps the young seedlings to develop into full-fledged clumps. Fire and grazing are extremely harmful to
the young regeneration.

Planting:

The seedlings are planted at 6 x 6 m spacing with a total of about 250 seedlings per ha. The seedlings are

irrigated immediately after transplanting. Weeding is generally required during the first year (Shanmughavel et al.,
1997). Most villagers generally cultivate bamboos by planting offsets or rhizomes as seeds are not readily available.
Rhizomes or offsets are dug out carefully so that the buds are not damaged and then transported to planting sites.
Planting work is done immediately after the first showers of the monsoon. The plantations are ready for exploitation
within 4-12 years, depending upon the prevailing climatic conditions (Negi and Naithani, 1994).

Harvesting: The bamboo forests are managed on a four-year cutting cycle employing selective felling
system. Extraction of the culms starts from 4-12 years after planting.
The following felling rules are generally prescribed:
(i)

Immature culms less than 2 years old should not be cut and removed.

(ii)

Young twisted culms are cut so that new culms grow.

(iii)

All the new culms and 25% of the old culms should be retained.

(iv)

Cutting should begin from the side opposite to where new sprouts are emerging

(v)

No clump should be clear felled except after flowering and when seeding has been completed.

(vi)

Culms should be cut as long as possible leaving two internodes above ground, in any case not
higher than 30 cm above ground level.

(vii)

Rhizomes are not dug out and exposed.

(viii)

No felling to be done during growing season viz. 1st July to 30th September in north India.

(ix)

In a clump containing 12 culms or more, at least 6 mature culms over one year old should be
retained.

(x)

No culm should be cut from periphery of the clump even if they are mature or malformed.

Traditional users opt for selective felling system, as mature culms are unsuitable for basket weaving.
However, with the emergence of the pulp a paper industry as the major consumers of bamboo, the system
has been affected badly as parameters have changed with payment being based on weight. This has resulted
in indiscriminate exploitation.

Bamboo Utilisation
Bamboo is utilized for various purposes depending upon its properties. It plays an important role in the
daily life of people; for house construction, agricultural tools and implements, as food material and

weaponry etc. Besides being a convenient source of cellulose for paper manufacture and rayon, it supports
a number of traditional cottage industries. Bamboo craft is one of the oldest of traditional cottage industries
in India. The origin of this rural craft is traced from the beginning of the civilisation when man started
cultivation of food crops thousands of years back. People started making baskets, mats and many other
products of household use with bamboo that was abundantly available in nearby forests. Later, tribal and
rural people in the vicinity of bamboo forest took up this as a means of livelihood. Now bamboo craft is
spread in all rural areas of the country and it feeds millions of traditional workers.
Chinese have the practice of carving, Culms may be cut and hollowed into vases or drinkware, tubes, or
pipes for liquids.Culms can also serve as pipes. The Bamboo are also used in making musical instruments.
Bamboo canes are normally round in cross-section, but square canes can be produced by forcing the new
young culms to grow through a tube of square cross-section and slightly smaller than the culm's natural
diameter, thereby constricting the growth to the shape of the tube. Every few days the tube is removed and
replaced higher up the fast-growing culm.
The fibre of bamboo has been used to make paper in China since very early days. A high quality handmade paper is still produced in small quantities.
The wood is used for knitting needles and the fibre can be used as yarn. Sharpened bamboo is also
traditionally used to tattoo in Japan, Hawaii and elsewhere.
Bamboo is emerging as a major source of raw material for several processed products primarily due to its
fast growth, wide spread occurrence and its multiple uses. The ten major species used in India for
commercial purposes are Bambusa bambos, B. balcoa, B. nutans, B. tulda, Dendrocalamus strictus, D.
hamiltonii, Melocanna baccifera, Ochlandra ebracteata, O. scriptoria and O. travancorica.
The consumption pattern of bamboo (Tewari, 1992) is given in Table-3.

Table 3: Consumption pattern of bamboos in India.

Uses

Per cent consumption

Pulp
Housing
Non-residential
Rural uses
Fuel
Packing, including basket
Transport
Furniture
Others, wood working industries
Others, including ladders, mats etc.

35.0
20.0
5.0
20.0
8.5
5.0
1.5
1.0
1.0
3.0

Specific uses of some bamboo species are listed in Table 4.

Table 4: Important bamboo species and their uses

SL.
NO.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

SPECIES

USES

Sinarundinaria falcata
Thamnocalamus spathiforus
Arundinaria racemosa
Sinarundinaria wightiana
Bambusa bambos

6.
7.

B. balcooa
B. tulda

8.
9.

B. polymorpha
B. vulgaris

10.

Schizostachyum pergracile

11.

Dendrocalamus giganteus

12.

D. hamiltonii

13
14

D. longispathus
D. strictus

15
16.

Gigantochloa macrostachya
Melocanna baccifera

17.

Ochlandra travancorica

18.

O. scriptoria

Basket work, fishing rods, Hooka pipes

Pipes, mats and basket making.
Roof construction and matting for house.
Matting.
Rafters, house posts, ladders, tent poles, shafts of
tongas, mat and basket making, scaffoldings,
chicks, etc. besides pulping. Seed and shoots are
used as food.
Pulping.
Building material, scaffolding and roofing. Mats
and baskets. Tender shoots used as food, paper
making.
Construction work and for thatching/roofing.
Furniture, toys, cages and construction works.
Scaffolds and for roofing. Paper making.
Building, mat making, fishing rods besides being
an important source of paper pulp.
Building and for masts for boats. The culms when
cut into sections can be used for water buckets
and boxes.
Paper manufacture, construction work, basket
works, mats etc.
Basket making.
Universally used, house construction, basket
making, mats, furniture, agricultural implements,
tool handles and chicks. Paper and rayon
manufacture.
Matting and basketwork.
Building as well as for basket works, house
constructions, matting and other purposes.
Agricultural implements and tool handles, paper
pulp. Temporary huts and thatching.
Mats and basket making sticks, baskets and
umbrella handles.

19.

Pseudoxytenanthera ritcheyi

20.

Gigantochloa rostrata

21.

Schizostachyum polymorphum

Tent poles, walking sticks, baskets and umbrella

handles.
Building huts and basketwork besides
papermaking.
Baskets, umbrella handles and walking sticks.

The major products and uses of bamboo in India are mentioned below:

Pulp and Paper: In Asia, India leads in the utilization of bamboo for paper manufacture. About 2
million tons of raw bamboo, which constitute over 40 per cent of annual production, was used for
pulp. Dendrocalamus strictus is the main species, which is used for paper pulp in India and it,
produces pulp of acceptable quality.

House Construction: Bamboo has been used for house construction, especially in earthquake
prone areas. It is employed in different ways as a building material for roof structure in form of
purlins, rafters, reapers, as reinforcement in foundations, flooring, doors/windows, walling,
ceiling, water storage tanks, man-hole covers and even for roads in slushy areas (Punhani and
Pruthi,1991).
Roofing: Bamboo trusses form a good substitute for supporting roof loads and
transmitting them to the foundations through columns. Bamboo trusses are fabricated
using culms having an outer diameter of 50-80 mm. Selected culms are placed in position
and joining ends/faces are cut in such a way that the gap between any two members is
minimum. The web and chord connections are fabricated with different devices.
Bamboo reinforced mud wall: Mud wall gives protection against heat and cold. Now-adays mud walls are constructed by reinforcing, with quartered split bamboo culms
properly treated with hot bitumen. Properly kneaded mud mixed with rice husk, cinder and
a little lime and water are fused layer by layer keeping the bamboo grid in the center
which is later plastered and smoothened then white washed.
Light bamboo wall: Common walls of rural housing in the form of bamboo boards are
prepared by using flattened bamboo culms, which are then battened and nailed to form the
wall. Mats made with skins from the outside of the bamboo are used for the exterior wall
after applying a coat of coal tar on the outer surface for protection.
Flooring: Rural houses on raised platforms use bamboo for flooring while bamboo culms
used as floor joints and beams act as framework. Over this framework, covering sheathing
of split bamboo, bamboo boards/mats, small full culms or flattened bamboo strips are
suitably fastened.

 Doors and windows: Shutters made of bamboo mats, fixed on wooden or bamboo frame is
common in rural housing. Small openings framed with bamboo or wood is provided in the
walls to serve as windows.
Scaffolding: The platforms made of timber planks can be replaced with bamboo culms.
Bamboo poles lashed together have also been successfully used as scaffolding in high rise
buildings.

Bamboo Mat Boards (BMB) and Bamboo Mat Veneer Composites (BMVC): Indian Plywood
Industries Research and Training Institute, Bangalore, has developed a technology for
manufacturing BMB and BMVC utilising bamboo mats produced manually by traditionally skilled
artisans. About 85,000 cum of BMB were manufactured during 1998 from 8 factories with an
installed capacity of 133,000 cum/annum. It is estimated that if 100,000 cum of timber is replaced
with BMB or BMVC, 4,000 ha of forests would be saved while an employment of 10 million
person-days is likely to be generated (Bansal 1999). This technology has been expanded further to
produce Bamboo Mat Corrugated Sheets as a substitute for Asbestos corrugated sheets, which are
considered to be health hazard and environment unfriendly.

Handicrafts: A large number of cottage industries like manufacturer of tablemats, bamboo wares,
trays are dependent on bamboo as raw material. Many articles of common domestic use like mats,
baskets, toys, nets, wall plates, wall hangers, trays etc. are made from bamboo. Various bamboo
species utilised for these items are given in Table 4. Bamboo articles with different sizes and
shapes are made with bamboo strips for decorative arrangement of flowers and fruits. Flute, a
common musical instrument in India is made out of bamboo. Dried and mature bamboo leaves are
used for deodorizing fish oils. Sinarundinaria falcata and Schizostachyum pergracile are used for
making fishing rods.

Bamboo Markets
There is a high demand of bamboo in different markets. It is normally marketed either as commercial
bamboo or as industrial bamboo. The former is produced from live culms that are more than 2.5 m in
length. The bamboo pieces that are less than 2.5 m. in length are classified as industrial bamboo. Bamboo
of 2 m and 1 m length, known as bahi and sarava, respectively, are sold in the northern states. However, in
most states, bamboo with lengths varying from 3 m to 9 m finds use in construction of houses.
India has been exporting bamboos on a large scale. The export of bamboo as raw material is generally not
permitted but value added products are allowed to be exported as well as imported.
Table 5: Market channels of bamboo and constraint

NAME OF THE

MARKET CHANNELS

MODE OF

CONSTRAINTS

STATE

MARKETING

EXPERIENCED IN
MARKETING

Himachal Pradesh

Depots of HPSFC

Open auction

Lack of proper competition,

buyers is mostly people
from same place. Bamboo
reaches market after Diwali
when prices are low.

Karnataka

State Forest Department

Sold from Forest Depots.

Transport and decay during

storage.

Kerala

Kerala State Forest Department

Sold from Forest Depots.

Fluctuation in rates of raw

material.

Madhya Pradesh

Paper Mill, Industries, SC/ST

Agreement with the Forest

Corporation.

Department and direct

Open market (commercial

bamboo)
Maharashtra

Pondicherry (UT)

purchase from the private

growers.

Bamboo sale is periodically

Traders purchase bamboo

The timber associations

done in open auctions held at

from the auctions and sale

modulate the prices of

various Govt. Depots.

them in open market.

bamboo.

Private merchant, cooperative

Wholesale and Retail.

Storage of bamboo,

society.

transportation, seasonal
changes in rates of raw
material.

Tamil Nadu

Retail outlets.

Domestic and industries.

Fluctuation and variations

in price from season to

Wholesale dealers through

season and place to place.

cooperative society, sericulture

department

Lack of transport facilities

and shortage of raw
material.

West Bengal

Building construction
Companies
Household use
Paper pulp Companies

Contract and bargaining.

Contract and bargaining.

Small and diffused markets.

Due to poverty of the
grower, the latter suffers

Local purchase.

most.

Local purchase and

Communication gap

bargaining. (Producer to

between the producer and

Handicrafts
Companies/individuals

middle men to retailer to

seller.

purchaser).

Bamboo is a raw material not only for big industries, like paper and pulp but also for cottage and smallscale industries. A large number of people from poorer sections of the society depend on bamboo for their
daily livelihood. In Madhya Pradesh alone nearly 40,000 bansods depend entirely for their livelihood on
bamboo. In Karnataka Medars a community depending on bamboo for livelihood have an association and
demand proper supply of raw materials.

Policy
Bamboo in India has been called "Poor mans Timber". Therefore, in all parts of the country, the local
communities are generally given certain rights or privilege of access to these resources, either free or at
concessional rates, to meet their bonafide needs. These customary and traditional rights and their regulation
in some of the states, as compiled by Singhal and Gangopadhyay (1999), are given below:
Madhya Pradesh: The villagers are supplied up to 250 pieces of bamboo per family per year at a
subsidised rate of Rs.0.25 per bamboo from the nistar depots. These depots are located in the middle
of cluster of villages. Bansods, the artisan community earning their livelihood through manufacture
of bamboo articles, get up to 1,500 pieces of bamboo per family per year at concessional rates of
Rs.0.60 per piece for the first 500 pieces and Rs.0.75 per piece for subsequent pieces.
Maharashtra: Bamboo is supplied at concessional rates to the agriculturist and basket and mat
makers, either from the forest coupe under working or from the departmental depots after extraction.
Orissa: Depending on availability, each rural family is supplied 250 bamboos and each bansod
family 1,500 bamboos per year. The allotment is done by the state forest department on a certificate
from the Head Man of the village. At the time of flood or cyclones, 50 bamboos are provided to
each affected family.

 West Bengal: Forest Protection Committees, established under the Joint Forest Management, which
help the forest department in protection and rejuvenation of the forests are given 25% of the net
sales proceeds of the usufructs.
Himachal Pradesh: The local population has the right to meet their bonafide requirements from the
bamboo bearing forest compartment. For those residents whose requirements can not be met from
these compartments conveniently, bamboo supply is made from forests other than the closed ones.
Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka: People in and around forest enjoy the privilege of free use of
bamboo for fencing, agricultural requirements, hutment and other bonafide uses.
Uttar Pradesh: Bamboo is made available to the villagers for their domestic and agricultural
demands provided they have been enjoying this privilege for long and their livelihood depends on it.
The supply is made at reasonable rates, but not less than the schedule rates fixed by the forest
department.
Tripura: As per rules framed in 1952, the population engaged in shifting cultivation (about 20,000)
was entitled to bamboo collection free of cost for construction of their huts and other uses. In
addition, bonafide householders and cultivators from the villages adjoining reserved forests were
also entitled to free permit to the extent of 250 pieces of bamboo per family per year. Royalty for
making bamboo baskets, mats, etc. has been discontinued since 1990 as a concession to the bamboo
craftsmen.

In fact the current National Forest Policy has clearly laid down that meeting the needs of the local
communities will get priority over the commercial use of such species. This is facilitating active
community participation in the upkeep of local forests. With short term maturity and higher economic
returns from bamboo and rattan, these can act as focal points in reviving community participation in forest
protection and management.

Legislation
Bamboo and rattan are categorized under Non Timber Forest Produce in India. However, under Indian
Forest Act (1927) and for enforcement of its provisions they are legally clubbed with trees as per Section 2

of the Indian Forest Act. Accordingly all movement of above products for trade is regulated under transit
rules framed under the Act. Many species are now being grown outside the forest area in agro forestry
systems. In order to promote agro forestry and trade, many states are liberalizing transit restrictions on
these produce. Unfinished bamboo species figure in the negative list of exports from the country.

References & Further Reading

(i)

Adarsh Kumar (1989). Some experiences in Vegetative Propagation of Bamboos. Seminar on

Vegetative propagation, July 27-28, 1989, Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding,
Coimbatore.

(ii)

Anonymous (1997). Compendium of Environment Statistics 1997. Central Statistical

Organisation. Planning Commission (Govt. of India).

(iii)

Balaji, S. (1991). Agro-forestry for Prosperity. Forest News Tamil Nadu Forest Department
(1) (3) : 9-11.

(iv)

Banik, R.L. (1986). Macro-propagation of Bamboos by Pre-rooted and Pre-rhizomed Branch

Cutting. Bano Bigyan Patrika 13(1/2): 67-73.

(v)

Champion H.G. and Seth, S.K. (1968). Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India 1-402,
Manager, Publications, Delhi.

(vi)

Dabral, S.N. (1950). A Preliminary Note on Propagation of Bamboos from Culm segments.
Indian For. 76(7): 313-14.

(vii)

FSI. (1997). State of Forest Report 1997. Forest Survey of India (Ministry of Environment
and Forests), Dehra Dun.

(viii)

Gamble, J.S., (1922) A Manual of Indian Timbers, Sampson, Low, Martson & Co. Ltd.,
London

(ix)

ICFRE. (1998). Timber/Bamboo Trade Bulletin. March 1998, No. 14. Directorate of
Statistics, ICFRE, Dehra Dun. 31 pp.

(x)

Maikhuri, R.K., Rao, K.S., Palni, L.M.S. and Rai, R.K. (1998). Biosphere Reserve
Programme in India 1-7. In : R.K. Maikhuri, K.S. Rao and R.K. Rai (Eds.) : Biosphere
Reserve and Management in India, Himavikas Occassional Publication No. 12. G.B. Pant
Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, Almora.

(xi)

Moore, H.E. Jr. (1973). The Major Groups of Palms and their Distribution. Genetes Herb.
11(2) : 27-141.

(xii)

Naithani, H.B. (1993). Contributions to the Taxonomic Studies of Indian Bamboos. Ph.D.
Thesis, Vol. I. H.N.B. Garhwal University, Srinagar, Garhwal.

(xiii)

Negi, S.S. (1996). Bamboos and Canes 1-118. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehra Dun.

(xiv)

Negi, S.S. and Naithani, H.B. (1994). Hand Book of Indian Bamboos, 1-234. Oriental
Enterprises, Dehra Dun.

(xv)

Preetha, N., Yasoda, R. Sumanthi, R. and Gurumurti, K. 1991. Continuous Mass Propagation
of Bamboo. Bamboo Newsletter (xi), Bamboo Society of India, Bangalore.

(xvi)

Punhani, R.K.and Pruthi, K.S. (1991). Substitution of Wood in Building some alternative
Forest based Materials and their Technology. National Symposium on Substitution of Wood
Building (SWOB) Roorkee.

(xvii)

Rai, S.N. and Chauhan, K.V.S. (1998). Distribution and Growing Stock of Bamboos in India.
Indian For. 124(2):89-98.

(xviii)

Seshadri, P. (1985). Intercropping of Bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus Nees) with Soybean

(Glycine max L.) Herill An Agroforestry Study. Ph.D. Thesis. Tamil Nadu Agricultural
University, Coimbatore.

(xix)

Shanmughavel, P.; Francis, K. and George, M. (1997). Plantation Bamboo. pp 1-199.

International Book Distributors, Dehra Dun.

(xx)

Singhal, R.M. and Gangopadhyay, P.B. (1999). Bamboo and Its Database in India. ICFRE
Publications (in press).

(xxi)

Subramaniam, K.N. (1998). Bamboo Genetic Resources in India. In : K. Vivekanandan, A.N.

Rao and V. Ramanatha Rao (Eds.) : Bamboo and Rattan Genetic Resources in Asian
Countries, IPGRI-APO, Serdang, Malaysia.

(xxii)

Tewari, D.N. (1992). A Monograph on bamboo. pp 1-498. International Book Distributors,

Dehra Dun.

(xxiii)

Varmah, J.C. and Bahadur, K.N. (1980). Country Report and Status of Research on Bamboos
in India. Indian For. Rec. (Botany), 6(1) : 1-28.

(xxiv)

Wagh, R. and Rajput, J.C. (1991). Comparative Performance of Bamboo with the
Horticultural Crops in Konkan. In : Bamboo in Asia and Pacific. Proc. IVth Intl. Bamboo
Workshop, 27-30 Nov. 1991. Chiangmai, Thailand, FORSPA Publication-6. Canada. IDRC
and FORSPA, Bangkok, Thailand, 1994 : 85-86.