Hemp and Jute

Kelly Lightle

What are they?

Hemp and jute are both plants that are

used in textiles, and both have multiple
other uses.
HOWEVER: There are also significant
differences between hemp and jute.
For example, hemp is illegal to grow in
all of the states in America, despite its
many uses.
WHY??

Hemp DOES NOT EQUAL

Marijuana

=/
=
Hemp

Marijuana

Botanical Description of
Hemp

Hemp (Cannabis sativa) belongs to the family Urticaceae, tribe

Cannabinaceae.
It is a stout, erect annual that grows to a height of 5 to 15 feet. It
is dioecious
The male plants, which comprise one-half the Hemp is of
considerable historical interest because it first revealed sex in
plants to Camerarius in 1694.
The main stem of hemp is hollow and produces a few branches
near the top.
The bast fibers are not so fine as those of flax, even when the
plants are grown close together.
The staminate inflorescences are in axillary, narrow, loose
panicles. The pistillate flowers are in erect leafy spikes. The hemp
ovary matures into a hard ovoid achene. The seeds mature on the
lower part of the spikes first and on the upper part last

Important Facts Cont.

Henry Ford experimented with hemp for

car bodies and fuel
Rudolph Diesel (of the diesel engines)
designed the engines to run on hemp oil
BMW is experimenting with using hemp in
their car products to make cars more
recyclable
The number of products that can be made
with from hemp number over 25,000.

Important Facts to Know

Hemp has been in use for at least 20,000

years
The Declaration of Independence is written
on hemp
Hemp was a required crop in the colonial
days
Hemp was used for sails, and is still
considered the best product for this.
The term canvas comes from cannabis,
referring to hemp, not marijuana.

Quick Hemp Uses

Food
Body Care
Paper
Fuel
Paint and Plastic
Textiles
Concrete
Replacing wood
Soil Rejuvenator/ Rotation Crop

Legal Facts

US Drug Enforcement Agency classifies all C.

sativa varieties as "marijuana."
The US State Department must certify each
year that a foreign nation is cooperating in the
war on drugs.
Over 30 industrialized democracies do
distinguish hemp from marijuana. International
treaties regarding marijuana make an
exception for industrial hemp.
Canada now again allows the growing of hemp.

Ecology

Hemp growers can not hide marijuana

plants in their fields.
Hemp can be made into fine quality
paper.
Hemp grows well in a variety of
climates and soil types
It is naturally resistant to most pests,
precluding the need for pesticides

Ecology Continued

It grows tightly spaced, out-competing

any weeds, so herbicides are not
necessary.
It leaves a weed-free field for a following
crop.
Hemp can displace cotton which is
usually grown with massive amounts of
chemicals harmful to people and the
environment. 50% of all the world's
pesticides are sprayed on cotton.

Economic Importance

Hemp is grown chiefly for the bast fiber

in the stalks that is used for making
rope and twine.
The average acre yields in the United
States have been about 900 pounds of
fiber or 400 pounds of seed.
Most of the fiber was produced in
Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin,
Indiana, and Kentucky

Adaption-What Does Hemp

Need?

Hemp is adapted to sections that produce a good crop

of corn.
It requires a frost-free season of about four months for
fiber production, or five months for seed production.
It will withstand light frosts.
For good uniform growth of hemp, the rainfall or soil
moisture should be ample throughout the season.
Well-drained, deep, fertile, medium-heavy loams have
produced the best hemp. Barnyard manure,
commercial fertilizers, or lime should be applied to soils
where other crops respond to these supplements.

How To Grow Hemp Video

http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wspw
-SdyGDE

Jute Quick Facts

Known as the Golden fiber, Jute is a

natural fiber comprised with silky and
golden shine.
Recyclable, 100% bio degradable and
eco friendly
Versatile natural fiber widely used as a
raw material in many textile, non
textile, packaging, construction and
agricultural applications

Jute History

Ancient Period: During the era of great

Mughal emperor Akbar, poor villagers of
India were used to wear jute clothes.
17th Century: British empire authority was
delegated by the British East India
company which was the first jute trader.
From 1855: The first power driven
weaving factory was established at
Rishra, on the River Hooghly near
Calcutta in year 1855

Jute History Cont.

19th Century to 1947: Through out the

year 1939, around 68,377 looms were
established on the River Hooghly near
Calcutta. The prime commodities woven
by jute are coarse bagging materials,
produced by finer fabrics also known as
hessian or burlap.
After 1947: After getting Independence,
most of the Jute barons had started to quit
India, leaving the set up of jute mills.

Fun Facts Of Jute

For centuries, Jute has been an integral

part of Bengali culture, which is shared by
Both Bangladesh and West Bengal of
India.
Magaret Donnelly I, was a jute mill
landowner in Dundee in the 1800's. She
set up the first jute mills in India.
During 1941, Henry Ford tested the
strength of a car trunk made from
soybean fibre.

What is Jute?

a long, soft, shiny vegetable fibre that can

be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is
produced from plants in the genus
Corchorus, family Malvaceae.
Jute is one of the cheapest natural fibers,
and is second only to cotton in amount
produced and variety of uses.
The suitable climate for growing jute (warm
and wet climate) is offered by the monsoon
climate during the monsoon season.

Cultivation

To grow jute, farmers scatter the seeds on

cultivated soil.
When the plants are about 15-20 cm tall,
they are thinned out.
About four months after planting,
harvesting begins.
The plants are usually harvested after
they flower, but before the flowers go to
seed.
The stalks are cut off close to the ground.

Works Cited

Ganges Delta: Best Place in the world for

Best Quality (Raw) Jute Fiber by GFTCL
Bangladesh
http://
www.naihc.org/hemp_information/hemp_fac
ts.html
http://www.hemp.com/
The Great Book of Hemp: The Complete
Guide to the Environmental, Commercial,
and Medicinal Uses of the World's Most
Extraordinary Plant by Rowan Robinson

Work Cited

The Jute Industry: From Seed to

Finished Cloth- T. Woodhouse and P.
Kilgour by P. Kilgour and T. Woodhouse
Indian Jute Industry Problems and
Prospects by Hari Dev Goyal
The British jute industry by British Jute
Trade Federal Council