Studies on Betterutilization of Jute (Corchorus olitorius) Plants Harvested for Seeds in South India-Development of a Novelmethod and Machine: Part-I

Abstract

Background: No study has been conducted on how to utilize or minimize the agro-waste produced from the jute seed crop of dryland farming in the areas of Bapatla, Palnadu, and Guntur districts of Andhra Pradesh state until now. This agro-waste is essentially a wasted natural fibre resource. This fibrous plant's processing waste is huge in terms of quantity. It is a mix of broken hurd, cut pieces of fibre, and crushed seedpods of a post-vegetative jute plant. It will be a great advantage to the farmer community if fibre is managed to be separated prior to seed extraction. This is only possible if the fibre source (the main stem) and the seed source (the branches) are separated. Based on this, the current study aimed to: (i) extract and test fibre for quality; and (ii) develop a novel method and an ergonomic machine to facilitate feasible fibre extraction without damaging seedpods. Methods: In the present study, fibre has been extracted in small qualities from post-vegetative phase jute plants and tested according to Bureau of Indian standards (IS 7032 (1986) and IS 271 (2003)) to assess the fibre quality. Engineering design approach has been followed to develop the novel machine for the separation of the source of the fibre and source of seeds. Results: Results showed that usable fibres for the textile industry could be extracted from post-vegetative jute plants, and that the separation of the sources of fibre and seed could be facilitated with the use of developed machinery and methodology.