Kenaf [Etymology: Persian], Hibiscus cannabinus, is a plant in the Malvaceae family. Hibiscus cannabinus is in the genus Hibiscus and is probably native to southern Asia, though its exact natural origin is unknown. The name also applies to the fibre obtained from this plant. Kenaf is one of the allied fibres of jute and shows similar characteristics. Other names include Bimli, Ambary, Ambari Hemp, Deccan Hemp, and Bimlipatum Jute.It is labelled as Gongoora in Indian, Korean, American food and groceries chains in the United States. Gongoora is from Telugu. For Telugus it is a favourite food leaf. It is cooked with daal and eaten as saag. They even prepare a kind of pickle with the leaves that lasts for one or two years. It is said to be rich in Iron.
It is an annual or biennial herbaceous plant (rarely a short-lived perennial) growing to 1.5-3.5 m tall with a woody base. The stems are 1–2 cm diameter, often but not always branched. The leaves are 10–15 cm long, variable in shape, with leaves near the base of the stems being deeply lobed with 3-7 lobes, while leaves near the top of the stem are shallowly lobed or unlobed lanceolate. The flowers are 8–15 cm diameter, white, yellow, or purple; when white or yellow, the centre is still dark purple. The fruit is a capsule 2 cm diameter, containing several seeds.
Uses
Kenaf is cultivated for its fibre in
India,
Bangladesh,
United States of America,
Indonesia,
Malaysia,
South Africa,
Viet Nam,
Thailand, parts of
Africa, and to a small extent in southeast
Europe. The stems produce two types of fibre, a coarser fibre in the outer layer (
bast fibre), and a finer fibre in the core. It matures in 100 to 200 days. Kenaf was grown in
Egypt over 3000 years ago. The kenaf leaves were consumed in human and animal diets, the bast fibre was used for bags, cordage, and the sails for Egyptian boats. This crop was not introduced into southern Europe until the early 1900s. Today, principal farming areas are
China,
India, and it is also grown in many other countries such as the US, Mexico and Senegal.
The main uses of kenaf fibre have been rope, twine, coarse cloth (similar to that made from jute), and paper. In California, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi 3,200 acres (13 km²) of kenaf were grown in 1992, most of which was used for animal bedding and feed.
Uses of kenaf fibre include engineered wood, insulation, clothing-grade cloth, soil-less potting mixes, animal bedding, packing material, and material that absorbs oil and liquids. It is also useful as cut bast fibre for blending with resins for plastic composites, as a drilling fluid loss preventative for oil drilling muds, for a seeded hydromulch for erosion control. Kenaf can be made into various types of environmental mats, such as seeded grass mats for instant lawns and moldable mats for manufactured parts and containers. Panasonic has set up a plant in Malaysia to manufacture kenaf fibre boards and export them to Japan.
Kenaf seed oil
Kenaf seeds yield a
vegetable oil that is edible with no toxins. The kenaf seed oil is also used for cosmetics, industrial lubricants and for biofuel production. Kenaf oil is high in omega polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) which are now known to help in keeping humans healthy. Kenaf seed oil contains a high percentage of
linoleic acid (Omega-6) a polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA). Linoleic acid (C18:2) is the dominant PUFA, followed by
oleic acid (C18:1).
Alpha-linolenic acid (C18:3) is present in 2 to 4 percent. The PUFAs are essential fatty acids for normal growth and health. Furthermore, they are important for reducing cholesterol and heart diseases.
Kenaf Seed oil is 20.4% of the total seed weight which is similar to cotton seed.
Kenaf Edible Seed Oil Contains:
Palmitic acid: 19.1%
Oleic acid: 28.0% (Omega-9)
Linoleic acid: 45% (Omega-6)
Stearic acid: 3.0%
Alpha-linolenic acid: 3% (Omega-3)
Kenaf paper
The use of Kenaf in paper production offers various environmental advantages over producing paper from trees. In 1960, the
USDA surveyed more than 500 plants and selected kenaf as the most promising source of "tree-free" newsprint. In 1970, kenaf newsprint produced in International Paper Company's mill in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, was successfully used by six U.S. newspapers. Printing and writing paper made from the fibrous kenaf plant has been offered in the United States since 1992. Again in 1987, a Canadian mill produced 13 rolls of kenaf newsprint which were used by four U.S. newspapers to print experimental issues. They found that kenaf newsprint made for stronger, brighter and cleaner pages than standard pine paper with less detriment to the environment. Due partly to kenaf fibres being naturally whiter than tree pulp, less bleaching is required to create a brighter sheet of paper. Hydrogen peroxide, an environmentally-safe bleaching agent that does not create
dioxin, has been used with much success in the bleaching of kenaf.
Various reports suggest that the energy requirements for producing pulp from kenaf are about 20 percent less than those for wood pulp, mostly due to the lower lignin content of kenaf. Many of the facilities that now process Southern pine for paper use can be converted to accommodate kenaf.
An area of of kenaf produces 5 to 8 tons of raw plant bast and core fibre in a single growing season. In contrast, of forest (in the US) produces approximately 1.5 to 3.5 tons of usable fibre per year. It is estimated that growing kenaf on 5,000 acres (20 km²) can produce enough pulp to supply a paper plant having a capacity of 200 tons per day. Over 20 years, of farmland can produce 10 to 20 times the amount of fiber that of Southern pine can produce.
As one of the world's important natural fibres, kenaf is covered by the International Year of Natural Fibres 2009.
Common names
Europe:
* English: kenaf (Persian origin), Deccan hemp, Java jute...
* French: chanvre de Bombay, chanvre du Deccan, chanvre de Guinée, chanvre de Gambo, chanvre de roselle, jute de Java, jute de Siam, kénaf, ketmie à feuilles de chanvre (Belgium), roselle
* German: Ambari, Dekkanhanf, Gambohanf, Hanfeibisch, Javajute, Kenaf, Rosellahanf, Roselle, Siamjute
* Portuguese: cânhamo rosella, juta de Java, juta do Sião
* Spanish: cáñamo de la India, cáñamo de gambo, cáñamo Rosella, pavona encendida, yute de Java, yute de Siam
Americas:
* Brazilian Portuguese: Papoula de São Francisco, Cânhamo-brasileiro
Africa:
* Afrikaans: stokroos
* Egypt & Northern Africa: til, teel, or teal
West Africa: dah, gambo, and rama
Asia
Lao: ປໍແກ້ວ
India (Bengal): mesta
India (Madras): pulicha keeraipalungi
India (Telugu): GonguraPunti Kura
Taiwan: ambari
According to Miyake and Suzuta (1937), there are more than 129 names for kenaf worldwide
Pesticide and fertilizer use in kenaf crops
Kenaf is considered a hardy plant that requires a minimum of
fertilizers,
pesticides and water in comparison to conventional row crops.
Notes
References and external links
Greenfiber Net, A B2B platform to promote the use of natural fibres like kenaf and jute.
American Kenaf Society (AKS), Founded in 1997 with individuals and organizations working directly or indirectly with kenaf and kenaf-based products, plus those with environmental concerns.
CCG International (CCG), Leading International efforts to promote the use of kenaf and allied natural plant fibres.
International Jute Study Group, An UN collaboration for learning various aspects of jute and kenaf. Its headquarter is located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It targets business societies in India, Bangladesh, and Thailand.
About the Kenaf Plant, Vision Paper - Gives detailed description of kenaf plant and provides many links to kenaf industry. Pioneers in the kenaf paper industry.Produced first ever chlorine free 100% tree-free kenaf paper in 1992.
Information about Kenaf in German language, Provides information on Market Place, News, and Links about Kenaf in German language.
Nachwachsende-Rohstoffe, A German site for Kenaf and other agricultural commodities related articles (Also available in English).
Alternative Field Crops Manual
Kenaf: Taking Root? 1995 article by Brooke Wurst
Mabberley, D.J. 1987. The Plant Book. A portable dictionary of the higher plants. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 706 pp. ISBN 0-521-34060-8.
Category:Hibiscus
Category:Fiber plants
Category:Plants described in 1759
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