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Plant Fibres: Fibres are broadly categorised into two types – natural fibres and synthetic fibres. Fibres that are obtained from natural sources like plants and animals are known as natural fibres, whereas synthetic fibres are those obtained from chemical substances. Natural fibres can further be classified into plant fibres and animal fibres.
In this article, we will discuss in detail the plant fibres and their types. We will also learn about the sources from of different plan fibres.
Fibre is a material that is made up of thin and continuous threads. Plant fibres are mostly made up of cellulose, in addition to other components like lignin. It is also important to note that they have a well-organised structure. Some common plant fibres are cotton, jute, hemp, flax, etc.
Nature is large and resourceful, and humans have taken utmost use of that fact. There are a variety of fibres that can be extracted from plants in addition to those mentioned above. The following is a list of some of them.
Cotton is a soft plant fibre that is commonly used. It has a wide range of applications and is grown in several parts of India. India is one of the world’s largest cotton producers. Cotton plants thrive in hot climates with black soil. The plant is bushy and grows to be around 1-2 metres long. Western India (Gujarat and Maharashtra) and southern India have these conditions (Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh) that support the growth of cotton. Karnataka, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Haryana are among the states that also grow cotton.
Jute is a soft, long, and lustrous plant fibre made by retting the bark of the jute plant. It thrives in hot, humid climates with an abundance of rain. During the rainy season, for example, in West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, and Assam. It’s normally harvested while it’s in full bloom. Following that, the jute stalks are knotted into bundles and submerged in water for a few days. This causes the soft parts to decay, allowing the fibres to be readily removed. Retting is the term for this procedure. Fibres from these plants can be spun into yarn.
Besides cotton and jute, there are other plant fibres that are useful. Those plant fibres include, but are not limited to, the following:
The fibres that are obtained from the plants cannot be used directly. They need to go through a certain number of processes to make them ready to use.
Spinning is the process of turning fibres into yarns. The fibres are dragged out and twisted in this process. Cotton fibres were spun using basic hand-held equipment such as the takli or spindle, and the charkha in the past. Spinning machines, on the other hand, made this process much faster and wiser in today’s world. Weaving is a fabric-making method in which two sets of strands are woven together. Looms are the machines that are used to weave cloth. Looms can be operated by hand or with the help of electricity.
We hope this article on Plant Fibres helps you understand the concept better. For more such articles, keep visiting Embibe.
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