This document provides information about the flax plant and production of flax fiber. It discusses that flax is one of the oldest fiber crops, originally cultivated in China and Egypt. The flax plant has blue or red flowers, and produces glossy brown seeds. Flax fiber is extracted from the stem bast and is soft, lustrous, and flexible. It is stronger than cotton. Major flax producing countries include Canada, China, and India. Flax fiber is used to make linen fabrics and high quality paper. It is also a raw material for twine, rope and nutritional supplements.

2. GROUP 2:
MUHAMMAD AWAIS (2016-AG-7405)
ZUBAIR ABDULLAH (2016-AG-7404)
HAMZA NISAR (2016-AG-7406)

3. DEGREE :
B.Sc TEXTILE TECHNOLOGY
SUBJECT :
PBG-317
COURSE:
(INTRODUCTION TO BAST FIBER CROPS )
TEACHER :
HAFIZA MASOOMA NASEER

4. • Linum usitatissium L.
• Common flax/ linseed
• Family = Linaceae
• Genus = Linum
• Specie = L. usitatissimum

5. FLAX WORD
“Unspun fiber of flax plant”
• It is a food and fiber crop, grown in cooler
regions of the world.
• Native to the region extending from the
eastern Middle east, through Western
Asia and the Middle East, to India.

6. • STEM
• Upright and 1.2 m tall, slender
stem.
• LEAF:
• Glacuous green, 20-40 mm long,
3 mm broad.
• Lanceolate.

7. FLOWER :
• Pure blue – bright red, 5 sepals
FRUIT :
• Round dry capsule, 5-9 mm dia.
• Glossy brown seeds like apple pip.
• 4-7 mm long.

10. HISTORY

11. • Flax is the oldest fiber crops in the
world
• Some spun dyed, wild flax found in
Georgia, is dated 30,000 years ago.

12. • Flax extensively cultivated
in China &Egypt
• Pictures on tombs and temple
walls.

13. FLAX FIBER

14. • Extracted from the bast or skin of the stem of
the flax plant.
 Flax fiber is
– Soft
– Lustrous
– Flexible
• Bundles of fiber have the appearance of
blonde hair, hence the description "flaxen".
• It is stronger than cotton fiber but less elastic.

15. • The best grades are used for linen
Fabrics
• Coarser grades
are used for the manufacturing of:
– Twine and rope
• Flax fiber is also a raw material for
– high-quality paper industry
– printed banknotes
– rolling paper for cigarettes and tea bags.

16. USES:

17. • Edible oil (lindseed/flex oil)
• A nutritional supplement
• An ingredient in many wood
finishing products.
• Ornamental plant
• Linen making
• Fiber taken from stem, 2-3 times
stronger than cotton.

18. • Naturally smooth and straight
• F l a x seeds come in
t w o b a s i c v a r i e t i e s

20. PRODUCTION

21. WORLD PRODUCTION :
• 1,602,047 metric tonnes

22. SOIL :
• Besides the alluvial kind:
–Deep loams, and containing a
large proportion of organic
matter.

23. FERTILIZERS OR PESTS :
• Farming flax requires few Fertilizers or
pesticides.
• Within 8 weeks of sowing, the plant
will reach 10–15 cm in height, and
growth conditions, reaching 70–80 cm
within 15 days.

24. HARVESTING :
• Harvested for fiber production after
approximately 100 days
OR
• Month after the plant flowers
• Two weeks after the seed capsules form.

25. • The base of the plant will
begin to turn yellow. If the
plant is still green the seed will
not be useful, and the fiber
will be underdeveloped. The
fiber degrades once the plant
is brown.

26. HARVESTING METHODS :
• One involving mechanized instrument
• Second method, more manual and
tageted towards maximizing the fiber
length.

27. • Before the flax fibers can be spun into
linen, they must be separated from the
rest of the stalk.
• The first step in this process is called
retting.

28. “Removing the straw from the fibers”
• Dressing consists of three steps:
1. Breaking
2. Scutching
3. Heckling
DRESSING THE FLAX

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