Jute is an important natural fibre crop in India next to cotton in term of cultivation and usage. Jute is a natural fibre popularly known as the golden fibre. It is one of the cheapest and the strongest of all natural fibres and considered as fibre of the future. Jute is second only to cotton in world.

1. Himalayan College Puhana Roorkee
B.Sc agriculture 3rd Sem Sec-A
Sub- Field crop-Kharif
Submitted by- Tabish Anwar

2.  About Jute
 Description
 Origin & History
 Geographical distribution
 Climatic & Soil requirements
 Land preparation & Sowing & Spacing
 Nutrient management
 Water management
 Weed management
 Pest & Disease management
 Harvesting and Retting
 Impotance of Jute fibres in textile

3. Jute is an important natural fibre crop in India next to cotton in term of cultivation and usage. Jute
is a natural fibre popularly known as the golden fibre. It is one of the cheapest and the strongest
of all natural fibres and considered as fibre of the future. Jute is second only to cotton in world’s
production of textile fibres.
Jute is most affordable fabric : These days, you will notice that jute has become more and more
valuable. Jute, as a natural fibre, has many inherent advantages like lusture, high tensile
strength, low extensibility, moderate heat and fire resistance and long staple vegetable fibre that
can be spun into strong, coarse thread, and one of the natural most affordable fibre and also
second to cotton in variety of uses.It is used in making home textiles, floor coverings, cardigans,
soft sweaters and espadrilles. Plus, uses also include for creating composites, geotextiles, high-
performing technical textiles and home textiles. These performingre all in different colors. If you
are thinking of getting jute dyed, it is as easy as dyeing cotton as it is a natural fibre. Its fibres
range from the off-white colour to brown colour.It is a biodegradable and eco-friendly. It has many
advantages over synthetics and protects the environment and maintains the ecological balance.
Jute has a low carbon footprint, it is biodegradable, feeds the oill and all parts of the plant can be
used.

4. Scientific name:- Corchorus olitorius
Corchorus capsularis
Family:- Malvaceae
Genus:- Corchorus
Kingdom:- Plantae
Order:- Malvales
Species:- C. olitorius / C. capsularis
Common/Local names:- Jute/Mesta
(Hindi), Senabu (Kannada), Joot (Marathi)
Chanapai(Tamil), Janapanara
(Telugu),Shada Pat (Bengali).
The plants are tall, usually annua herbs ,
reaching a height of 2–4 m, unbranched
or with only a few side branches. The
leaves are alternate, simple, lanceolate,
5–15 cm long, with an acuminate tip and
a finely serrated or lobed margin. The
flowers are small (2–3 cm diameter) and
yellow, with five petals; the fruit is a
many-seeded capsule.
Commercial or hybrid varities of Jute:
 Olitorius:- JRO 878, JRO 524 & JRO
7835
 Capsularis:- JRC 7447, JRC 212,
JRC 321

5. What is jute made of?
Jute is obtained from the plants Corchorus olitorius and Corchorus capsularis. These plants are
native to the Indian subcontinent and are grown throughout the year. The jute fibres are mainly
concentrated near the woody, central parts of the stalk. They are composed of cellulose and
lignin. There are two kinds of jute that are produced today: White jute and brown jute, which is
stronger, softer, and silkier.
What is jute’s history?
Jute was used for making textiles in the Indus valley civilization since the 3rd millennium BC. In classical
antiquity, pliny recorded that jute plants were used as food in Ancient Egypt. It may have also been cultivated
by the Jews in the Near East, which gives the plant its name. For centuries, jute has been an integral part of
the culture o East Bengal and some parts of West Bengal, precisely in the southwest of Bangladesh. Since
the seventeenth century the British started trading in jute. During the reign of the British Empire, jute was also
used in the military. British jute barons grew rich by processing jute and selling manufactured products made
from it. Dundee Jute Barons and the British East India Company set up many jute mills in Bengal, and by
1895 jute industries in Bengal overtook the Scottis Jute trade. Company Scots emigrated to Bengal to set up
jute factories. More than a billion jute sandbags were exported from Bengal to the trenches of World war1 and
to the United States south to bag cotton. It was used in the fishing, construction, art and the arms industries.
Initially, due to its texture, it could only be processed by hand until someone in Dundee discovered that
treating it with whale oil made it machine processable Thee industry boomed throughout the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries ("jute weaver" was a recognised trade occupation in the 1900 UK census), but this trade
had largely ceased by about 1970 due to the emergence of synthetic fibers. In the 21st century, jute again
has become an important export crop around the world, mainly in Bangladesh.

6. India is the largest jute producing country in the world, with annual production
estimated at more 1.968 million tonnes follow by Bangladesh is the second
largest producer of jute in the world, with annual production estimated at 1.349
million tonnes.
In India, West Bengal is the undisputed king of jute production in India
accounting for over four-fifths of the production and nearly three-fourths of the
area under jute. Here hot and humid climate and alluvial, loamy soil coupled
with cheap abundant labour provide the par excellence conditions for the growth
of jute. Bihar is the second largest producer but lagging far behind West Bengal
in the production of jute accounting only for about 9.72 per cent of the
production and over 17 per cent of the area of the country under jute. Purnea is
the largest producing district accounting for 60 per cent of Bihar s production.
Katihar, Saharsa and Darbhanga are the other producing districts. With about
6.68 per cent of the production and 7.88 per cent of the area of the country,
Assam is the third largest jute producing state of India. The main concentration
is in the Brahmaputra and Surma valleys. Goalpara, Kamrup, Nowgong, Darrang
and Sibsagar are the main producing districts.
Trade:- India’s production of jute always falls short of her requirements and it is imported
to feed our jute mills. Bangladesh is the chief supplier of jute to India. There are year to year

7. Jute requires a warm and humid climate and can be grown within a temperature
range of 24 to 370C and a relative humidity of 57 to 97%. Jute crop thrives well
with alternate rains and sunshine. The amount of rainfall and its distribution have
marked effects on the growth of crop and ultimately yield of fibre. In the ideal
situation, 120-150 mm pre monsoon rain followed by a dry period of 30-40 days and
1200 to 1500 mm of precipitation over last 75-80 days is considered to be the most
ambient condition for growth of jute crop.Jute grows well on the new alluvial soils
having higher silt content but can also grow on various other types of soil. In India,
it is grown in mainly colluviums, red and lateritic, calcareous soils. Acidic to neutral
soils are suitable for jute cultivation. The response of jute to applied N, P and K
varies with soil type, fertilizer dose, time of application, location, crop combinations,
etc. which indicates that blanket fertilizer recommendation will affect the soil
fertility as well as the cost of production of fibre.
Session- Jute is generally sown in February on lowlands & in March-May on uplands.
The jute crop takes around 8 to 10 months to mature. However, different varieties take
different time to mature. The harvesting period generally starts in July which continues
till October.

8. Plain land or gentle slope or low land is ideal for jute cultivation. Jute seeds are
small in size, land should be prepared for fine tilth .
The crop can be sown with the first showers in March to April. Under rainfed
condition, sowing is often delayed up to late April or early May due to late onset of
monsoon. Seed should be treated with carbendazim @ 2 g/kg or Trichoderma @
10g/kg seed for control of seed borne diseases.
Two types of methods of seed sowing in jute cultivation, 1. Broadcasting method
2. Line sowing
Seed rate:-
Jute
type/varities
Seed rate
kg/hectare
Seed rate
kg/hectare
Spacing (cm) of
plants
Broadcasting Line sowing
Olitorius 7 5 25×5
Capsularis 10 7 30×5

9. Application of fertilizers should be done according to the fertility status of the soils.
Application of manure is not necessary for soils where silt is deposited normally but
application at the rate of 5-10 t/ha before sowing will not only maximize the yield
but also promote sustainable agriculture. Recommended fertilizer doses both for
olitorius and capsularis jute are given below.
C. Olitorius
 Low fertility:- N:P:K (80:40:40) kg/hectare
 Medium fertility:- N:P:K (60:30:30) kg/hectare
 High fertility:- N:P:K (40:20:20) kg/hectare
C. capsularis
 Low fertility:- N:P:K (80:40:40) kg/hectare
 Media to high fertility:- N:P:K (60:30:30) kg/hectare
Top dressing of fertiliser: Apply
10 kg of N at 20 - 25 days after first
weeding and then again on 35 - 40
days after second weeding as top
dressing. During periods of drought
and fertilizer shortage, spray 8 kg of
urea as 2 per cent urea solution (20 g
urea in one litre of water) on jute
foliage on 40 - 45 as well as 70 - 75
DAS.

10. Jute is predominantly grown as a rainfed crop. Low fibre yields of the rainfed crops are due to
erratic rainfall distribution in crop growing season coupled with improper agronomic management
practices. Over the last 25 years, climate has been changing appreciably. Rainfall deficit in the
jute growing areas of India have been found to the order of 40 – 50% from mid march to 1st week
of June.
Jute requires about 500 mm water for its growth and development. Fairly good crop of jute is
raised under rainfed condition particularly when the north western showers are timely and in
adequate amounts. Since rains are uncertain at the time of sowing the crop, irrigation becomes
very helpful for sowing and establishment of the crop. Yield is increased if irrigation is provided.
Irrigation treatment has recorded an increase of 20.8% fibre yield of jute over the no irrigation.
The irrigated crop is given pre-sowing irrigation and the first post sowing irrigation is applied at
about 15 days after sowing. Four irrigations including the pre-sowing irrigation were required for
jute to supply 26.78 cm of water. It was found that 1.98 cum or 1980 liters water is used to produce
1 kg jute fibre. Line sowing of jute seed @ 8-10 kg/ha in open furrows, developed by nine tyne
cultivator (ridge base 20-25 cm wide and furrow depth 8-10 cm) helps to collect rainwater in
furrows and assure germination under low rainfall.
Water logging reduces plant height by 14-32%, basal diameter by 11-29% and biomass yield by 31-
48% of both olitorius and capsularis jute. It generated poor quality, rooty fibre. Jute fields should
be connected with a safe outlet to remove excess water.

11. Weed infestation is a great obstacle for higher jute production. The magnitude of
yield loss due to weeds in jute ranged between 52-70% in C. casularis and 59-75% in
C. olitorious. Maximum weed infestation is found up to the 3rd to 6th week of crop
age. The critical period of crop-weed competition in jute was found to be between 15
and 60 days after sowing.
It was found that in jute 35% of total cost of cultivation is due to manual weeding
which is carried out after 20 days of sowing and at five to six weeks of crop age .
Pre-emergence application of butachlor (50% EC) @1.0 -2.0 kg a.i./ha within 24 to 48
hours of sowing following rain or irrigation is beneficial. Application of post
emergence herbicides like propequizafop (10%EC) @ 150 g a.i/ha or quizalofop ethyl
5% EC @ (60 g a.i/ha) at 21 DAE followed by one hand weeding recorded better
control of grassy weed.

12. Yellow-mite, stem weevil, semi-looper, hairy caterpillar are the major pests of jute. Resistant/
tolerant varieties (JRO 524, JRO 7835 and JRC 212 for yellow mite; NDC 8812 and NDC 9101 for
stem weevil and semilooper) may be preferred to avoid the immense lose due to insect pest.
Important cultural practices like optimal date of sowing, proper weed management, plucking of
infected leaves before spraying insecticides are to be followed for proper management of jute pests.
Spraying of insecticides should be recommended if the infestation crosses the economic threshold
level (ETL). Insecticides such as fenvalerate 0.02%, or cypermethrin 0.03% or carbaryl 0.1% are
quite effective in managing the semilooper. Cypermethrin 0.03% or carbofuran (1kg a.i. /ha) are
used to control the stem weevil. Application of dicofol (0.04%) or fenazaquin (0.02%) proved to be
effective in managing the yellow mite.
Stem rot is most important disease of jute caused by Macrophomina phaseolina. Anthracnose is of
regular occurrence especially in Capsularis belt. Minor diseases reported in jute fields are black
band, soft rot and Hoogly wilt. Jute mosaic, chlorosis and yellow vein are the viral diseases
reported to occur on jute.
doptionn of cultural practices like appropriate crop rotation, deep ploughing, clean cultivation, use
of healthy seeds, seed treatment, line sowing, optimum spacing, timely weeding, and application of
soil ameliorants (lime or gypsum 2-4 t/ha if the soil ph is above 5.8) can control occurrence of
diseases. Spraying of carbendazim @ 2g/l of water or copper oxychloride @ 4g/ l of water and
mancozeb @ 5g/l of water is recommended for disease management in jute.

13. Harvesting is done in July-August at any time before flowering between 120 and
150 days after sowing. The plants are cut at the base very close to the ground with
the sickle. Harvested plants are kept in the field in 2-3 days to desiccate the foliage
and the whole plants are preferably retted in slow moving clean water. Retting is
completed between 12 – 16 days depending upon the climatic condition and fibre is
extracted from the woody part of the stem.
The fibre recovery in jute varies from 6-7% of the green biomass. The quality of jute
fibre (strength, fineness and colour) depends upon proper retting which depend on
different factors like age of plant, fertilizer dose, quality of retting water etc.
Efficient retting microorganisms like Bacillus subtili, B. polymixa (aerobic
bacteria), Clostridium sp.(anerobic bacteria), Aspergillus niger, Macrophomina
phaseolina, Phoma sp. (fungi) have been identified.
Yield:
 Green plant weight yield is 45 to 50 tonnes per hectare
 Fibre yield is 2.0 to 2.5 tonnes per hectare.

14. Jute is not only a major textile fibre but also a raw material for non-traditional and value added non-
textile products. Jute is used extensively in the manufacture of different types of traditional packaging
fabrics, manufacturing Hessian, saking, carpet backing, mats, bags, tarpaulins, ropes and twines. Basic
Jute fabrics and their products produced in jute mills in India are of standard constructions classified as
the following.
Hessian cloth : Hessian cloth is a finer quality,
plain woven fabric of one yard, is used for a wide
range of applications and is exported all over the
world both in the form of cloth and bags. These bags
are used to store and pack varieties of goods and
commodities such as pulses grain, potato, onion,
sugar and tobacco, and available for packing goods
up to 60 kg. weight.

15. Sacking cloth- Sacking cloth also known as heavy goods,
made from lower grades of jute fibres. Sacking is heavy,
loosely woven cloth in plain or twill weave, weighting from
15-20 ozs per yard of different widths. Sacking cloth is
used for jute bags to pack food grains, sugar and Cement
etc. in a weight range from 50 to 100 kg.
Bags -Shopping Bags are made from hessian or sacking
cloths which are coated with polythene film having handles,
straps, chains in different shapes and dimensions. They
are bleached and decorated with different artistic designs.
Promotional bags are generally sample bags to promote
items for sale. They are used specially for marketing.

16. Canvas- Canvas is the finest jute product, closely woven
with best grades of fibre. Jute canvas is widely used in
India for protection from weather. Canvas and Screin
lamination with paper polythene is used in mines.
Hydrocarbon free jute cloth :The Indian Jute Industries
Research Association (IJIRA) with Indian Jute Industry
has recently developed Hydrocarbon free jute bags- a
food grade jute bags and cloths confirming to international
standard specifications. Hydrocarbon free jute cloth is a
hessian fabric free from the presence of hydrocarbon. It
is made by treating jute with vegetable oil. These types of
bags are extensively used for packing of coffee, cocoa,
peanut beans or other food material. The bags are free
from any kerosene smell. These bags have a great demand
throughout the world.

17. Geotextiles- Geotextiles are jute cloths helps to prevent soil erosion and landslides.
The Geotextiles are laid along the river embankments, sides, hill slopes etc. to
prevent soil erosion.
Serim cloth- Serim cloth is an extremely light weight Hessian cloth. It is used in the
felt industry to reinforce The non-woven fabric. It is also used for strengthening
Paper with lamination.
Tobacco sheets- Tobacco sheets are made with Hessian Cloths used for wrapping
tobacco leaves for safe transit.
Hessian tapes and gaps- Hessian tapes and Gaps are made with Hessian cloth.
Hessian cloth is woven with gaps at regular intervals and the cloths cut between
the gaps to make small width taps.
Decorative items- Several decorative items, toys, wall hanging, paper, decorative
bags, table lamps, furniture, and many more is made from jute fabric. Jute is also
used as an eco-friendly substitute for packaging.