Hibiscus cannabinus and H. sabdariffa are species of plants grown for fiber production. H. cannabinus is commonly known as kenaf and produces fibers used in products like paper, rope, and clothing. H. sabdariffa, also known as roselle, produces fibers and calyx used to make natural dyes, cooking oil, and soap. India is a major producer of mesta fiber from these plants, which are well-suited to the climate and help supplement fiber production lost after partition. The two species require similar growing conditions and go through processes like retting, stripping, washing, and drying to extract the fibers.

2. MESTA
0 Hibiscus cannabinus and H. sabdariffa which
produces good fibre of commerce. These two
species belong to the family Malvaceae
0 H. cannabinus is f) popular in the Western
world as kenaf.
0 Hibiscus cannabinus is known by various
names in India such as Bimli, Deccan
hemp, Gogu, Channa, Ambadi, Gongkura, Sunk
ura, and Sunbeeja etc.
0 H. sabdariffa is known as roselle, java
jute, Thai jute, Pusa
hemp, Tengrapat, Lalambadi, Chukair, Yerrago
gu, Palechi and Pundibeeja etc
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3. 0 Besides India the mesta is grown mainly in
Argentina, China, Cuba, Egypt, Hewti, Guatamala, Italy,
Iran, Indonesia, Mozambique, North Africa, New
Guina, Peru, Spain, South Africa, Southern Part of
Zimbabwe, Thailand, U.S.A and Russia
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5. H. cannabinus (Kenaf)
0 The plant is hermaphrodite, annual, producing
large cream coloured flowers
0 The flowers are short lived opening in the early
hours of morning before sunrise and closing by
noon of the same day.
0 The colour of the stem is generally green.
However, some types with reddish stem are also
found
0 Both compound and simple leaves may be found
on the same plant
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08, 2011

6. 0 Photoperiodism plays an important role in the cultivation of
cannabinus
0 day length of 13 ½ hours is good for cultivating variety for fibre
purpose
0 a well drained sandy loam soil most suited
0 Mesta does not grow in waterlogged conditions
0 The seed capsules are cylindrical, pubescent bearing from 18 to 20
seeds
per capsule. The seeds are grey in colour.
The seed capsules are cylindrical, pubescent bearing from 18 to 20
seeds per capsule. The seeds are grey in colour
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2011

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9. H. sabdariffa (Roselle)
0 The flowers of sabdariffa are comparatively smaller than those of
cannabinus
0 The predominant types have cream to light yellow flowers,
0 The leaves in 'roselle' are generally palmate, deeply lobed and
alternately borne on the stem. The plants are normally non
branching and attain a height of nearly 3 to 3.5 mts
0 Both H. cannabinus and H. sabdariffa types require following
factors for their proper growth.
0 1. Enough moisture in soil during the growing period.
0 2. Rainfall should be at least 100 mm or more per month during the
crop cycle with a fairly uniform temperature.
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2011

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11. DIFFERENCES
0 H. cannabinus (Kenaf) 0 H. sabdariffa (Roselle)
0 The apex of the epicalyx (bractiole)is 0 inconspicuously channeled in sabdariffa.
entire in cannabinus
0 it is much less conspicuous (shrunken) in
0 The sepal nectary (gland) in sabdariffa.
cannabin us is prominent (swollen)
0 The stem of sabdariffa is flexible
0 it is more or less rigid in cannabinus.
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12. Mesta in relation to India
0 India had to loose about 80% of total jute production area
at the time of partition of the country during 1947. The
jute crop needs a specific set of climatic
conditions, therefore, the cultivation of jute could not be
extended beyond the states of West
Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Orissa, and parts of U.P. and Tripura.
As a result the production of jute fell below the
requirement of mills. Mesta can, however, be grown even in
those areas where jute is not grown under wider climatic
and soil conditions with much less care. This helped the
country to expand more area under mesta. At present
Mesta is grown in an area of more than 26 lakh hectares
with a production of more than 12 lakh bales.
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13. Andhra Pradesh
0 AREA : 143000 acres
0 PRODUCTION : 501000 bales
0 PRODUCTIVITY: 6.4 q
0 vijayanagaram & srikakulam are the major districts
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14. USES
0 PULP extraction from stem use in news paper making
0 FLOWER CALYX used in natural colours
manufacturing
0 OIL extraction from seeds ued in soap industries also
used as cooking oil
0 FIBRE is used in gunny bag making, packing cloth
making
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15. climate
0 A warm humid climate is considered most suitable for
growing both the species of mesta
0 The sabdariffa being better drought resistant type.
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16. soils
0 Both varieties of mesta grow on a variety of
soils, including new and old alluvium soils.
However, the rich loams give the highest yield, but
acid soils are not suitable without amendment. With a
high pH (above 7.0) of the soil, chlorosis appears in HS
mesta.
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17. VARIETIES of H.S
0 VARIETIES FROM ( CRIJAF)
0 1.HS 4288
0 2.HS 7910
0 VARIETIES FROM AMUDALA
VALASA(SRIKAKULAM)
1.AMV-1
2.AMV-2
3.AMV-3 ( surya)
4.AMV-4 (kalinga)
5.AMV-5 (durga)
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18. VARIETIES OF H.C
0 HC-583
0 AMC-108 [bhemily]
0 HC-269
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19. 0 SOWING: may 1st week to June 1st week
0 IN RABI : rice fallows crop
0 Sowing method is broadcasting or 30/10spacing
0 It is grown as a rain fed crop
0 Seed quantity and seed rate varies in between two species of Mesta in India.
A seed rate of 15 to 17kg/ha under broadcast and 13-15 Kg./ha in line
sowing in cannabinus has been recommended. Similarly seed rate of 13-
15kg/ha under broadcast and 11-13kg/ha under line sowing is
recommended in case of sabdarffa
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20. Manuring
0 compost at the rate of 10 to 12 tones per ha is
recommended
0 A fertilizer dose of N, P and K at the rate of 40:20:20 is
recommended for higher fibre yields
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21. Intercultural operations
0 Weeding, thinning and hoeing are three major
intercultural operations
0 The basalin (Flucholoralin) @ 2 litres per ha as
presowing (3 days before sowing) is recommended
for Mesta weeds.
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22. Harvesting
0 Harvesting time is very important in bast fibre crops like jute and mesta.
0 ‘HS 4288’ and ‘AMV 1’ are harvested when 50 per cent of the plant
population is in flower
0 delayed harvesting give more fibre, but of coarser quality
0 . In Andhra Pradesh, plants are harvested by uprooting, which practice is
not recommended ; in the jute belt, they are cut close to the ground, as
in the case of jute. All HS types are of longer duration (180-
210), whereas HC flowers in about 150 days after sowing
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23. Fibre Extraction
0
The jute plant's fibres lie beneath the bark
and surrounded the woody central part of the
stem. To extract the fibres from the stem, the process
is carried out in the following stages :
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24. 0 Retting is a process in which the tied bundles of jute stalks are taken to the
tank by which fibres get loosened and separated from the woody stalk. The
bundles are steeped in water at least 60 cm to 100 cm depth. The retting
process is completed in 8 to 30 days, when the barks separate out easily
from the stick or wood and the fibres are ready for extraction. A
development in recent years is adoption of ribbon retting technology in jute
growing trade of the country.
0 Stripping (Fibre Extraction)
0 Stripping is the process of removing the fibres from the stalk after the
completion of retting. Fibres are removed from the stalk by any one of the
following
methods :
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26. 0 (i) Single plants are taken and their fibers
are taken off.
(ii) Taken off a handful of stalks,breaking it
in a to and fro motion in water.
(iii) Washing the stalks first by standing in
waist deep water and then
stripping afterwards
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27. Washing and Drying
0 Extracted fibres are washed in clean water. The dark colour of fibres can be
removed by dipping them in tamarind water for 15 to 20 minutes and again
washed in clean water. After squeezing excess water the fibres are hang on
bamboo railing for sun drying for 2-3 days.
0 Bailing and Packing
The jute fibre is graded into tops, middles, B, C and X-bottoms. Packing into
Kutcha bales about 250 pounds for use in the home trade. they are transported
to jute market or direct to jute mills
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29. yield
0 Seed YieldThe average seed yield is about 800 to 900
kg per hectare.
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