About kenaf

Kenaf, Hibiscus cannabinus L., is a warm-season annual fiber crop related to cotton, okra, and hibiscus.
Scientific classification
Kingdom : Plantae (Planta, plantes, plants, Vegetal)
Division : Magnoliophyta (angiospermes, angiosperms, flowering plants, phanérogames, plantes à fleurs, plantes à fruits)
Class : Magnoliopsida (dicots, dicotylédones, dicotyledons)
Order : Malvales
Family : Malvaceae ( (mallows, mauves)
Genus : Hibiscus (hibiscus, rosemallow)
Species : cannabinus ( brown Indianhemp)

Common names : lenzolambo  (Madagascar), nacache, nhacandora  (Mozambique), hab-el zalim, til (Arabe), Ambari hemp, Bastard jute, Bimli jute, Bimlipatam jute, Brown Indian hemp, Deccan hemp, Gambo hemp, Gombo hemp, Guinea hemp, Hemp hibiscus, Hibiscus hemp, Indian hemp, Java-jute, Kenaf, Mesta, Rosella hemp, Roselle, Siam jute, Thorny mallow, Wild stockrose, Deccan hemp, mesta (English), Chanvre de Bombay, Chanvre du Deccan, Chanvre de Guinée, Chanvre de Gambo, Chanvre de roselle, Jute de Java, Jute de Siam, Kénaf, Roselle, chanvre de Guinée (France), Ketmie à feuilles de chanvre (Belgium), Ambari, Dekkanhanf, Gambohanf, Hanfeibisch,  Javajute, Kenaf, Rosellahanf, Roselle, Siamjute (German), Cáñamo de la India, Cáñamo de gambo, Cáñamo Rosella ,  Pavona encendida, Yute de Java , Yute de Siam, apocino (Espagne), Canapa di Bombay , Canapa rosella, Ibisco, Juta del Siam, Jute di giava, Kenaf (Italian), stokroos (Africaans), Da ma jin, yang ma (chinese), Predivni oslez (Croatian), Hamp, Javajute , Kenaf , Rosellahamp, Rosellehamp, Siamjute (Danish), Rostmályva (Hungarian), Kenafu (Japon), nalita (Sanskri), Kudram, Kunjar, Maarangii, Patsan (Nepalese), Czyli kenaf, Ketmia konopiowata (Polish), Cânhamo-brasileiro, Cânhamo rosella, Juta de Java , Juta do Sião, Papoula do Sao Francisco (Brazil), Po, Po dai (Northern Thailand), Po kaeo (Central Thailand), Hibiskus (Turkish)

The fibre is traded commonly under the names kenaf or mesta, the same name is used for the fibres of H. sabdariffa, which raised several confusions in the literature.

Kenaf, an Annual Crop Source for Fiber
Kenaf is a warm season, short-day, annual herbaceous plant originated from west Africa which has been cultivated since around 4000 B.C. It is grown mainly for its fibre, but it may be also used as food, the leaves and flowers are edible. Edible oil is sometimes derived from the seeds, and various parts of the plant may be employed as medicine or in religious rites. Kenaf belongs to the Malvaceae, a family notable for both its economic and horticultural importance. Distributed from tropical Africa to India, probably often run wild. Cultivated in India (Deccan), S China; Java; W Africa, Sudan; recently also in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenia and in Uzbekistan, also in tropical and subtropical America. In different parts of the world, kenaf has many other names such as mesta (India, Bengal), stockroot (south Africa), Java jute (Indonesia), and ambari (Taiwan), etc.

Kenaf has a high growth rate, rising to heights of 12-18 feet in about 4-5 month and its yields of 6-10 tons (new varieties may reach 12 tons, and even 15 tons in ACP countries) of dry weight per acre per year in the USA, are generally 3-5 times greater than the yield for Southern pine trees which can take from 7–40 years to reach harvestable size.

The fibers from kenaf can be classified into two categories : the outer, bast fibers which is about 35% the stalk’s dry weight and the inner, core fibres which comprises about 65% of the stalk’s dry weight.

Generally, these two parts are separated by means of bacteria, natural retting and chemicals, and machinery after harvest for producing different value added products. Traditionally, kenaf has been used as a source of fiber for making clothing, rugs, rope and other products, as well as a source of food.
However, many potential uses for kenaf exist because of the unique properties of each type of kenaf fiber. For example, whole stalk kenaf can be used to make inexpensive paper, high purity bast fibers for fine writing paper, cigarette and tea bags, grass mat, fiberglass substitute, blend with plastic, and non-woven application, and high purity core for animal bedding, oil-absorbent materials, particle board and potting soil, etc.
Among so many applications of kenaf fibers, pulp and papermaking have drawn tremendous attention and become the focus of paper industries for the past many years and more and more promising for the future.Long or multiple-celled fibres

Soft or bast fibres : these are the soft and flexible fibres extending through the inner bark of stems or main stalks of dicotyledonous plants including jute, ramie, kenaf, roselle, sunn hemp, industrial hemp, and flex.
Hard or leaf fibres : these are characteristically hard and stiff in texture and extend lengthwise through the pulpy tissues of long leaf or leaf stems of monocotyledonous plants including sisal, henequen, pineapple, and abaca.

Miscellaneous fibres : these include minor fibres obtained from roots, stems, and seeds, like coir.
Short or one-celled fibres : these include the seed hairs or hairs produced inside the seedpods, like cotton and kapok.

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