Pineapple plant is widely cultivated for the fruit in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The leaves of pineapple plant contain approximately 3% of strong white silky fibres. These fibres can be extracted from the leaves either by Retting or mechanical means, Leaf fibres are obtained from the leaves of monocotyledonous plant. The fibre occurs in bundles in aggregates of individual cells, with the ends over lapping so as to produce continues filament throughout the length of the leaf. The fibres are concentrated in large quantity nearer tothe lower surface of the leaf. The leaves are generally thicker and fleshy often with hard surface. The fibres are held in position by the cellular tissues of the leaf by gummy and waxy substance.
The Philippines and Taiwan are the chief producer of the pineapple leaf fibre followed by Brazil, Hawaii, Indonesia, West Indies and India. Only in India,the yield of fibres could be about 6 lacks tones a year if proper extraction method is adopted. However the pineapple leaves go mostly as agriculture was teat present.
Cultivation of pineapple
The pineapple plant anans cosmo's belonging to the Bromliaceae family is widely cultivated for the fruits. This is one of the most important commercial cropsof the world. Its fruits are extensively used for canning, manufacturing juicesand squashes also for fresh consumption.
This article was originally published in the Textile Review magazine,August, 2012, published by Saket Projects Limited, Ahmedabad.
About the Authors:
Sunil Pardeshi, MahamedJafer Mirji & Vijay Goud are associated with the DKTE's Textile andEngineering Institute, Ichalkaranji.
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