The very dense plantations in which
fiber crops are grown raises the humidity around the stalks and increases infections by fungal diseases.
A search for new
fiber crops. TAPPI Journal, 43: 193-201.
As Daniel Kugler's report "Non-Wood
Fiber Crops" demonstrates, a major barrier is the lack of processing plants and commercial-scale agricultural equipment.
For the most part, this industry is based on crop residues rather than on fiber obtained from dedicated crops; growing needs for food worldwide are likely to dictate a continued focus on residues rather than on annual
fiber crops.
At the close of the 20th century, reminiscent of how new hemp fiber applications resurrected the
fiber crop mostly in Europe (as discussed in the "Evolution of Stem Fiber Production Under Domestication" section), a similar development of oilseed products, primarily in Canada, witnessed the founding of an expanding hempseed industry.
Crotalaria juncea: A potential multi-purpose
fiber crop. p.
The third is Musa textiles Nees also called as Abaca, which is used as a
fiber crop. Banana plants are vegetatively propagated and are grown in all tropical agriculture systems.
Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) is the most important
fiber crop of the world (Killi and Aloglu, 2000), cash crop of Pakistan which earns a good fortune for the country in the form of foreign exchange (Ahmad et al., 2009).
Limiting factors of dry matter production are discussed and compared with kenaf, another annual bark
fiber crop. In contrast to the frequent statement that hemp does not suffer from diseases and pests, Chapter 6 enumerates the insects pests of stalk, roots, leaves, flowers, and seeds, as well as fungal and other diseases affecting the hemp crop.
As of January 30, the DA said farmers planting
fiber crops, particularly abaca, in Albay have registered production losses amounting to P478,000 due to the eruption of Mayon Volcano.
Hemp plants can reach heights of 12 feet, and require less water, herbicides and pesticides than other
fiber crops. Hemp, when planted at a high density, within a month from emergence, can quickly spread a tight canopy over a field, and thereby choke out weeds and conserve topsoil moisture.
He said 55 Pakistani students were studying in FAFU, out of them 8 were from the UAF, adding FAFU had been leading the country in researches in sugarcane, bee,
fiber crops, bio pesticide and cedar wood fields.