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Kenaf
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Malvales Family: Malvaceae Genus: Hibiscus Species: H. cannabinus
Binomial name
Hibiscus cannabinus L.

Kenaf [Etymology: Persian ^[1] ]. (Hibiscus cannabinus) is a species of Hibiscus, probably native to southern Asia, though its exact natural origin is unknown. The name also applies to the fibre obtained from this plant. Kenaf is one of the allied fibres of jute and shows similar characteristics. Other names include Bimli, Ambary, Ambari Hemp, Deccan Hemp, and Bimlipatum Jute.

It is an annual or biennial herbaceous plant (rarely a short-lived perennial) growing to 1.5-3.5 m tall with a woody base. The stems are 1-2 cm diameter, often but not always branched. The leaves are 10-15 cm long, variable in shape, with leaves near the base of the stems being deeply lobed with 3-7 lobes, while leaves near the top of the stem are shallowly lobed or unlobed lanceolate. The flowers are 8-15 cm diameter, white, yellow, or purple; when white or yellow, the centre is still dark purple. The fruit is a capsule 2 cm diameter, containing several seeds.

Dried Kenaf stems

Kenaf has a long history of cultivation for its fibre in India, Bangladesh, Thailand, parts of Africa, and to a small extent in southeast Europe. The stems produce two types of fibre, a coarser fibre in the outer layer (bast), and a finer fibre in the core. It matures in 100 to 1000 days. About 9000 cultivars are produced. Grown for over 4000 years in Africa where its leaves are consumed in human and animal diets, the bast fiber is used for cordage, and the woody core of the stalks burned for fuel. This crop was not introduced into southern Europe until the early 1900s. Today, principal farming areas are throughout China, India,and in many other countries including the following:Mackay, Australia in trial stages; Seed farms- Texas,USA and Tamaulipas, Mexico; North Carolina, USA , Senegalto name a few.

The main uses of kenaf fiber have been rope, twine, coarse cloth (similar to that made from jute), and paper. In California, Texas and Louisiana, 3,200 acres (13 km²) of kenaf were grown in 1992, most of which was used for animal bedding and feed.

Emerging uses of kenaf fibre include engineered wood, insulation, and clothing-grade cloth. Panasonic has set up a plant in Malaysia to manufacture kenaf fibre boards and export them to Japan, oil absorbent (based on patent issued to H. and C. Willett), soil-less potting mixes, animal bedding, packing material, organic filler for blending with plastics for injection molding (using the technology developed and patented by Fibre Packaging International, Inc.), as an additive for drilling muds, and various types of mats, such as, seeded grass mats for instant lawns to moldable mats for manufactured parts and containers.

Kenaf seeds yield a vegetable oil that is edible and high in omega antioxidants. The kenaf oil is also used for cosmetics, industrial lubricants and as bio-fuel.

Kenaf has great potential for paper production and offers environmental advantages over paper from trees. In 1960, the USDA surveyed more than 500 plants and selected kenaf as the most promising source of "tree-free" newsprint. In 1970, kenaf newsprint produced in International Paper Company's mill in PineBluff, Arkansas, was successfully used by six U.S. newspapers. Again in 1987, a Canadian mill produced 13 rolls of kenaf newsprint which were used by four U.S. newspapers to print experimental issues. They found that kenaf newsprint made for stronger, brighter and cleaner pages than standard pine paper. Printing and writing paper made from the fibrous kenaf plant has been offered in the United States since 1992.

Various reports suggest that the energy requirements for producing pulp from kenaf are about 20 percent less than those for wood pulp, mostly due to the lower lignin content of kenaf. Many of the facilities that now process Southern pine for paper use can be converted to accommodate kenaf. Because the kenaf fibers are naturally whiter than tree pulp, less bleaching is required to create a brighter sheet of paper. Hydrogen peroxide, an environmentally-safe bleaching agent that does not create dioxin has been used with much success in the bleaching of kenaf.

USDA kenaf expert Daniel Kugler predicts that kenaf will be widely used to make paper, and that it represents a promising cash crop for American farmers. One acre of kenaf produces 7 to 11 tons of usable fiber in a single growing season. In contrast, an acre of forest (in the USA) produces approximately 1.5 to 3.5 tons of usable fiber per year. It is estimated that growing kenaf on 5,000 acres (20 km²) can produce enough pulp to supply a paper plant having a capacity of 200 tons per day. Over 20 years, one acre of farmland can produce 10 to 20 times the amount of fiber that one acre of Southern pine.usda kenaf uses

English: kenaf (Persian origin) India (Bengal): mesta India (Madras): palungi India (Bombay): deccan hemp India (Andhra Pradesh): Bimli jute Taiwan: ambari Egypt & Northern Africa: til, teel, or teal Indonesia: Java jute Brazil: papoula de Sao Francisco South Africa: stokroos West Africa: dah, gambo, and rama

*According to Miyake and Suzuta (1937), there are more than 129 names for kenaf worldwide.

Kenaf is considered a hardy plant that requires a minimum of fertilizers, pesticides and water in comparison to conventional row crops. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides used in large-scale farming cause run-off pollution in rivers, lakes, estuaries, oceans and underground water. All insecticides have damaging environmental consequences. Large-scale kenaf plantations would essentially be grown like corn or soybeans. Further kenaf production may be directed towards ecologically sustainable farming techniques. A recent report from the National Academy of Sciences concluded that the current use of chemical fertilizers and insecticides does not necessarily result in better crop yields than does the use of organic farming methods. Currently the environmental cost from pesticide use alone is about $1 billion annually

1. ^ "kenaf." Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com

• American Kenaf Society (AKS), Founded in 1997 with individuals and organizations working directly or indirectly with kenaf and kenaf-based products, plus those with environmental concerns.
• [http://www.chinaconsultinginc.com/ CCG International (CCG), Leading International efforts to promote the use of kenaf and allied natural plant fibers.
• International Jute Study Group, A UN collaboration for learning various aspects of Jute and Kenaf. Its headquarter is located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It targets business societies in India, Bangladesh, and Thailand.
• About the Kenaf Plant, Vision Paper - Gives detailed description of kenaf plant and provides many links to kenaf industry. Pioneers in the kenaf paper industry.Produced first ever chlorine free 100% tree-free kenaf paper in 1992.
• Information about Kenaf in German language, Provides information on Market Place, News, and Links about Kenaf in German language.
• Nachwachsende-Rohstoffe, A German site for Kenaf and other agricultural commodities related articles (Also available in English).
• Alternative Field Crops Manual
• Kenaf: Taking Root? 1995 article by Brooke Wurst
• Mabberley, D.J. 1987. The Plant Book. A portable dictionary of the higher plants. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 706 pp. ISBN 0-521-34060-8.