Plant and FibreThe ramie plant is a hardy perennial belonging to the Urticaceae or Nettle family, harvested 4-5 times in a year. The green plant is grown to full length within 45 days and harvesting is done within a stipulated time period (45-50 days) to avoid over maturity of the fibre. In a plantation it can effectively survive for 6-8 years after which its growth declines and re-plantation becomes necessary. Each time depending upon the congenital climatic conditions, the plant produces a number of straight slender stalks (of about 150 to 200 cm) with a base diameter of 10-20 mm from underground rhizomes.The leaves are alternate, long petioled and appear on the upper part of the stalks. They are heart shaped, broadly ovate and abruptly acuminate having a width of nearly 50 to 130 mm. and length varying in between 100 to 150 mm. with finally serrated margins. Leaves contain nearly 20 to 24% protein. The leaves are hairy with felty hairs.Unlike jute, ramie after harvesting is extracted by mechanical means which is called “decortications” [5]. It has been reported that initial success has been achieved in developing seedling varieties of ramie which will considerably reduce the cost of cultivation vis-à-vis cost of production of ramie based textiles [6].Ramie fibre (upto 120 mm in length) originates from the phloem of the bast. Secondary thickening helps in the durability and stability needed to allow it to grow apically to that length. The inner structure of ramie fibre differs from that of other plant fibres in that the physical form of the cellulose is rigid and crystalline as like linen in a more porous sieve like form providing it with even better absorbency than other near cellulosic fibres. The unevenness of fibre has a strong resemblance to the thick and thin appearance of linen. These uneven strands of ramie make harvesting difficult. After being separated from the woody matter and soft tissues, fibres remain in ribbon like strips because they are held together by gums and pectins
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