Fiber crop

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fiber crops are field crops grown for their fibers, which are used to make paper, cloth, or rope. These crops are generally harvestable after a single growing season, as opposed to trees which are typically grown for many years before being harvested for wood pulp fiber. In specific circumstances, fiber crops can be superior to wood pulp fiber in terms of technical performance, environmental impact or cost.

Botanically, the fibers havested from many of these plants are bast fibers; the fibers come from the phloem tissue of the plant. The other fiber crop fibers are seed padding, leaf fiber, or other parts of the plant.

Fiber crops include:

Bast fibers (Stem-skin fibres)
- Jute (widely used, cheapest fibre after cotton)
- Flax (which produces linen)
- Ramie
- Hemp
- Kenaf
- Abacá
- Nettles
Other fibers (Leaf, fruit, and other fibers)
- Cotton
- Bamboo
- Esparto
- Papaya
- Umbrella_Plant
- Coir (fiber from the coconut shell)
- Sisal (Often termed agave)