[en] Natural fibre reinforced composites are gaining interest because of its attractive properties such as low weight, higher stiffness and low cost. Fibre reinforced composites are lightweight, strong, and durable materials which are seeing increasing adoption in the transportation, construction and many other markets. Therefore, sustainability in their use phase is often a key driver for the selection of composites over traditional materials. In the meantime, the ever–growing amount of textile wastes leads to the necessity to utilize these waste materials and to develop further processing technologies for their beneficial application. Due to various application possibilities and its economic impact, the valorisation of textile wastes has attracted increasing attention. This review summarized the valorisation potential of a textile waste products, especially of flax, hemp and jute fabrics. In this context application of different textile wastes for development of some value added product has been thought of in this paper. (paper)

[en] The main activities described in this article are carried out during the experimental phase of the research on composite materials manufacturing using textile inserts with natural origins fibres, oriented towards the manufacturing of composite materials samples. The objective of the research is to develop new fully or partially biodegradable composite materials by using new natural fibres and those recovered from various textile wastes. Thus, the research aims to obtain some composites with matrix of various types of polymeric materials and the reinforcement phase of textile materials so that the resulting products to be biodegradable. The textile inserts used as reinforcement are ecological, non–toxic and biodegradable and they contain bast fibres (flax, hemp, jute, divided or in combination), which can replace fibres of glass commonly used in polymeric composites. The purpose of the research is to obtain composite materials with high–structural, thermo–mechanical and/or tribological performances, according to ecological norms and international requirements in order to replace the existing classical materials, setting up current, innovative and high performance solutions, for applications in top areas such as automotive industry and not only. (paper)

[en] Jute (Corchorus capsularis and olitorius L.) is mostly grown in Southeast Asian countries and has been recently suggested as a promising candidate for planting in wetland and saline soils in China. To effectively breed more salt-tolerant jute cultivars, it is necessary to understand its salt stress-responsive mechanism at molecular level. Morphological, physiological and proteomic analyses were performed on seedlings of two jute genotypes exposed to 50, 100 and 150 mM NaCl, respectively, for four days. Our results indicated that genotype 9511, with lower degree of average index of salt harm (AISH) in leaf, less fallen leaf number/ten plants and higher root proline (Pro) content, was more salt tolerant than genotype Mengyuan. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) showed that expressions of 44 protein spots were significantly changed in the seedling roots of the two genotypes in response to salt stress. Thirty-nine (39) differentially expressed proteins were identified by MALDI-TOF-TOF MS, and classified into nine groups. Based on most of the 39 identified salt-responsive proteins, a salt stress-responsive protein network in jute seedling roots was proposed. After the persistent (for 4 d) salt stress, jute seedling would adapt to salt stress through altering signal transduction, accelerating ROS scavenging, impairing energy metabolism, enhancing nucleotide metabolism, lipid metabolism and cell wall metabolism, as well as altering cytoskeleton in roots. NaCl-responsive protein data will provide insights into salt stress responses and for further dissection of salt tolerance mechanisms in jute. (author)

[en] To obtain salt tolerant genotypes, salt tolerance of 10 jute genotypes of different origins was evaluated by relative salt harm rate at germination stage and by index of salt harm at seedling stage, respectively. The results indicated that salt tolerance of germination stage of jute was consistent with that of seedling stage, with a markedly significant (P < 0.01) correlation of 0.8432 (n =10). Two high salt tolerant genotypes (Huang No.1 and 9511) and two salt sensitive genotypes (Mengyuan and 07-21) were screened out by these methods. Further activity analysis of POD, SOD and CAT and determination of MDA content at seedling stage validated that genotypes Huang No.1 and 9511 were more salt tolerant than genotypes Mengyuan and 07-21. Our results indicated that the combination of relative salt harm rate at germination stage and index of salt harm at seedling stage can be used to evaluate salt tolerance of jute genotypes. (author)

[en] Substantial infestation of weed is a key constraint in jute. Chemical weed management may confirm actual long- term weed kill and ensure optimum production although it has some residual impact in soil, natural community composition and environment. In this respect, a field experiment was carried out at the Jute Agriculture Experimental Station, Manikganj (latitudes:23°38' and 24°03' north, and longitudes: 89°41' and 90°08' east) during jute growing season (April-July) of 2021 and 2022 in Bangladesh to monitor suitable and effective herbicides for weed control in C. olitorius - jute. The study was designed with 18 treatments and tested in a randomized block design with 3 replications. The weed control approaches consisted of several doses of chemical herbicide, conventional practice and control. Results of the study revealed that twelve weed species represented the weed community under five families in C. olitorius field. Cyperus rotundus, Echinochloa colonum, Digitaria sanguinalis, Eleosine indica were more abundant among the weed species. Principal component analysis of dry matter exposed that Fluazifop-p-butyl 10% + Ethoxysulfuron 10%, Quizalofop-p-ethyl 5%+Ethoxysulfuron 15%, Fenoxaprop-p-ethyl 10%+Ethoxysulfuron 10% were effective against weeds of Cyperaceae and Poaceae family. Fenoxaprop-p-ethyl 10% + Ethoxysulfuron 10% (Sunjute Plus 20 WG) @ 300 g ha-1 sprayed 8 days after sowing (DAS) performed the best in fibre yield (2.50 t ha-1), and stick yield (4.99 t ha-1) apart from weed free treatment. Correlation matrix demonstrated that plant height had a constructive and strong correlation with fibre yield and stick yield. Economics revealed that, the maximum gross return (149767 Tk. ha-1) and benefit-cost ratio (BCR) (1.64) was observed with Fenoxaprop-p-ethyl 10% + Ethoxysulfuron 10% (Sunjute Plus 20 WG) @ 300 g ha-1 sprayed 8 DAS. After evaluation of efficiency of herbicides, it allowed the development of real plant protection approaches and the improvement of yield in jute. The constraint of this study was only done in one location but multi-location trials can be conducted before recommending the package to the farmers. (author)

[en] The objective of the research is to develop new fully / partially biodegradable composite materials by using new natural fibers and those recovered from various wastes. Thus, the research aims to obtain some composites with matrix of various types of polymeric materials and the reinforcement phase of textile materials (of different natures, morphologies and composites) so that the resulting products to be (bio)degradable. The textile inserts used as raffle are ecological, non–toxic and biodegradable and they contain (divided or in combination) bast fibers (flax, hemp, jute) and other vegetable fibers (cotton, wool) as plain yarn or fabric, which can replace fibers of glass commonly used in polymeric composites. The main activities described in this article are carried out during the first phase of the research (phase I – initiation of research) and they are oriented towards the choice of types of textile inserts from which the composites will be obtained (the materials needed for the raffle), the choice of the types of polymers (the necessary materials for matrices) and choosing the variants of composites with different types and proportions of the constituent content (proposals and working variants) and choosing the right method for obtaining samples of composite materials (realization technology). The purpose of the research is to obtain composite materials with high structural, thermo–mechanical and / or tribological performances, according to ecological norms and international requirements in order to replace the existing classical materials, setting up current, innovative and high performance solutions, for applications in top areas such as automotive industry and not only. (paper)

[en] The impact of erosion control geotextiles on the surface runoff from slopes is quite variable and depends strongly on site-specific conditions (soil characteristics, slope morphology, climate, etc.), as has been shown in several earlier studies. In addition, little is known about the proportion of runoff reduction that is caused by the geotextile and the proportion that is caused by soil characteristics. To shed more light on this issue, an experiment was carried out to test the impact of 500 g m⁻² jute nets (J500) and 400 g m⁻²; 700 g m⁻² coir nets (C400, C700) on the surface runoff from simulated rainfall of four different intensities (I₁ = 18.7; I₂ = 27.2; I₃ = 53.6; I₄ = 90.5 mm h⁻¹). Data on runoff volume, peak discharge and time to peak discharge were collected from 40 simulated rainfall events. An impermeable “no-soil” subgrade was used to examine the impact of the geotextile on runoff without any influence of soil. All tested geotextiles significantly reduced runoff (volume, peak discharge) at all rainfall intensities, with the exception of C400 and C700 during simulated rainfall intensity I₄. J500 seemed to have the most effective runoff reduction performance at all rainfall intensities. In general, as the rainfall intensity increased, the effectiveness of the geotextiles decreased. Interesting behaviour was observed for J500 under simulated rainfall intensity I₄—the effectiveness of the geotextile increased with the duration of the rainfall.

[en] Highlights: • Composites are fabricated with jute and abaca fibers. • Fibers are arranged in different orientations. • Effects of varying proportions of fibers are studied. • Investigation on mechanical properties is done. • Failure morphology analysis is done using SEM. - Abstract: Composites made with natural fibers are finding applications in a wide variety of engineering fields due to their low cost and eco-friendly nature. This paper deals with the fabrication and evaluation of hybrid natural fiber composite using jute and abaca fibers along with glass fibers. Each composite is made up of five layers with three layers of jute and abaca enclosed by two layers of glass fibers. The composites are manufactured with three different fiber orientations and the compositions are varied in three different proportions. The fabricated composite samples are tested to investigate their various mechanical properties. From the test results, it is observed that fiber orientation plays a vital role in determining the mechanical properties of the composite. Morphological analysis is done using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)

[en] This paper contains a brief description of the induction of mutants through irradiating pollen. The basis for the experiment was to improve the yield of jute, the most important bast fibre crop in commerce. 1 ref., 1 tab

[en] Highlights: • An economically viable strategy for the preparation of nanoporous carbon is reported. • This study shows a promising future for jute as a natural precursor for nanoporous carbon. • The obtained nanoporous carbon shows a high surface area (981 m² g⁻¹). • These carbons could be useful for a myriad of applications including water purification.