Kenaf: Annual Fiber Crop Products Generate a Growing Response From Industry

by Charles S. Taylor, General Manager, Kenaf International, McAllen, TX, and Daniel E. Kugler, Director, Office of Agricultural Materials, CSRS, USDA, Washington, DC.

"Don't put shade on it."

That is the only general crop management recommendation for the steadily increasing number of kenaf growers in areas of south Texas and southern Louisiana. They along with newer groups of interested farmers in the Mississippi Delta, the plains of Oklahoma, the tidewaters of the Carolinas, and the valleys of California are quickly learning that growing this annual hibiscus fiber crop is comparatively easy, requiring few inputs and little management.

But, being easy to grow is an insufficient attribute. There must be a use and a market for the crop. The necessary technologies must exist, and the crop must be economical to produce and use. Each of these attributes is important as a crop-to-product system evolves.

Kenaf, Hibiscus cannabinus L., is an annual fiber crop that is now in the early stages of commercialization in the United States. David Nance/USDA 88BW1573-23A

Kenaf, Hibiscus cannabinus L., is an annual fiber crop that is now, after years of public and private research and development efforts, in the early stages of commercialization in the United States. There are those who claim that kenaf fiber has been found in the ancient pyramids of Egypt. But it is still considered a "new" crop in the Americas, where its introduction began in the 1940's with fiber projects in Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, and El Salvador. Nevertheless, kenaf has been and still is a major fiber crop in Africa and parts of Asia, where the long bast fibers from its bark are processed for use in various cordage products such as burlap, rope, and twine.

The principal purpose of kenaf production is to grow tall stalks that upon maturity (in about 6 months) can be cut in various lengths and ground for use in the manufacture of pulp and paper products such as newsprint or tissue.

Bast and Core

Some uses of the fiber crop require separating the two distinct fibers in the kenaf stalk bast and core. The long, stringy bast fibers of the outer bark comprise 30-35 percent of the stalk by weight and are similar to jute in appearance and traditional applications. The bast is used to make cordage products and specialty pulps, and may be used as a substitute for fiberglass in certain applications.

The balsa-wood-like fibers of the stalk's interior, or core, have traditionally been either burned for fuel by peasant farmers in Asia or Africa or discarded. However, they can be used fora variety of products such as poultry litter, packing materials, and mulch.

Forage is another potential use for kenaf. USDA and university researchers in Oklahoma are testing kenaf's potential as a possible niche forage crop in the Southern Plains. This would require very different farming practices, growing the crop for about 60 days and chopping the immature green crop with conventional forage equipment. The potential of kenaf as a forage crop is still in the research channel, as feeding trials and continued nutritional studies are being conducted.

Marvin Bagby, an ARS researcher, examines a stalk of kenaf. The long, outer bark and short, inner core fibers are processed into newsprint. USDA 88BW1884-4

Both pulpy center and fibrous exterior of bamboolike kenaf are used to produce newsprint and other fiber products. David Nance/USDA 88BW1576-9A

Kenaf Newsprint

To better understand what is driving the commercialization of this new crop, consider kenaf's potential as a source of fiber for either large-scale industrial projects (such as multi-million-dollar newsprint mills) or smaller fiber projects (producing poultry litter and twine products). The current work by industry and USDA was triggered in the late 1970's, when newsprint prices were increasing rapidly. Publishers became interested in developing lower cost, domestic sources of fiber for the manufacture of newsprint.