Jute is a long, soft, shiny vegetable fibre that can be spun into coarse and strong threads. It is produced from plants in the genus Corchorus, which was once classified with the family Tiliaceae, more recently with Malvaceae, and has now been reclassified as belonging to the family Sparrmanniaceae.

Jute is one of the most affordable natural fibres and is the second only to cotton in amount produced and variety of uses of vegetable fibres.

Jute fibres are composed primarily of the plant materials cellulose (major component of plant fibre) and lignin (major components of wood fibre). It is thus a ligno-cellulosic fibre, which is partially a textile fibre and partially wood. It falls into the bast fibre category (fibre collected from bast or skin of the plant) along with kenaf, industrial hemp, flax (linen), ramie, etc.

The industrial term for jute fibre is raw jute. The fibres are off-white to brown, and 1–4 metres (3–12 feet) long.

Cultivation

Jute needs a plain alluvial soil and standing water. The suitable climate for growing jute (warm and wet) is offered by the monsoon climate, during the monsoon season. Temperatures from 20˚C to 40˚C and relative humidity of 70%–80% are favourable for successful cultivation. Jute requires 5–8 cm of rainfall weekly, and more during the sowing period.

White jute (Corchorus capsularis)

Historical documents (including Ain-e-Akbari by Abul Fazal in 1590) state that the poor villagers of India used to wear clothes made of jute. The weavers, who used to spin cotton yarns, used simple handlooms and hand spinning wheels.

History also states that Indians, especially Bengalis, used ropes and twines made of white jute from ancient times for household and other uses.

Tossa jute (Corchorus olitorius)

Tossa jute (Corchorus olitorius) is a variety thought to be native to India, and is the world’s top producer. It is grown for both fibre and culinary purposes. It is used as a herb in Middle Eastern and African countries, where the leaves are used as an ingredient in a mucilaginous potherb called “molokhiya”.

It is very popular in some Arab countries such as Egypt, Jordan, and Syria as a soup-based dish, sometimes with meat over rice or lentils. The Book of Job, in the King James translation of the Hebrew Bible mentions this vegetable potherb as “Jew’s mallow”. It is rich in protein, vitamin C, beta-carotene, calcium, and iron.

On the other hand, it is used mainly for its fibre in India, in other countries in Southeast Asia, and the South Pacific. Tossa jute fibre is softer, silkier, and stronger than white jute. This variety astonishingly shows good sustainability in the climate of the Ganges Delta.

Along with white jute, tossa jute has also been cultivated in the soil of Bengal where it is known as paat from the very beginning of the 19th century. Now, the Bengal region (West Bengal in India, and Bangladesh) is the largest global producer of the tossa jute variety.