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Abacá ( ; ), also known as Manila hemp, is a species of
banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...
, ''Musa textilis'', endemic to the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. The plant grows to , and averages about . The plant has great economic importance, being harvested for its
fiber Fiber (spelled fibre in British English; from ) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often inco ...
extracted from the leaf-stems. The lustrous fiber is traditionally hand-loomed into various indigenous textiles (abaca cloth or medriñaque) in the Philippines. They are still featured prominently as the traditional material of the barong tagalog, the national male attire of the Philippines, as well as in sheer lace-like fabrics called '' nipis'' used in various clothing components. Native abaca textiles also survive into the modern era among various ethnic groups, like the '' t'nalak'' of the T'boli people and the ''dagmay'' of the Bagobo people. Abaca is also used in traditional Philippine millinery, as well as for bags, shawls, and other decorative items. The
hatmaking Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners made and sold a range of accessories for clothing and hairstyles. ...
straw made from Manila hemp is called ''tagal'' or ''tagal straw''. The fiber is also exceptionally strong, stronger than
hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a plant in the botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial and consumable use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest ...
and naturally salt-resistant, making it ideal for making twines and ropes (especially for maritime shipping). It became a major trade commodity in the colonial era for this reason. The abaca industry declined sharply in the mid-20th century when abaca plantations were decimated by
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and plant diseases, as well as the invention of
nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...
in the 1930s. Today, abaca is mostly used in a variety of specialized paper products including
tea bag A tea bag (or teabag) is a small, porous, sealed bag or Packet (container), packet typically containing tea leaves (''Camellia sinensis'') or the leaves of other herbs, which is immersed in water to steeping, steep and make an infusion. Origina ...
s,
filter paper Filter paper is a semi-permeable paper barrier placed perpendicular to a liquid or air flow. It is used to separate fine solid particles from liquids or gases. The raw materials are typically different pulp (paper), paper pulps. The pulp may be ...
and
banknote A banknote or bank notealso called a bill (North American English) or simply a noteis a type of paper money that is made and distributed ("issued") by a bank of issue, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commerc ...
s. Manila envelopes and Manila paper derive their name from this fiber. Abaca is classified as a hard fiber, along with
coir Coir (), also called coconut fibre, is a natural fibre extracted from the outer husk of coconut, and used in products such as floor mats, doormats, brushes, and mattresses. Coir is the fibrous material found between the hard, internal shell ...
, henequin and
sisal Sisal (, ; ''Agave sisalana'') is a species of flowering plant native to southern Mexico, but widely cultivated and naturalized in many other countries. It yields a stiff fibre used in making rope and various other products. The sisal fiber is ...
. Abaca is grown as a commercial crop in the Philippines, Ecuador, Costa Rica.


Description

The abacá plant is stoloniferous, meaning that the plant produces runners or shoots along the ground that then root at each segment. Cutting and transplanting rooted runners is the primary technique for creating new plants, since seed growth is substantially slower. Abacá has a "false trunk" or pseudostem about in diameter. The leaf stalks ( petioles) are expanded at the base to form sheaths that are tightly wrapped together to form the pseudostem. There are from 12 to 25 leaves, dark green on the top and pale green on the underside, sometimes with large brown patches. They are oblong in shape with a deltoid base. They grow in succession. The petioles grow to at least in length. When the plant is mature, the flower stalk grows up inside the pseudostem. The male flower has five petals, each about long. The leaf sheaths contain the valuable fiber. After harvesting, the coarse fibers range in length from long. They are composed primarily of
cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of glycosidic bond, β(1→4) linked glucose, D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important s ...
,
lignin Lignin is a class of complex organic polymers that form key structural materials in the support tissues of most plants. Lignins are particularly important in the formation of cell walls, especially in wood and bark, because they lend rigidit ...
, and
pectin Pectin ( ': "congealed" and "curdled") is a heteropolysaccharide, a structural polymer contained in the primary lamella, in the middle lamella, and in the cell walls of terrestrial plants. The principal chemical component of pectin is galact ...
. The fruit, which is inedible and is rarely seen as harvesting occurs before the plant fruits, grows to about in length and in diameter. It has black turbinate seeds that are in diameter.


Systematics

The abacá plant belongs to the
banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...
family,
Musaceae Musaceae is a family of flowering plants composed of three genera with about 91 known species, placed in the order Zingiberales. The family is native to the tropics of Africa and Asia. The plants have a large herbaceous growth habit with leaves w ...
; it resembles the closely related wild seeded bananas, ''
Musa acuminata ''Musa acuminata'' is a species of banana native to South Asia, Southern Asia, its range comprising the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Many of the modern edible dessert bananas are derived from this species, although some are hybrids wi ...
'' and ''
Musa balbisiana ''Musa balbisiana'', also known simply as plantain, is a wild-type species of banana. It is one of the ancestors of modern cultivated bananas, along with '' Musa acuminata''. Description It grows lush leaves in clumps with a more upright habit ...
''. Its scientific name is ''Musa textilis''. Within the
genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
''
Musa Musa may refer to: Places *Mūša, a river in Lithuania and Latvia * Musa, Azerbaijan, a village in Yardymli Rayon * Musa, Iran, a village in Ilam province, Iran * Musa, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran * Musa Kalayeh, Gilan province, Iran * Abu M ...
'', it is placed in section ''Callimusa'' (now including the former section ''Australimusa''), members of which have a
diploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Here ''sets of chromosomes'' refers to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, ...
chromosome A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most import ...
number of 2n'' ''= 20.


Genetic diversity

The Philippines, especially the
Bicol region The Bicol Region, designated as Region V, is an administrative region of the Philippines. It comprises six Provinces of the Philippines, provinces, four on the Bicol Peninsula (the luzon#Southeastern Luzon, southeastern end of Luzon): Albay, Ca ...
in Luzon, has the most abaca genotypes and cultivars. Genetic analysis using simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers revealed that the Philippines' abaca germplasm is genetically diverse. Abaca genotypes in Luzon had higher genetic diversity than Visayas and Mindanao. Ninety-five (95) percent was attributed to molecular variance within the population, and only 5% of the molecular variance to variation among populations. Genetic analysis by Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA) revealed several clusters irrespective of geographical origin.


History

Before synthetic textiles came into use, ''M. textilis'' was a major source of high quality fiber: soft, silky and fine. Ancestors of the modern abacá are thought to have originated from the eastern Philippines, where there is significant rainfall throughout the year. Wild varieties of abacá can still be found in the interior forests of the island province of
Catanduanes Catanduanes (; ), officially the Province of Catanduanes (), is an island province located in the Bicol Region of Luzon in the Philippines. It is the 12th-largest island in the Philippines, and lies to the east of Camarines Sur, across the M ...
, away from cultivated areas. Today, Catanduanes has many other modern kinds of abacá which are more competitive. For many years, breeders from various research institutions have made the cultivated varieties of Catanduanes even more competitive in local and international markets. This results in the optimum production of the island which had a consistent highest production throughout the archipelago.


16th century

Europeans first came into contact with Abacá fibre when
Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer best known for having planned and led the 1519–22 Spanish expedition to the East Indies. During this expedition, he also discovered the Strait of Magellan, allowing his fl ...
landed in the Philippines in 1521, as the natives were already cultivating it and utilizing it in bulk for textiles. Throughout the Spanish colonial era, it was referred to as "''medriñaque''" cloth.


19th century

By 1897, the Philippines were exporting almost 100,000 tons of abacá, and it was one of the three biggest cash crops, along with tobacco and sugar. In fact, from 1850 through the end of the 19th century, sugar or abacá alternated with each other as the biggest export crop of the Philippines. This 19th-century trade was predominantly with the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and the making of ropes was done mainly in
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
, although in time rope-making shifted back to the Philippines. From 1898 to 1946, the United States colonized the Philippines following the Spanish-American War. The Guggenheim claims the "colonial government found ways to prevent Filipinos from profiting off of the abaca crops, instead favoring the businesses of American expats and Japanese immigrants, as well as ensuring that the bulk of the abaca harvests were exported to the United States" for use in military initiatives.


20th century

In the early 1900s, a train running from Danao to
Argao Argao, officially the Municipality of Argao (; ), is a municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 78,187 people. Geography The municipality of Argao is located in the southeast of the ...
would transport Philippine abacá from the plantations to
Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 964,169 people, making ...
for export. The railway system was destroyed during World War II; the abaca continues to be transported to Cebu by road. Outside the Philippines, abacá was first cultivated on a large scale in
Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
in 1925 under the Dutch, who had observed its cultivation in the Philippines for cordage since the nineteenth century, followed up by plantings in
Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
in 1929 sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It also was transplanted into
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and
Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
. Commercial planting began in 1930 in
British North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, (present-day Sabah). The territory of North Borneo was originally establish ...
; at the onset of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the supply from the Philippines was eliminated by the
Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...
. After the war, the U.S. Department of Agriculture started production in
Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
,
Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
,
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
, and
Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
.


21st century

Today, abacá is produced primarily in the Philippines and Ecuador. The Philippines produces between 85% and 95% of the world's abacá, and the production employs 1.5 million people. Production has declined because of virus diseases.


Cultivation

The plant is normally grown in well-drained
loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...
y soil, using
rhizomes In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...
planted at the start of the rainy season. In addition, new plants can be started by seeds. Growers harvest abacá fields every three to eight months after an initial growth period of 12–25 months. Harvesting is done by removing the leaf-stems after flowering but before the fruit appears. The plant loses productivity between 15 and 40 years. The slopes of volcanoes provide a preferred growing environment. Harvesting generally includes several operations involving the leaf sheaths: * tuxying (separation of primary and secondary sheath) * stripping (getting the fibers) * drying (usually following the tradition of sun-drying). When the processing is complete, the bundles of fiber are pale and lustrous with a length of . File:01-QWSTION-BANANATEX-ABACA-LEAVES-LAUSCHSICHT.jpg, 1. Abacá plants have several stalks which can be harvested annually and regenerate fully within a year. File:06-QWSTION-BANANATEX-ABACA-HARVEST-LAUSCHSICHT.jpg, 2. Abacá plants are harvested by "topping", cutting the leaves with a bamboo sickle, cutting or "tumbling" the stalks. The leaves are compost on the ground, creating a fertiliser. File:12-QWSTION-BANANATEX-TUXYING-LAUSCHSICHT.jpg, 3. The tuxy, the outer layer of the leaf sheath contains primary fibres is separated from the inner layers. File:13-QWSTION-BANANATEX-TUXYING-2-LAUSCHSICHT.jpg, 4. The inner layers contain the secondary fibres and pulpy material. File:14-QWSTION-BANANATEX-STRIPPING-LAUSCHSICHT.jpg, 5.The tuxies are separated by hand using a stripping knife at the harvesting site. File:16-QWSTION-BANANATEX-STRIPPING-LAUSCHSICHT-2.jpg, 6. The fibres are then "combed" to separate them. File:20-QWSTION-BANANATEX-FIBERS-2-LAUSCHSICHT.jpg, 7. The fibres are then air-dried and bundled together before being transported from forest to the trading warehouse of the farmers cooperative. File:23-QWSTION-BANANATEX-ABACA-GRADES.jpg, 8. There they are sorted by colour grades, with lighter coloured fibres being more expensive due to their rarity. In Costa Rica, more modern harvest and drying techniques are being developed to accommodate the very high yields obtained there. According to the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority, the Philippines provided 87.4% of the world's abacá in 2014, earning the Philippines US$111.33 million. The demand is still greater than the supply. The remainder came from Ecuador (12.5%) and Costa Rica (0.1%). The
Bicol region The Bicol Region, designated as Region V, is an administrative region of the Philippines. It comprises six Provinces of the Philippines, provinces, four on the Bicol Peninsula (the luzon#Southeastern Luzon, southeastern end of Luzon): Albay, Ca ...
in the Philippines produced 27,885
metric ton The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the sh ...
s of abacá in 2014, the largest of any Philippine region. The Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP) and the Department of Agriculture reported that in 2009–2013, Bicol Region had a 39% share of Philippine abacá production of which an overwhelming 92% came from Catanduanes Island. Eastern Visayas, the second largest producer had 24% and the Davao Region, the third largest producer had 11% of the total production. Around 42 percent of the total abacá fiber shipments from the Philippines went to the United Kingdom in 2014, making it the top importer. Germany imported 37.1 percent abacá pulp from the Philippines, importing around 7,755 metric tons (MT). Sales of abacá cordage surged 20 percent in 2014 to a total of 5,093'' ''MT from 4,240'' ''MT, with the United States holding around 68 percent of the market.


Pathogens

Abacá is vulnerable to a number of pathogens, notably abaca bunchy top virus, abaca bract mosaic virus, and abaca mosaic virus.


Uses

Due to its strength, it is a sought after product and is the strongest of the natural fibers. It is used by the paper industry for such specialty uses such as tea bags, banknotes and decorative papers. It can be used to make handcrafts such as hats, bags, carpets, clothing and furniture. Lupis is the finest quality of abacá. Sinamay is woven chiefly from abacá.


Textiles

Abacá fibers were traditionally woven into sturdy textiles and clothing in the Philippines since pre-colonial times. Along with
cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
, they were the main source of textile fibers used for clothing in the pre-colonial Philippines. Abacá cloth was often compared to
calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...
in terms of texture and was a major trade commodity in the pre-colonial maritime trade and the Spanish colonial era. There are multiple traditional types and names of abaca cloth among the different
ethnic groups of the Philippines The Philippines is inhabited by more than 182 Ethnolinguistic group, ethnolinguistic groups, many of which are classified as "Indigenous Peoples" under the country's Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997. Traditionally-Muslim minorities from ...
. Undyed plain abacá cloth, woven from fine fibers of abaca, is generally known as ''sinamáy'' in most of the islands. Abacá cloth with a more delicate texture is called ''tinampipi''. While especially fine lace-like abacá cloth is called ''nipis'' or ''lupis''. Fine abacá fibers may also be woven with ''
piña Piña ( ) is a traditional Philippine fiber made from the leaves of the pineapple plant. Pineapples are indigenous to South America but have been widely cultivated in the Philippines since the 17th century, and used for weaving lustrous lace- ...
'',
silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...
, or fine cotton to create a fabric called ''jusi''. Traditional abacá textiles were often dyed in various colors from various
natural dye Natural dyes are dyes or colorants derived from plants, invertebrates, or minerals. The majority of natural dyes are vegetable dyes from plant sources—roots, berry, berries, Bark (botany), bark, leaf, leaves, and wood—and other biological sourc ...
s. These include blue from
indigo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...
(''tarum'', ''dagum'', ''tayum'', etc.); black from
ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...
(''knalum'' or ''batulinao'') leaves; red from
noni ''Morinda citrifolia'' is a fruit-bearing tree in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, native to Southeast Asia and Australasia, which was spread across the Pacific by Polynesian sailors. The species is now cultivated throughout the tropics and widel ...
roots and '' sapang''; yellow from
turmeric Turmeric (), or ''Curcuma longa'' (), is a flowering plant in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. It is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that requires temperatures between and high ...
(''kalawag'', ''kuning'', etc.); and so on. They were often woven into specific patterns, and further ornamented with embroidery, beadwork, and other decorations. Most clothing made from abacá took the form of the ''baro'' (also ''barú'' or ''bayú'', literally "shirt" or "clothing"), a simple collar-less shirt or jacket with close-fitting long sleeves worn by both men and women in most ethnic groups in the pre-colonial Philippines. These were paired with wraparound sarong-like skirts (for both men and women), close-fitting pants, or loincloths ('' bahag''). During the Spanish colonial era, abacá cloth became known as medriñaque in Spanish (apparently derived from a native Cebuano name). They were exported to other Spanish colonies since the 16th century. A
waistcoat A waistcoat ( UK and Commonwealth, or ; colloquially called a weskit) or vest ( US and Canada) is a sleeveless upper-body garment. It is usually worn over a dress shirt and necktie and below a coat as a part of most men's formal wea ...
of a native Quechua man in
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
was recorded as being made of medriñaque as early as 1584. Abacá cloth also appear in English records, spelled variously as medrinacks, medrianacks, medrianackes, and medrinacles, among other names. They were used as
canvas Canvas is an extremely durable Plain weave, plain-woven Cloth, fabric used for making sails, tents, Tent#Marquees and larger tents, marquees, backpacks, Shelter (building), shelters, as a Support (art), support for oil painting and for other ite ...
for sails and for stiffening clothing like skirts, collars, and doublets. Philippine indigenous tribes still weave abacá-based textiles like '' t'nalak'', made by the Tiboli tribe of
South Cotabato South Cotabato, officially the Province of South Cotabato, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Soccsksargen Regions of the Philippines, region in Mindanao. Its capital is Koronadal (also the regional cen ...
, and ''dagmay'', made by the Bagobo people. Abacá cloth is found in museum collections around the world, like the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Textile Museum of Canada. The inner fibers are also used in the making of hats, including the "Manila hats", hammocks, matting, cordage, ropes, coarse twines, and types of canvas.


Industrial textile production


Processing

File:30-QWSTION-BANANATEX-FIBER-PULP-SHEETS-LAUSCHSICHT.jpg, alt=1. The raw fibres are tied with rope and shipped to Mindanao, Philippines, where they are boiled and pressed into cardboard like sheets which are then shipped to Taiwan., 1. The raw fibres are tied with rope and shipped to a factory, where they are boiled and pressed into cardboard like sheets. File:31-QWSTION-BANANATEX-PAPER-MAKING.jpg, 2. The abacá fibre sheets are then soaked in water. File:32-QWSTION-BANANATEX-ABACA-PAPER-LAUSCHSICHT.jpg, 3. They are then made into paper which are then cut into strips. File:34-QWSTION-BANANATEX-YARN-SPINNING.jpg, 4. The paper strips are then spun into yarn.


= Dyeing and weaving

= File:36-1-QWSTION-BANANATEX-YARN-DYEING-2.jpg, alt=1. The natural white yarn is sent to Qwstion's dyeing and weaving partner in Tainan, Taiwan. They colour the yarn using the yarn dyeing method which is more sustainable than the roll dyeing alternative and certified OekoTex® Standard 100, the highest standard., 1. The natural white yarn is then coloured using the yarn dyeing method which is more sustainable than the roll dyeing alternative. File:40-QWSTION-BANANATEX-WARPING-LAUSCHSICHT.jpg, 2. The warp yarns are then prepared for weaving. File:38-QWSTION-BANANATEX-WEAVING-3-LAUSCHSICHT.jpg, 3. The yarn is then woven at extra high density. File:48-QWSTION-BANANATEX-LOOM-LAUSCHSICHT.jpg, Weaving looms processing the fabric. File:49-QWSTION-BANANATEX-FABRIC.jpg, 4. The finished Manila hemp fabric, a natural beeswax coating is added to make the fabric waterproof. This particular fabric is manufactured by the Swiss company QWSTION.


Manila rope

Manila rope is a type of
rope A rope is a group of yarns, Plying, plies, fibres, or strands that are plying, twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger ...
made from manila hemp. Manila rope is very durable, flexible, and resistant to salt water damage, allowing its use in rope, hawsers, ships' lines, and
fishing net A fishing net or fish net is a net (device), net used for fishing. Fishing nets work by serving as an improvised fish trap, and some are indeed rigged as traps (e.g. #Fyke nets, fyke nets). They are usually wide open when deployed (e.g. by cast ...
s. A rope can require to break. Manilla rope is still the only material specified for lifeboat falls (the ropes with which a ship's lifeboat is lowered) in the United Kingdom. Manila ropes shrink when they become wet. This effect can be advantageous under certain circumstances, but if it is not a wanted feature, it should be well taken into account. Since shrinkage is more pronounced the first time the rope becomes wet, new rope is usually immersed into water and put to dry before use so that the shrinkage is less than it would be if the rope had never been wet. A major disadvantage in this shrinkage is that many knots made with manila rope became harder and more difficult to untie when wet, thus becoming subject of increased stress. Manila rope will rot after a period of time when exposed to saltwater. Manila hemp rope was previously the favoured variety of rope used for executions by hanging, both in the U.K. and USA. Usually 3/4 to 1 inch diameter, boiled prior to use to take out any overelasticity. It was also used in the 19th century as whaling line.
Moby-Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 Epic (genre), epic novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is centered on the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the maniacal quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler ...
, 1851,
Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works ar ...
Abacá fiber was once used primarily for rope, but this application is now of minor significance.


See also

*''
Musa basjoo ''Musa basjoo'', known variously as Japanese banana, Japanese fiber banana or hardy banana, is a species of flowering plant belonging to the banana family Musaceae. It was previously thought to have originated in the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, f ...
'' (Japanese banana), banana species also used as a traditional source of fiber in Okinawa, Japan * Kijōka-bashōfu, similar traditional fiber from Okinawa, Japan *
Piña Piña ( ) is a traditional Philippine fiber made from the leaves of the pineapple plant. Pineapples are indigenous to South America but have been widely cultivated in the Philippines since the 17th century, and used for weaving lustrous lace- ...
* T'nalak * Malong * Tapis * Inabel *
Batik Batik is a dyeing technique using wax Resist dyeing, resist. The term is also used to describe patterned textiles created with that technique. Batik is made by drawing or stamping wax on a cloth to prevent colour absorption during the dyein ...
*
Yakan people The Yakan people are among the major Filipino ethnolinguistic groups in the Sulu Archipelago. Having a significant number of followers of Islam, it is considered one of the 13 Muslim groups in the Philippines. The Yakans mainly reside in Basila ...
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Fiber crop Fiber crops are field crops grown for their fibers, which are traditionally used to make paper, cloth, or rope. Fiber crops are characterized by having a large concentration of cellulose, which is what gives them their Strength of materials, s ...
* International Year of Natural Fibres *
Natural fiber Natural fibers or natural fibres (see Spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences) are fibers that are produced by geology, geological processes, or from the bodies of plants or animals. They can be used as a component of Composite mate ...
* Manila folder *
Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia One of the major human migration events was the maritime settlement of the islands of the Indo-Pacific by the Austronesian peoples, believed to have started from at least 5,500 to 4,000 BP (3500 to 2000 BCE). These migrations were accompani ...


Notes


Footnotes


References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Yllano, O. B., Diaz, M. G. Q., Lalusin, A. G., Laurena, A. C., & Tecson-Mendoza, E. M. (2020). Genetic Analyses of Abaca (Musa textilis Née) Germplasm from its Primary Center of Origin, the Philippines, Using Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) Markers. ''Philippine Agricultural Scientist'', ''103''(4).


External links

*The World Book encyclopedia set, 1988. *See International Year of Natural Fibres 2009 *
abacá
A comprehensive pamphlet about Philippine abacá presented 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition held in San Francisco. Online publication uploaded i
Filipiniana.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abaca Musa (genus) Flora of the Philippines Fiber plants Biodegradable materials Philippine clothing History of Asian clothing Philippine handicrafts Austronesian agriculture