~ 164 ~ The Pharma Innovation Journal 2018; 7(7): 164-167 ISSN (E): 2277- 7695 ISSN (P): 2349-8242 NAAS Rating: 5.03 TPI 2018; 7(7): 164-167 © 2018 TPI www.thepharmajournal.com Received: 23-05-2018 Accepted: 24-06-2018 Sanjoy Shil Asst. Professor, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya (Bankura Campus), Chhatna, Susunia, Bankura, West Bengal, India Jiban Mitra DUS Testing Laboratory, Division of Crop Improvement, ICAR-Central Research Institute Jute & Allied Fibres (ICAR- CRIJAF), Barrackpore, Kolkata, West Bengal, India Correspondence Sanjoy Shil Asst. Professor, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya (Bankura Campus), Chhatna, Susunia, Bankura, West Bengal, India JRC 9057 (Ishani): a newly developed white jute (Corchorus capsularis L.) variety for enhanced fibre yield and improved quality textile fibre Sanjoy Shil and Jiban Mitra Abstract Jute is one of the most affordable natural fibers and it is second only to cotton in amount produced and variety of uses of vegetable fibers. Jute fibres are eco-friendly, biodegradable and recyclable in nature and hence it create pollution free environment. In modern era of growing environmental friendly crops, the role of jute as ‘Green Crop’ may be highlighted and the significance of this commercial crop will be not only to produce fibre for industries as raw material but also the equivalent impact on balancing and conditioning the soil-air-environment. So the production of jute fibres assumes high socio-economic as well as environmental significance. Among the two species of jute (Corchorus olitorius L. and Corchorus capsularis L.) fibre made from C. capsularis is whiter and of a higher quality than that made from C. olitorius. The cultivation of white jute (C. capsularis L.) is very specific and native to India particularly to Eastern states. The white jute can be grown comparatively in low land situation and even under moisture stress and water logged situation. Keeping in mind, a variety (JRC 9057) of high yielding and better quality fibre have been developed from the selection of the progenies of JRC 698 X CIJ 121 following pedigree method. The selection has been made for quality textile fibre coupled with high yield. For this purpose, pedigree of CIJ 121 was selected for quality and JRC 698 was used to incorporate high yield. This variety is mainly suitable for low and medium land rainfed situation and areas where jute is cultivated followed by transplanted aman paddy. Keywords: White jute (Corchorus capsularis L.), finer fibre, textile fibre, pedigree selection and high yielding Introduction Jute is known as the ‘Golden Fibre of India’ due to its golden brown colour and its importance that impart 0.42% of gross cropped area, provides livelihood to more than 40 lakh farm families. It also provides direct and indirect employment to another 10 lakh people in the industrial sector. The fibre is extracted from the cut stems by retting in water, removing the soft tissue, curing the fibre and drying it. In terms of usage, production and global consumption, jute is second only to cotton. It is used for making sacks, bags, carpets, curtains, fabrics and paper. It is the fibre used to make hessian sacks and garden twine. C. olitorius and C. capsularis are the main sources of jute. The world production is concentrated in India and Bangladesh, where the crop grows well in the Ganges and Brahmaputra floodplains and delta region. Jute is environmentally friendly as well as being one of the most affordable fibres; jute plants are easy to grow, have a high yield per acre and, unlike cotton, have little need for pesticides and fertilizers. Jute is a bast fibre, like flax and hemp, and the stems are processed in a similar way. Jute is extracted from the bark of the white jute plant, Corchorus capsularis and to a lesser extent from tossa jute (C. olitorius). Jute fibres are very long (1 to 4 metres), silky, lustrous and golden brown in colour. In contrast to most textile fibres which consist mainly of cellulose, jute fibres are part cellulose, part lignin. Cellulose is a major component of plant fibres while lignin is a major component of wood fibre; jute is therefore partly a textile fibre and partly wood. Jute is the most important bast fibre crop of the world being cultivated in Eastern India, Bangladesh, Nepal and some South East Asian countries, and is second only to cotton in terms of production and variety of uses (Islam et al., 2013) [1] . Now a day, jute is facing a tough competition from synthetic fibres, it is apparent that production of one ton of polypropylene emits 3.7 tonnes of CO 2 , whereas one hectare of jute consumes around 15 tonnes of CO 2 in 100 days indicating the environment friendly effect of jute fibre. So in recent days, the demand for natural fibre based products is increasing continuously.