Page 22-Ag Progress Section 2, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 12, 2000
A fiber crop leaf, Roselle, has the classic hemp leaf look.
Field Day Proves
‘Tree-Free’ Paper
(Continued from Pago 20)
newsprint, less ink is necessary
providing some cost savings
for larger newsprint users.
The largest number of kenaf acres is lo
cated in south Texas in the Rio Grande
Valley. Producers are trying to build a
paper mill to handle kenaf processing ex
clusively in the U.S.
About 19 scientists are involved in re
search. Baldwin is a leading researcher
with kenaf at the Mississippi Agricultural
and forestry Experiment Station out of
Mississippi State University.
Federal money was provided to conduct
uniform variety trials. Eight varieties are
under study in the program including
three new American varieties. The varie
ties include one resistant to fungus.
The scientists are also working on varie
ties resistant to powdery mildew and
zonate leaf spot. Zonate leaf spot (which
comes from hickory trees) infects soybeans
and the kenaf can’t be rotated to many
plants to ward OB' the disease.
Also, nematodes, such as the root knot
nematode, are a challenge to the plant.
Correct rotation to kill nematodes, such as
planting sunn hemp, must be employed.
Kenaf fiber is from the croatalaria
family, a legal crop, according to Ed
Herrmann, Solanco Young Farmer Associ
ation adviser. The crop is not to be
confused with the illegal cannabis sativa.
Kenaf grows well on soils low in CEC
(cation exchange capacity), Baldwin noted
sandy soils common to the Delmarva
Peninsula. Kenaf is planted when soil tem
peratures are 60 degrees and rising.
Baldwin noted that the Northeast U.S. is
at the “limits” of adaptation.
There are no seed treatments labeled for
use of the crop. The crop emerges about 3-
5 days from seeding.
The crop is harvested after frost-kill
(about Nov. 1 in Mississippi). The crop can
only be harvested with a forage harvester
a silage cutter without an auger,
Baldwin said. (The dense and long fibers
can wind up around the auger). The fibers
can also get caught up in a rotary cutter. A
forage harvester with a Russian-made
Kemper header can work well. The mate
rial is blown into a silage wagon.
Row widths can range from 30 to 38
inches. But varieties perform best in the
14-inch range, a 20 percent increase in har
vest from 38-inch wide rows, according to
the kenaf researcher.
Though the agronomist has tested row
widths from 14, 21, and 28 inches to 38
inches, 14 inches seems idea. The research
ers are experimenting with 7-inch rows
this year.
Grass weeds can be especially challeng
ing in the field. A cotton herbicide is some
times used. And kenaf can be susceptible
to morning glory and cocklebur. Morning
glory can wrap up stalks.
At harvest, stalks measure about l-'/a
inches wide and are as light as balsa wood.
Harvest is when moisture is below 20 per-
PSht. (Tunr to' P*g»*2s) »•***♦•
jr
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Ed Herrmann, Solanco Young Farmer Association adviser, checks out the Tainung II
variety of kenaf during the Groff field day.
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