Abacá
Abacá (Spanish) (/ɑːbəˈkɑː/ ah-bə-KAH; Filipino: Abaka [ɐbɐˈka]), Musa textilis, is a species of banana endemic to the Philippines. The plant grows to 13–22 feet (4.0–6.7 m), and averages about 12 feet (3.7 m). The plant, also known as Manila hemp, has great economic importance, being harvested for its fiber, also called Manila hemp, extracted from the leaf-stems.[4][5][6]
"Abacas" redirects here. Not to be confused with Abacus.
The lustrous fiber is traditionally hand-loomed into various indigenous textiles (abaca cloth or medriñaque) in the Philippines. They still figure 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 straw made from Manila hemp is called tagal or tagal straw.[7][8]
The fiber is also exceptionally strong, stronger than hemp 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.[9] The abaca industry declined sharply in the mid-20th century when abaca plantations were decimated by World War II and plant diseases, as well as the invention of nylon in the 1930s (which eventually replaced the use of abacá in maritime cordage). Today, abaca is mostly used in a variety of specialized paper products including tea bags, filter paper and banknotes. Manila envelopes and Manila paper derive their name from this fiber.[4][6]
Abaca is classified as a hard fiber, along with coir, henequin and sisal. Abaca is grown as a commercial crop in the Philippines, Ecuador, Costa Rica.
Description[edit]
The abacá plant is stoloniferous, meaning that the plant produces runners or shoots along the ground that then root at each segment.[1] Cutting and transplanting rooted runners is the primary technique for creating new plants, since seed growth is substantially slower.[nb 1][11] Abacá has a "false trunk" or pseudostem about 6–15 inches (15–38 cm) in diameter.[1] 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.[1] They grow in succession. The petioles grow to at least 1 foot (30 cm) in length.[1]
When the plant is mature, the flower stalk grows up inside the pseudostem. The male flower has five petals, each about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) long.[1] The leaf sheaths contain the valuable fiber. After harvesting, the coarse fibers range in length from 6–12 feet (180–370 cm) long.[1] They are composed primarily of cellulose, lignin, and pectin.
The fruit, which is inedible[1] and is rarely seen as harvesting occurs before the plant fruits, grows to about 2–3 inches (5.1–7.6 cm) in length and 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter.[1] It has black turbinate seeds that are 0.167 inches (0.42 cm) in diameter.[1]
Systematics[edit]
The abacá plant belongs to the banana family, Musaceae; it resembles the closely related wild seeded bananas, Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. Its scientific name is Musa textilis. Within the genus Musa, it is placed in section Callimusa (now including the former section Australimusa), members of which have a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 20.[12]
Genetic diversity[edit]
The Philippines, especially the Bicol region 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.[13] Abaca genotypes in Luzon had higher genetic diversity than Visayas and Mindanao.[13] Ninety-five (95) percent was attributed to molecular variance within the population, and only 5% of the molecular variance to variation among populations.[13] Genetic analysis by Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA) revealed several clusters irrespective of geographical origin.[13]
1. The raw fibres are tied with rope and shipped to a factory, where they are boiled and pressed into cardboard like sheets.[45]
2. The abacá fibre sheets are then soaked in water.
3. They are then made into paper which are then cut into strips.
4. The paper strips are then spun into yarn.
