Grading of Jute _ What is Jute Grading? The quality of jute fibre (Corchorus capsularis and Corchorus olitorius) is usually judged by its suitability for the production of different types of yarns and its behaviour in the | manufacturing process. The BIS grading of jute envisages a score card system of grading that aims at eliminating personal bias as far as practicable. Six physical parameters viz., strength, fineness, colour, root content, defects and density of jute fibres are assessed for sorting out the fibre into eight different grades. Relative weightage is given to each physical parameter by standard scoring system and the grade of fibre is determined by total score of the six parameters. ! Grading Process There are two systems for grading of jute Q Hand & Eye Method Q Instrumental Method _ Hand & Eye Method An expert grader can assess the physical characteri: viz., fineness, density and strength of the fibre by his experience testing by hand only while visual assessment will judge colour, root content and defects by a close look at the fibre. 'Hand & Eye Method! is generally used in the market for on the spot assessment of the quality and grading of fibres. This method is subjective and assessment may vary from grader to grader. | mstrumental Method In this method all the six physical characters of fibre essential for determining grade are measured by fibre testing instruments. The use of instrument Is essential for an accurate and objective evaluation of gradesHand & Eye Method for Jute Grading The six physical characters of fibre viz., a) Strength, b) Fineness, c) Colour, d) Root content, e) Defects, and f) Density are assessed by hand & eye method for grading following the BIS standard score card system of grading. Strength For measuring strength of fibre a bundle of 10-15 fibres from the middle region of the fibre reed is gripped between the thumb and forefinger of both hands and broken longitudinally without jerk. It gives an idea of fibre strength. Good lusture of fibre is also an indicator of good fibre strength. Strength of jute fibre is divided into six groups i.e., Very good, Good, Fairly good, Fair average, Average, and Weak mixed. The scoring scheme for each group is shown in Table 1. Table 1 Scoring Scheme for Strength White Tossa Class Feelings of breakage prate fe gare (Score) (Score) Very Need strength to break and sharp —.25 30 Good audible sound at the time of breakage Good Need less strength to break and 20 23 audible sound at the time of breakage Fairly Need less strength to break and 18 20 Good sound will be available but not clear at the time of breakage Fair _ Need less strength to break with 15 18 Average very feeble sound at the time of breakage Average Need very little strength and 13 16 no sound at the time of breakage Weak Easily break and no sound at the 5 5 mixed time of breakageGRADING OF JUTE FIBRE Fineness The fineness is a measure of the diameter (width) or weight per unit length of fibre filament. Fineness is a genetic property and depends on plant age also at harvest. Fineness can be estimated simply by a close look at the fibre. Finer fibre shows better spinning quality. Fineness is divided into four groups i.e., Very fine, Fine, Fibre well separated, and Fibre separated. The scoring scheme for each group is shown in Table 2. Table 2 Scoring Scheme for Fineness : : White Tossa Class Feelings of the fibre byhand Wu’ (Score) (Score) Very Fine Very fine 15 10 Fine Not mostly fine but a 10 7 few fibres may be very fine Fibre well Not fine but the fibres are 7 5 Separated well separated Fibre Fibres are not well separated 5 2 separatedRoot Content The hard barky region at the lower end of the reed is called root. The roots are cut at the mill before processing of fibre and in commerce they are known as ‘Cuttings’ Measuring the extent of bark along the length of the reed bya scale and doubling the length percentage value of the root content make an estimate of root content in terms of weight Percentage. Normally white jute contains more roots than tossa jute. Table 3 Scoring Scheme for root content Class White /Tossa W,/TD, W,/TD, W,/TD, W,/TD, W,/ TD; W,/ TD, w,/ TD, W,/ TD, Score Marks 20 18 15 10 Maximum White Jute (Length %) 25) 4.0 7.5 10.0 12.5 15.0 20.0 >20.0 Root Content Tossa Jute (Length %) 2.5 4.0 5.0 St 10.0 12.5 17.5 >17.5Colour Colour means the property of a fibre, which distinguishes its appearance as redness, yellowness, greyness etc. It is largely dependent on retting conditions, water quality and washing. The clarification of different colours as defined in BIS specifications with score marks for white and tossa jute aregivenin Table 4. Table 4 Scoring Scheme for Colour Class Scr. White jute Tossa jute VeryGood 10 Light creamy to white Golden to reddish white Good 7 Creamy pink to Reddish to brownish white FairlyGood 5 _ brownish white Reddish or brownish Brownish to reddish with some light grey Fairly 4 white with some light Light grey to copper Average grey colour Average 3 Brownish to light grey Grey to dark grey Grey to dark grey Defects Factors causing serious or partial damage to the quality of fibre are commonly known as defects. In all, 12 defects have been identified in the body of fibre, which are broadly classified in two groups, namely a) Major defects and b) Minor defects. Major Defects Minor Defects (i) Over-retted fibre (i) Loose leaf (ii) Dazed Fibre (ii) Loose sticks (iii) Centre Root (iii) Specks (iv) Runner (iv) Gummy fibre (v) Knots (v) Croppy fibre and weak croppy ends (vi) Entangled sticks (vii) Mossy fibreNE Major Defects Over-retted fibre When plants are retted for longer period than required. over-retted fibre is produced which has lost its strength and brightness. Dazed fibre If fibre is stored in moist condition or fibre having excess moisture if stored for longer period, it becomes dazed. The fibre is weak in strength and dull in appearance. Center root Fibre, which is more or less clean and soft at both ends but contains hard barky’strips (periderm) in the middle region. This is caused when the middle region of the plant gets exposed to sunlight during retting. _ Runner Hard barky fibre running from the lower end to the middle region of the reed more or less continuously. Proper retting and washing can remove this. Knots These are stiff spots often barky and black to brown in colour appearing in the body of the strand, which break continuity of the fibre, when opened. Proper plant protection measures are the remedy in such causes. Entangled sticks Entangled sticks are broken pieces of sticks, which are linked with the fibre mass and are not easily removable. Mossy fibre The green moss, which grows in stagnated water in the field, gets attached to the jute plant and remains with the fibre even after retting and washing. This may be removed by combing. This defect is generally found in crop in the low-lying areas during flood conditionMinor Defects Loose leaf Small pieces of dark grey leafy or paper like substances (remnants of the loosened green skin of the plants) appearing on the body of the fibre. Proper washing may significantly remove loose leaf, Loose sticks Loose sticks are small broken pieces of wood, somehow attached with the fibre at the time of extraction or drying and are easily removed by shaking Specks Oval shaped dark grey to brown colour barky spots found on the fibre body are called specks. Improper retting and washing sometimes give rise to such barky spots. Fibres can be separated at specks with some efforts without breaking their continuity though they may remain as weak spots. Adequate plant protection measures and proper retting and washing may remove this defect. Gummy fibre Fibre held together by un-dissolved pectinous or gummy material. Proper retting and washing may remove this defect. Croppy fibre Fibre with top ends rough and hard (but not barky) caused by careless retting and washing. Weak croppy end Fibre over a length of about 30 cm. at the top and which has become unusually weak. The scoring for different types of defects as shown in Table 5.Table 5 Scoring Scheme for Defects Score Marks aa White Jute Tossa Jute Free from major & minor defects 25 25 22 90% Free from major & minor 22 defects except some loose leaf and few speaks 80% Free from major defects & 18 18 substantially free from specks & loose sticks Free from major defects 14 Free from centre roots & dazed 8 /over-retted fibre & reasonably free from entangled sticks Not more than 50% fibre should 2 2 suffer from major defects Density Weight per unit volume of fibre considering all air space in the fibre is the measure of density. The density is judged by the feel of heaviness or lightness of a number of reeds from the middle region of bulk, held within a grip between two hands and raised up and down. The sample that feels compact and weighty is graded as ‘heavy body' and loose and less weighty one is'medium body’. Heavy bodied sample generally spin into good quality yarn. Table 6 Scoring for Density Class Feelings of density White Jute Tossa Jute Heavy Body Compact and weighty 5 5 Medium Body Loose and less weighty 3 3