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A Detailed Guide to Key Cotton and Hemp Cultivation Techniques and Management Methods

Growing Techniques By Emily Carter 0 views

Cotton-linen refers to textiles made from cotton and hemp as raw materials. Both cotton and hemp are plants that grow in temperate zones; the seed portions of cotton and ramie are harvested, sun-dried, machine-threshed to separate the seeds from the cotton and hemp portions, machine-pressed, then spun into thread and cloth, and finally dyed to make finished products. The Egyptians were the first to discover and use flax fiber, with a history of 8000 years. China discovered and used ramie as a textile raw material as early as 4000 years ago during the Neolithic period. The Egyptians were the first to discover and use flax fiber, with a history of 8000 years. China discovered and used ramie as a textile raw material as early as 4000 years ago during the Neolithic period.

Classification of Cotton-Linen

Cotton-linen-wool polishing products refer to items made from cotton (plant), hemp (plant), and wool (hair from animals) through a manufacturing process, used for polishing and grinding. Both cotton and hemp are plants that grow in temperate zones; the seed portions of cotton and ramie are harvested, sun-dried, machine-threshed to separate the seeds from the cotton and hemp portions, machine-pressed, then spun into thread and cloth, and finally dyed to make finished products. Italian handmade craftsmanship is the most famous.
Cotton fiber is a seed fiber formed from the epidermal cells of fertilized ovules through elongation and thickening, different from ordinary bast fibers. Its main constituent substance is cellulose. Cellulose is a natural polymer compound with the chemical structural formula (C6H10O5)n. Normally mature cotton cellulose content is about 94%. In addition, it contains small amounts of accompanying substances such as poly pentosan, wax, protein, fat, water-soluble substances, and ash. Because cotton fiber has many excellent economic properties, it has become the most important raw material for the textile industry. Cotton fiber has high strength, good wrinkle resistance, but poor stretchability; relatively good heat resistance, second only to hemp; poor acid resistance, resistant to dilute alkali at room temperature; good affinity for dyes, easy to dye, complete color spectrum, and relatively bright colors.
Hemp fiber (bast fibre and leaf fibre), fibers obtained from various hemp plants, including bast fibers from the cortex of annual or perennial herbaceous dicotyledons and leaf fibers from monocotyledons. Bast fiber crops mainly include ramie, jute, abutilon, hemp (Cannabis sativa), flax, apocynum, and kenaf, etc. Among them, ramie, flax, apocynum, etc. have cell walls that are not lignified, and the thickness and length of the fibers are similar to cotton, so they can be used as textile raw materials to weave various cool fine linen fabrics, summer cloth, and can also be blended with cotton, wool, silk, or chemical fibers; jute, kenaf, and other bast fibers have lignified cell walls and short fibers, only suitable for spinning ropes and packaging gunny bags, etc. Leaf fibers are coarser and harder than bast fibers, and can only be made into ropes, etc.

Hemp fibers are bonded into sheets by gum, and during extraction the gum must be removed to separate the fibers, which is called degumming. Ramie and flax can be separated into single fibers. Jute fibers are short and can only be separated into fiber bundles of appropriate size for spinning; this fiber bundle is called technical fiber. Among hemp fibers used in textiles, there are more gum and other cellulose accompanying substances; after refining, the cellulose content of hemp fiber is still lower than that of cotton fiber. The cellulose content of ramie fiber is close to that of cotton (above 95%); the cellulose content of flax is slightly lower than that of ramie; and the cellulose content of jute and leaf fibers is only about 70% or less. The orientation degree of cellulose macromolecules in the cell walls of ramie and flax fibers is greater than that of cotton fiber, and the crystallinity is also better; therefore, the strength of hemp fiber is higher than that of cotton fiber, reaching up to 6.5 grams/denier; the elongation rate is small, only half that of cotton fiber, about 3.5%, and it is more brittle than cotton fiber. Ramie and flax fiber surfaces are smooth, relatively easy to absorb water, and the speed of moisture dissipating into the atmosphere is faster; the fibers are relatively straight and not easily deformed. The Egyptians have used flax fiber for 8000 years, and the mummy wrappings in tombs were up to more than 900 meters long. China used ramie as a textile raw material as early as 4000 BC during the Neolithic Age. The ramie fabric fragments found among the artifacts unearthed at Qianshanyang in Wuxing, Zhejiang, are relics from before 2700 BC.

Advantages of Cotton-Linen

1. The advantage of cotton-linen blended fabric compared with other fabrics is that it is inexpensive. Cotton-linen blended fabric has the advantages of both cotton and hemp. Cotton-linen blends have the advantages of being environmentally friendly, breathable, comfortable, having good drape, and being comfortable to wear. Because this fabric has good elasticity and abrasion resistance in both dry and wet conditions, stable dimensions, low shrinkage, and the characteristics of being crisp, not easily wrinkled, easy to wash, and quick-drying, and it is woven from all-natural fibers, low-carbon and environmentally friendly, which aligns with current international textile and apparel trends; therefore, it is very suitable for clothing and home textile fabrics. Hemp-cotton blended fabric generally uses 55% hemp and 45% cotton, or a 50/50 ratio of hemp and cotton for blending.

2. In appearance, cotton-linen blends maintain the unique rough and crisp style of hemp fabric, while also having the soft characteristics of cotton fabric, improving the shortcomings of hemp fabric being not fine and clean enough and prone to fuzzing. Cotton-linen interwoven fabric is mostly interwoven fabric with cotton as warp and hemp as weft; the texture is firm and smooth, and the hand feel is softer than pure linen. Hemp-cotton blended interwoven fabrics are mostly lightweight, suitable for summer clothing.




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