Abacá ( ; ), also known as Manila hemp, is a species of banana, Musa textilis, endemic to the Philippines. The plant grows to , and averages about . The plant has great economic importance, being harvested for its fiber extracted from the leaf-stems.
The lustrous fiber is traditionally hand-loomed into various indigenous textiles ( abaca cloth or medriñaque) in the Philippines. They are still featured 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.
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.
Abaca is classified as a Leaf fiber, along with coir, henequin and sisal. Abaca is grown as a commercial crop in the Philippines, Ecuador, Costa Rica.
Description
The abacá plant is
stoloniferous, meaning that the plant produces runners or shoots along the ground that then root at each segment. Cutting and transplanting rooted runners is the primary technique for creating new plants, since seed growth is substantially slower.
Abacá has a "false trunk" or pseudostem about in diameter. The leaf stalks (petioles) are expanded at the base to form
Leaf sheath 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. They grow in succession. The petioles grow to at least in length.
When the plant is mature, the flower stalk grows up inside the pseudostem. The male flower has five petals, each about long. The leaf sheaths contain the valuable fiber. After harvesting, the coarse fibers range in length from long. They are composed primarily of cellulose, lignin, and pectin.
The fruit, which is inedible and is rarely seen as harvesting occurs before the plant fruits, grows to about in length and in diameter. It has black turbinate seeds that are in diameter.
Systematics
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.
Genetic diversity
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.
Abaca genotypes in Luzon had higher genetic diversity than Visayas and Mindanao.
Ninety-five (95) percent was attributed to molecular variance within the population, and only 5% of the molecular variance to variation among populations.
Genetic analysis by Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA) revealed several clusters irrespective of geographical origin.
History
Before synthetic textiles came into use,
M. textilis was a major source of high quality fiber: soft, silky and fine.
Ancestors of the modern abacá are thought to have originated from the eastern Philippines, where there is significant rainfall throughout the year. Wild varieties of abacá can still be found in the interior forests of the island province of
Catanduanes, away from cultivated areas.
Today, Catanduanes has many other modern kinds of abacá which are more competitive. For many years, breeders from various research institutions have made the cultivated varieties of Catanduanes even more competitive in local and international markets. This results in the optimum production of the island which had a consistent highest production throughout the archipelago.
16th century
Europeans first came into contact with Abacá fibre when Ferdinand Magellan landed in the Philippines in 1521, as the natives were already cultivating it and utilizing it in bulk for textiles.
[ Throughout the Spanish colonial era, it was referred to as " medriñaque" cloth.
]
19th century
By 1897, the Philippines were exporting almost 100,000 tons of abacá,
From 1898 to 1946, the United States colonized the Philippines following the Spanish-American War. The Guggenheim claims the "colonial government found ways to prevent Filipinos from profiting off of the abaca crops, instead favoring the businesses of American expats and Japanese immigrants, as well as ensuring that the bulk of the abaca harvests were exported to the United States" for use in military initiatives.
20th century
In the early 1900s, a train running from Danao to Argao would transport Philippine abacá from the plantations to Cebu City for export.
Outside the Philippines, abacá was first cultivated on a large scale in Sumatra in 1925 under the Dutch Empire, who had observed its cultivation in the Philippines for cordage since the nineteenth century, followed up by plantings in Central America in 1929 sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
After the war, the U.S. Department of Agriculture started production in Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala.
21st century
Today, abacá is produced primarily in the Philippines and Ecuador.
Cultivation
The plant is normally grown in well-drained soil, using rhizomes planted at the start of the rainy season.[ Growers harvest abacá fields every three to eight months after an initial growth period of 12–25 months.]
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tuxying (separation of primary and secondary sheath)
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stripping (getting the fibers)
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drying (usually following the tradition of sun-drying).
When the processing is complete, the bundles of fiber are pale and lustrous with a length of .
In Costa Rica, more modern harvest and drying techniques are being developed to accommodate the very high yields obtained there.
According to the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority, the Philippines provided 87.4% of the world's abacá in 2014, earning the Philippines US$111.33 million.
The Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP) and the Department of Agriculture reported that in 2009–2013, Bicol Region had a 39% share of Philippine abacá production of which an overwhelming 92% came from Catanduanes. Eastern Visayas, the second largest producer had 24% and the Davao Region, the third largest producer had 11% of the total production. Around 42 percent of the total abacá fiber shipments from the Philippines went to the United Kingdom in 2014, making it the top importer.
Pathogens
Abacá is vulnerable to a number of pathogens, notably abaca bunchy top virus, abaca bract mosaic virus,
Uses
Due to its strength, it is a sought after product and is the strongest of the natural fibers.
Lupis is the finest quality of abacá.
Textiles
Abacá fibers were traditionally woven into sturdy textiles and clothing in the Philippines since pre-colonial times. Along with cotton, they were the main source of textile fibers used for clothing in the pre-colonial Philippines. Abacá cloth was often compared to calico in terms of texture and was a major trade commodity in the pre-colonial maritime trade and the Spanish colonial era.
Traditional abacá textiles were often dyed in various colors from various . These include blue from indigo plant ( tarum, dagum, tayum, etc.); black from Diospyros ferrea ( knalum or batulinao) leaves; red from noni roots and Biancaea sappan; yellow from turmeric ( kalawag, kuning, etc.); and so on. They were often woven into specific patterns, and further ornamented with embroidery, beadwork, and other decorations.
During the Spanish colonial era, abacá cloth became known as medriñaque in Spanish language (apparently derived from a native Cebuano language name). They were exported to other Spanish colonies since the 16th century. A waistcoat of a native Quechua people man in Peru was recorded as being made of medriñaque as early as 1584. Abacá cloth also appear in English records, spelled variously as medrinacks, medrianacks, medrianackes, and medrinacles, among other names. They were used as canvas for sails and for stiffening clothing like skirts, collars, and doublets.
Philippine indigenous tribes still weave abacá-based textiles like t'nalak, made by the Tboli people tribe of South Cotabato, and dagmay, made by the Bagobo people.
The inner fibers are also used in the making of hats, including the "Manila hats", hammocks, matting, cordage, ropes, coarse twines, and types of canvas.
Industrial textile production
Processing
File:30-QWSTION-BANANATEX-FIBER-PULP-SHEETS-LAUSCHSICHT.jpg|alt=1. The raw fibres are tied with rope and shipped to Mindanao, Philippines, where they are boiled and pressed into cardboard like sheets which are then shipped to Taiwan.| 1. The raw fibres are tied with rope and shipped to a factory, where they are boiled and pressed into cardboard like sheets.
Dyeing and weaving
File:36-1-QWSTION-BANANATEX-YARN-DYEING-2.jpg|alt=1. The natural white yarn is sent to Qwstion's dyeing and weaving partner in Tainan, Taiwan. They colour the yarn using the yarn dyeing method which is more sustainable than the roll dyeing alternative and certified OekoTex® Standard 100, the highest standard.| 1. The natural white yarn is then coloured using the yarn dyeing method which is more sustainable than the roll dyeing alternative.
Manila rope
Manila rope is a type of rope made from manila hemp. Manila rope is very durable, flexible, and resistant to Seawater damage, allowing its use in rope, , ships' lines, and .
Manila ropes shrink when they become wet. This effect can be advantageous under certain circumstances, but if it is not a wanted feature, it should be well taken into account. Since shrinkage is more pronounced the first time the rope becomes wet, new rope is usually immersed into water and put to dry before use so that the shrinkage is less than it would be if the rope had never been wet. A major disadvantage in this shrinkage is that many knots made with manila rope became harder and more difficult to untie when wet, thus becoming subject of increased stress. Manila rope will rot after a period of time when exposed to saltwater.
Manila hemp rope was previously the favoured variety of rope used for executions by hanging, both in the U.K. and USA. Usually diameter, boiled prior to use to take out any overelasticity. Abacá fiber was once used primarily for rope, but this application is now of minor significance.
See also
Notes
Footnotes
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Yllano, O. B., Diaz, M. G. Q., Lalusin, A. G., Laurena, A. C., & Tecson-Mendoza, E. M. (2020). Genetic Analyses of Abaca (Musa textilis Née) Germplasm from its Primary Center of Origin, the Philippines, Using Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) Markers. Philippine Agricultural Scientist, 103(4).
External links
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The World Book encyclopedia set, 1988.
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See International Year of Natural Fibres 2009
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abacá A comprehensive pamphlet about Philippine abacá presented 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition held in San Francisco. Online publication uploaded in Filipiniana.net
