Agriculture Business Week

The technology to commercially tap three nontraditional sources of natural fiber has been developed by the Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI), an agency of the Department of Science and Technology headed by Dr. Carlos Tomboc.

The three sources are maguey, saluyot and water hyacinth better known locally as water lily. Products made of these natural fibers were showcased last Wednesday at the national conference on natural fibers held at a Makati hotel.

The products include materials for making barong, lady’s dresses, handbags, home decors, accessories and many other products made of fabric. The fibers can also be manufactured into nonwoven fabrics which have various applications in industry like insulating or sound-proofing materials in rooms and car interiors.

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Once considered a nuisance, the once lowly water lily is creating ripples in the agribusiness word because of its various economics possibilities.

It is a free-floating perennial aquatic plant native to tropical South America. With broad, thick, glossy, ovate leaves, it may rise above the surface of the water as much as one meter in height. The leaves are 10-20 centimeters across, and float above the water surface. It has long, spongy and bulbous stalks. The feathery, freely hanging roots are purple-black. An erect stalk supports a single spike of 8-15 conspicuously attractive flowers, mostly lavender to pink in color with six petals.

Experts call it water hyacinth but to most Filipinos it is known as “water lily.” Water hyacinth (scientific name: Eichornia crassipes) is considered the most productive plant on earth as it yields more than 200 tons of dry matter per hectare per year under normal conditions. On water containing high concentrations of sewage, it yields up to 657 tons of dry matter per hectare.

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The stalks of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) are a viable natural source of alternative textile material, according to the Department of Science and Technology’s Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI).

Researchers at PTRI are studying water hyacinth fibers as raw material for the manufacture of clothing and home fabrics. Processing the fibers with polyester staples initially produced blended yarns with 20–35 percent water hyacinth component. The stalks went through a series of chemical and mechanical treatment to achieve the crimp property of wool for better processing, reduce the plant’s glue-like or gum content, and soften the fibers to make them fine and fit for knitting and weaving into apparel and other home textiles.

For a yarn count of 15 Ne suitable for apparels, blends of 80/20 and 65/35 of polyester/water hyacinth fibers were used. The same blends of polyester/water hyacinth fibers were used to get a yarn count of 10–12 Ne ideal for home textiles such as curtains, upholstery, table runners, napkins, bed cover, pillow case, and other items found at home.

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