MASSEY AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 14, 14 December 1932, Page 5

MASSEY AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.

(University of New Zealand.)

MONTHLY MEETING

THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE NEW ZEALAND HEMP INDUSTRY.

(By J. S. Yeates, M.Sc., Pli.D.)

New Zealand hemp or “flax” as it is commonly called was one of the earliest exports from this country. In 1813 the fibre was an established article of trade between Maoris and European traders, and in 1831 more than one thousand tons of fibre were exported. Until about 1867 the fibre was nearly all prepared laboriously by the natives by the simple but tedious handdressing method. The product was of excellent quality. From 1867 onwards the introduction of machinery changed the whole outlook of the industry. The fibre produced by the new process was definitely inferior to that prepared by the Natives. The reasons for this inferiority were first that the machinery damaged the fibre and did not i clean it thoroughly ; second, that the fibre of the whole leaf was used instead of only selected parts used by the Maoris; finally the new industry used indiscriminately all the varieties in natural iiax areas, whereas the Maoris had used only the best leaves of certain selected and named strains. | The methods and machinery used in the industry have not been radically altered since the first introduction of machinery into the industry. Nevertheless, a considerable export trade has been maintained, with some interruptions, up to the present time. The greatest quantity exported in any one year was the 28,000 tons shipped in 1913. In value of exports the three war years, 1916, 1917 _and 1918, were the most favourable, for the average value of fibre exported over this period was one and a quarter millions sterling per annum. At the present time the hemp industry, in common with others, is suffering from a most acute depression. This slump is of course largely due .to general world conditions, but the industry has certain other troubles which were evident before the general trade depression. The root of all these troubles is the competition of other fibres in the world markets. The problem in New Zealand is to reduce production costs or to improve quality to meet the competition. New Zealand hemp is one of the fibres known commercially as hard fibres. Each year about 300,000 tons of these fibres are used throughout the world for ropes and twines, including the binder twine used in wheat harvesting machines. The bulk of the supply of hard fibre before the war came as “Manila” from the Philippine Islands and as “sisal” from Mexico. Since the war there has been a very great development of sisal growing in Java and in British East Africa. Both sisal and Manila are produced by low-paid coloured labour. As a result these fibres, though involving more labour, can be produced at rates offering the keenest competition to the New Zealand industry, which is carried on by comparatively high-paid Labour.

One of the factors which i.s commonly supposed to threaten the industry with extinction is the disease known as “yellow leaf.” This idea is quite erroneous. Yellow leaf disease has certainly done great damage in two parts of the Manawatu. In closely adjacent areas in the Manawatu and in all the other _ flax-growing districts there is no sign that yellow leaf in any way threatens the industry. The manufacture of sacks and wool packs is a proposed* industry which would do much to place the New Zealand hemp industry on a sound footing. Until the wool-pack industry is established, however, it is difficult to say just to what extent the fibre industry will benefit. The improvement of quality and the lowering of costs in New Zealand hemp can be approached from two different angles. One is from the manufacturing side ; the other is from the flax-growing side which provides the raw material. Each line of attack is capable of improving quality and reducing costs, but there is no doubt that Towered costs can bo best obtained on the manufacturing side, and that for the highest quality the improvement of the raw material is necessary. As an illustration, about one-fifth of the cost of producing fibre is represented by the cost of growing the raw material. Cutting and cartage to the mill cost more than the growing of the leaf. It i.s plain that even to halve the cost of growing the raw material would reduce costs of production by only about ten per cent. On the other hand to cut the leaf mechanically might save a great deal more than ten per cent, of the total cost.

The improvement of quality can be attained to a certain extent on the manufacturing side either by the use of more labour or by the improvement of machinery. The improvement of raw material, however, definitely offers tho greatest improvement of quality and also a certain reduction of manufacturing costs. The Phormium Research Committee of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research was set up in 1928 to take steps towards the improvement of tho hemp industry. The committee decided that the first line of work should be the improvement of the raw material. The carrying out of this work was entrusted to the Massey Agricultural College, together with certain funds obtained from the industry and the Government. The work which has been carried on since then by the college has been concerned chiefly with the selection and testing of superior strains of fibreproducing plants. The main qualities demanded of a satisfactory strain are quality of fibre, resistance to disease and cropping power. In order to test the last two qualities it is necessary to grow as many as possible of the plants under observation for some years. Up to the present nearly three hundred strains of flax have been planted out on the college property, a.nd in some cases other plants of the same strains have been planted in other districts. Certain strains have been found to be definitely outstanding in yield and quality of fibre and in

disease resistance. In the latter respect we owe much to previous testing of strains by Mr Alfred Seifert. The variety (Seifert’s Superior) which has most certainly shown its powers of resistance to the disease is also a high quality fibre-plant and grows a fair crop. It is, however, being crossed with another strain of high quality which crops heavily. It is hoped to select from the hybrids some plants which combine the best qualities of both parents. There are afso a number of other varieties of outstanding quality, but it is vet too soon to speak definitely as regards their resistance to disease. One result of careful tests of the seed from over one hundred varieties is the conclusion that none of them breeds true from seed. Fibre should not only be of good quality, but it must be uniform in quality. Such uniformity cannot be obtained by growing the seedlings of any variety, so far tested. The only certain method of securing uniformity is to plant whole areas with “fans” broken up originally from one bush. Sisal, our main competitor, has obtained uniformity in this way, and any one variety of apple, or potato has been increased in this way from one original plant. On© acre of New Zealand flux planted now as a result of breaking into fans every three years should increase to at least 400 acres in six years. At the college the best strains are being propagated in this way so that enough plants will lie available to start commercial areas each of one strain. It is hoped that one acre of a single strain will be set out this winter to start a commercial plantation. It is to be expected that fibre from such a plantation will be greatly superior in quality to any New Zealand hemp so far produced, and that the cost of production will bo lower than from an ordinary swamp. The improved quality is due simply to the plant grown. The main points in which fibre from a good plant excels are tensile strength, colour and freedom from “fluffing” or breaking and consequent knotting caused in manufacture. Without any extra cost in handling, fibre from the best plants should be worth £5 per ton more than fibre from an ordinary swamp. At present New Zealand hemp ropes do not satisfy the tensile strength requirements of the British Armiralty or of

the New Zealand Marine Department. There is no doubt, however, that some strains produce fibre quite strong enough for such purposes. Lowered costs of production on such a commercial plantation should be due to several factors. First of all, the selected strain should crop more heavily than the mixture of bad and indifferent strains in a natural swamp; the plantation would be in rows, permitting of easy control of weeds and lower costs of flax-cutting. At present cutting by Irand adds three to four pounds to the cost of each ton of fibre. In plantations cutting will almost certainly be done at a fraction of the present cost, by machines travelling between the rows. An industry established along these lines should be able both in quality and in price to meet all competition and to add considerably to our export trade.