Abstract
The noncommercial kudzu plant has been growing wild in the southern United States since the 1930s. In this article, the kudzu fibrous vine is investigated for possible economic applications. The feasibility of removing the fibers by microbial retting is investigated as a low-cost method for recovery of these fibers. The harvest season, vine diameter, and the natural retting time are the three main variables investigated to determine the optimal fiber tensile strength. To extract these light yellow, unidirectional, and multicellular kudzu fibers, retting using a culture screened from a naturally occurring mixed culture was investigated. Late fall, winter, and spring retted fibers were subjected to tensile strength tests. The kudzu fibers were harvested from the wild in both Nashville, TN and Muscle Shoals, AL.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Hipps, C. B. (1994),Horticulture June–July, 36–39.
Tanner, R. D., Hussain, S. S., Hamilton, L. A., and Wolf, F. T. (1979),Econ. Botany 33, 400–412.
Reid, D. P. (1993),Chinese Herbal Medicine Shambhala Publications Inc., Boston, MA.
Shurtleff, W. and Aoyagi, A. (1985),The Book of Kudzu, A Culinary and Healing Guide. Avery Publishing Group, Wayne, NJ, pp. 72–78.
Batra, S. K. (1985),Other Long Vegetable Fibers, Fiber Chemistry. Handbook of Fiber Science and Technology, vol. 4,International Fiber Science and Technology, series 7 (Lewin, M. and Sello, S. B., eds.), Marcel Dekker, New York, pp. 727–807.
American Society for Testing and Materials (1990),Compilation of ASTM Standard Definitions. PCN:03-001090-42, 7th ed., American Society for Testing and Materials, Baltimore, MD.
Kirk, R. E. and Othmer, D. F. (1983),Explosives and Propellants to Flame Retardants for Textiles, Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, vol. 10, 14th ed. (Kroschwitz, I. and Howe-Grant, M., eds.), Wiley, New York, pp. 539–559.
Maheshwari, G. Syamala Devi, G., Bisaria, V. S., and Vasudevan, P. (1994),Bioresource Technol. 47, 177–179.
Mark H. F. (1987),Chem. Eng. Prog. 83, 44–54.
Grayson, M. (1983),Encyclopedia of Composite Materials and Components, Encyclopedia Reprint Series, Wiley, New York, pp. 497–512.
Clark J. G. (1990),Chem. Eng. Prog. 86, 45–50.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Uludag, S., Loha, V., Prokop, A. et al. The effect of fermentation (retting) time and harvest time on kudzu (Pueraria lobata) fiber strength. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 57, 75–84 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02941690
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02941690