engleski

Flax – does it has a future?

Flax belongs to the oldest cultivated plants in the world. For thousands of years it has been used for obtaining fibres, food and medicaments with numerous ups and downs. The principal areas in the world where textile flax has traditionally been cultivated, and to a large extent still is, are northwest and eastern Europe, and China and Egypt. However, flax was used to produce textile products, which in the West had been progressively replaced by articles made from cheaper fibres such as cotton, jute, polyester, and polypropylene. It experienced a renaissance near the end of the 20th century, when ecological awareness and responsibility for the environment increased through the enhanced protection of natural resources. Nowadays, many researchers all over the world, and also in Croatia, are trying to improve the cultivation of flax and to expand it’s used. As flax fibre has not been grown in Croatia for more than 15 years, the investigations of flax is very scarce. Since 2001 Zagreb County, Ministry of Science, Education and Sports and Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development have joined in the projects of conserving this crop and the cultural heritage of the Republic of Croatia. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce newly created agro technical and high-yield cultivars of flax fibre and to investigate their important agronomic and textile-technological properties under Croatian environmental conditions, with respect to the character and physiognomy of the existing plant production in particular areas of Croatia, but also to the socio-economic circumstances in those areas. This is also a precondition for the revival of flax fibre on Croatian family farms. It would produce a basic raw material for new domestic market products as an autochthon Croatian product. Certainly, the possibility of increased employment is no less important, bearing in mind flax production and processing.

flax, flax fibres, renewal of flax production, cultivars, agronomic and textile properties

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