Abac (/bk/ ah-b-KAH; Spanish: abac [aaka]), binomial name Musa

textilis, is a species of banana native to the Philippines,[3]grown as a

commercial crop in the Philippines, Ecuador, and Costa Rica. The plant,
also known as Manila hemp,[3] has great economic importance, being
harvested for its fiber, also called Manila hemp, extracted from the leafstems.[4] The plant grows to 1322 feet (4.06.7 m),[1] and averages about 12
feet (3.7 m). The fiber was originally used for making twines and ropes;
now most is pulped and used in a variety of specialized paper products
including tea bags, filter paper and banknotes. It is classified as a hard
fiber, along with coir, henequin and sisal

Description[edit]
The abac plant is stoloniferous, meaning that the plant produces runners
or shoots along the ground that then root at each segment.[1]Cutting and
transplanting rooted runners is the primary technique for creating new
plants, since seed growth is substantially slower.[nb 1][6]Abac has a "false
trunk" or pseudostem about 615 inches (1538 cm) in diameter.[4] The leaf
stalks (petioles) are expanded at the base to form sheaths 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.
[1]
They grow in succession. The petioles grow to at least 1 foot (30 cm)
in length.[1] When the plant is mature, the flower stalk grows up inside
the pseudostem. The male flower has 5 petals, each about 1.5 inches
(3.8 cm) long.[1] The leaf sheaths contain the valuable fiber. After
harvesting, the coarse fibers range in length from 612 feet (180370 cm)
long.[4] They are composed primarily of cellulose, lignin, and pectin.
The fruit, which is inedible[4] and is rarely seen as harvesting occurs
before the plant fruits, grows to about 23 inches (5.17.6 cm) in length
and 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter.[1] It has black turbinate seeds that are
0.167 inches (0.42 cm) in diameter

Description[edit]
The abac plant is stoloniferous, meaning that the plant produces runners or shoots along the
ground that then root at each segment.[1]Cutting and transplanting rooted runners is the primary
technique for creating new plants, since seed growth is substantially slower.[nb 1][6]Abac has a "false
trunk" or pseudostem about 615 inches (1538 cm) in diameter.[4] The leaf stalks (petioles) are
expanded at the base to form sheaths 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. [1] They grow in succession.
The petioles grow to at least 1 foot (30 cm) in length.[1] When the plant is mature, the flower stalk
grows up inside the pseudostem. The male flower has 5 petals, each about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) long.
[1]
The leaf sheaths contain the valuable fiber. After harvesting, the coarse fibers range in length from
612 feet (180370 cm) long.[4] They are composed primarily of cellulose, lignin, and pectin.
The fruit, which is inedible[4] and is rarely seen as harvesting occurs before the plant fruits, grows to
about 23 inches (5.17.6 cm) in length and 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter.[1] It has black turbinate
seeds that are 0.167 inches (0.42 cm) in diameter.[1]

Systematics[edit]
The abac 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.[7]

History[edit]

Abaca fiber drying in abaca farm, Costa Rica

Before synthetic textiles came into use, M. textilis was a major source of high quality fiber: soft, silky
and fine.[8] Ancestors of the modern abaca are thought to have originated from the Eastern
Philippines where there are lot of rains (no pronounced dry season), in fact wild type of abaca can
still be found in the interior forests of Catanduanes Island which is often not cultivated. Today,
Catanduanes has many other modern kinds of abaca which are more competitive. For many years,
breeders from various research institutions have made the cultivated varieties of Catanduanes
Island 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. [citation
needed]

Europeans first came into contact with Abaca fibre when Magellan made land in the Philippines in
1521, as the natives were cultivating it and utilizing it in bulk for textiles already.[6] By 1897, the
Philippines were exporting almost 100,000 tons of abac,[5] and it was one of the three biggest cash
crops, along with tobacco and sugar.[9] In fact, from 1850 through the end of the 19th century, sugar
or abac alternated with each other as the biggest export crop of the Philippines. [9] This 19th century
trade was predominantly with the United States and the making of ropes was done mainly in New
England, although in time the rope-making was moved back to the Philippines. [9] Excluding the
Philippines, abac was first cultivated on a large scale in Sumatra in 1925 under the Dutch, 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.[10] It also was
transplanted into India and Guam.[6] Commercial planting began in 1930 in British North Borneo; with
the commencement of World War II, the supply from the Philippines was eliminated by
the Japanese.[10]
In the early 1900s, a train running from Danao to Argao would transport Philippine abaca from the
plantations to Cebu city for export.[11] The train and tracks were destroyed during the Second world
war, however the Abaca plantations continue and are now transported to Cebu by road. [12]
After the war, the U.S. Department of Agriculture started production in Panama, Costa
Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala.[6] Today, abac is produced commercially in only three countries:
Philippines, Ecuador, and Costa Rica.[citation needed] The Philippines produces between 85%[13] and
95%[6] of the world's abac, and the production employs 1.5 million people. Production has declined
because of virus diseases

Uses[edit]
Due to its strength, it is a sought after product and is the strongest of the natural fibers. [6] It is used by
the paper industry for such specialty uses such as teabags, banknotes and decorative papers. [6] It
can be used to make handcrafts such as bags, carpets, clothing and furniture. Abac rope is very
durable, flexible and resistant to salt water damage, allowing its use in hawsers, ship's lines
and fishing nets.[10] A 1 inch (2.5 cm) rope can require 4 metric tons (8,800 lb) to break.[14] Abac fiber
was once used primarily for rope, but this application is now of minor significance. Lupis is the finest
quality of abac.[15] Sinamay is woven chiefly from abac

Textiles[edit]
The inner fibers are used in the making of hats, including the "Manila hats," hammocks,
matting, cordage, ropes, coarse twines, and types of canvas. It is called Manila hemp in the market
although it is unlike true hemp, and is also known as Cebu hemp and Davao hemp. Abac cloth is
found in museum collections around the world, like the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Textile
Museum of Canada

Cultivation[edit]
The plant is normally grown in well-drained loamy soil, using rhizomes planted at the start of the
rainy season.[10] In addition, new plants can be started by seeds.[19] Growers harvest abac fields
every three to eight months after an initial growth period of 1225 months. [4][10] Harvesting is done by
removing the leaf-stems after flowering but before fruit appears.[4] The plant loses productivity
between 15 and 40 years.[4] The slopes of volcanoes provide a preferred growing environment.
[14]
Harvesting generally includes several operations involving the leaf sheaths:

tuxying (separation of primary and secondary sheath)

stripping (getting the fibers)

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 612
feet (1.83.7 m).[19]
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 abaca in 2014, earning the Philippines US$111.33 million. [20] The demand is still greater
than the supply.[20] The remainder came from Ecuador (12.5%) and Costa Rica (0.1%).[20] The Bicol

region in the Philippines produced 27,885 metric tonsof abaca in 2014, the largest of any Philippine
region.[20] The Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP) and the Department of Agriculture
reported that in 2009-2013, Bicol Region had 39% share of Philippine abaca producution while
overwhelming 92% comes from Catanduanes Island. 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 abaca fiber shipments from the Philippines went to the United Kingdom in
2014, making it the top importer.[20] Germany imported 37.1 percent abaca pulp from the Philippines,
importing around 7,755 metric tons (MT).[20] Sales of abaca cordage surged 20 percent in 2014 to a
total of 5,093 MT from 4,240 MT, with the United States holding around 68 percent of the market

Pathogens[edit]
Abac is vulnerable to a number of pathogens, notably abaca bunchy top virus and abaca bract
mosaic virus

References[edit]

Agricultural Research Service (23 May 1995). "Taxon: Musa textilis Ne". USDA Germplasm
Resources Information Network. Archived from the original on 10 June 2014. Retrieved 10
June 2014.

Anon (2013). "Musa textilis Ne". The Plant List. Archived from the original on 4 June 2014.
Retrieved 4 June 2014.

Anon (2013a). "(Research) Plant Molecular Biology and Plant Virology". National Institute of
Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. Archived from the original on 4 June 2014. Retrieved 4
June 2014.

Bailey, L. H., ed. (1947) [1900]. "Abac". The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. I: A-E.
New York, NY: The Macmillan Company.

Borneman, Jr., John A. (1997). "Abaca". In Johnston, Bernard. Collier's Encyclopedia. I: A to

Ameland (1st ed.). New York, NY: P. F. Collier.

Considine, Douglas M.; Considine, Glenn D., eds. (1983). "Abaca". Van Nostrand's Scientific
Encyclopedia. I: A-H (6th ed.). New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company. ISBN 0-44225164-5.

Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1976). "Lupis". Webster's Third New International Dictionary (3rd
ed.). Springfield, MA: G. & C. Merriam Company. ISBN 0-87779-101-5.

Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1976a). "Sinamay". Webster's Third New International
Dictionary (3rd ed.). Springfield, MA: G. & C. Merriam Company. ISBN 0-87779-101-5.

Hoiberg, Dale H., ed. (2010). "Sbaca". Encyclopdia Britannica. 1: A - ak Bayes (15th ed.).
Chicago, IL: Encyclopdia Britannica Inc. ISBN 0-85229-961-3.

Ploetz, Randy C.; Kepler, Angela Kay; Daniells, Jeff & Nelson, Scot C. (2007). "Banana and
Plantain: An Overview with Emphasis on Pacific Island Cultivars". In Elevitch, C. R. Species
Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry. www.traditionaltree.org. Hlualoa, HI: Permanent
Agriculture Resources (PAR). pp. 127. Archived from the original (PDF)on 4 June 2014.
Retrieved 4 June 2014.

Seekins, Donald M. (1993). Dolan, Ronald E., ed. Philippines: A Country Study. Washington,
DC: United States Government Printing Office. ISBN 0-8444-0748-8.

Wong, Carol; Kiew, Ruth; Argent, George; Set, Ohn; Lee, Sing Kong & Gan, Yik Yuen
(2002). "Assessment of the Validity of the Sections in Musa (Musaceae) using ALFP". Annals of
Botany. 90 (2): 231238. doi:10.1093/aob/mcf170.

Wood, Frances A.; Roberts, George A. F. (2005). Prance, Ghillean; Nesbitt, Mark, eds. The
Cultural History of Plants. New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-92746-3.

Worcester, Dean C. (1899) [1898]. The Philippine Islands and Their People. New York, NY:
The Macmillan Company

External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has
media related to Musa
textilis.
Wikisource has the text
of
the 1911 Encyclopdia
Britannica article Abaca.
Wikispecies has
information related
to: Musa textilis

The World Book encyclopedia set, 1988.

See International Year of Natural Fibres 2009

Christenhusz, M.J.M. (2009). Typification of ornamental plants: Musa

textilis (Musaceae). Phytotaxa 2: 53-54.
Abca or Manila hemp - Historical notes

Plants USDA
abac A comprehensive pamphlet about Philippine abac presented 1915 Panama Pacific
International Exposition held in San Francisco. Online publication uploaded in Filipiniana.net

Waste plastics good binder for plywood production

By Rudy A. Fernandez | Updated August 23, 2003 - 12:00am

LOS BAOS, Laguna – Waste plastics can be used as binder for plywood and particleboard
production.

This was found in a study done by researchers of the Department of Science and Technology-Forest
Products Research and Development Institute (DOST-FPRDI) based here.

The research was done by Hilario Dolores (senior science research specialist), Mildred Fidel (supervising
science research specialist), Vicente Mallari Jr. (scientist 1), and Alberto Nicolas (planning officer).

In the study, mixtures of low, medium, and high density polyethylene (LMHPE) waste plastics, waste
plastic aluminum packaging laminates (PAPL), and oriented polypropylene laminates (OPL) were used as
binders in the production of laboratory and commercial sized 3-ply plywood and one layer particleboard.

Fifty-four laboratory lauan plywood panels measuring 30 centimeters by 30 cm were produced using three
pressing times (five, 10, 15 minutes), two pressing temperatures (130oC and 15oC), and three plastic
spreads (100 grams per square meter, 120 g/ sq m, and 140 g/sq m) as variables.

Plywood mill testing was conducted using single temperature (130oC), single pressing time (seven
minutes), three plastic spreads (60 g/sq m, 120 m/sq m, and 180 g/sq m).

The plywood samples produced were subjected to delamination test and cyclic boil tests following PNS
196:2000 plywood standards.

Results showed that all laboratory plywood samples bonded with LMHPE, PAPL, and OPL passed the
delamination test for Type 2 (interior plywood). However, only 16 percent and 61 percent of the samples
passed the cyclic boil test for Type 1 (exterior plywood) using mixtures of LMHPE and PAPL/OPL chip
binders, respectively.

Commercial-sized plywood measuring 122 cm x 244 cm were produced during mill testing using recycled
waste plastic film (RWPF) with 25 percent virgin polyethylene plastics and 75 percent waste PE plastics.

Mill testing was conducted in five plywood mills.

RWP (0.1 mm thick) from various densities of PE plastics was used as binder. Randomly selected panels
underwent delamination and cyclic boiling tests following the PNS 196:2000 plywood standards.

Panels with plastic spreads 60 g/sq m, 120 g/sq m, and 180 g/sq m passed the Type 2 plywood
standards. Those with higher plastic spreads (120 g/sq m and 180 g/sq m) exhibited excellent bond
strength and properties that were comparable with Type 1 plywood.

Waste plastic-bonded laboratory bamboo particleboards at 750 g/cubic meter density were also produced
in three combination ratios of bamboo particles and waste plastics (40:60, 50:50, and 30:70)