By Malinda Geisler, content specialist, AgMRC, Iowa State University, malindag@iastate.edu 

Revised May 2007.


Overview

Kenaf is a warm season annual that offers potential as a commercial fiber crop. It is related to cotton, okra and hibiscus and reaches heights ranging from 8 to 20 feet. A native of Africa, the crop is adapted to much of the southern United States and parts of California. USDA does not keep statistics on kenaf. Leaders in world kenaf production are India and China.

Kenaf (Hibiscus canabinus L.) is planted using a modified row-crop planter or grain drill. It matures in about 150 days. It can be harvested using forage coppers and sugarcane harvesters. Fiber yields range from six to 10 tons per acre annually. Two distinctive fibers are harvested from the stalks. One is a jute-like, long bast fiber from the bark. The bast fiber is used to make burlap, carpet padding and pulp. The second fiber is short, spongy core fiber that resembles balsa wood. It is processed into poultry house bedding, oil-absorbent mats and packing materials.

Other kenaf uses include animal forage, animal litter, a fiberglass substitute in molded plastic, a cellulose fiber for composition panels and boards and potting mix. Commercial processing plants exist in Texas, Mississippi, Georgia and North Carolina. Most kenaf production is contract grown.

Kenaf Production, ATTRA, June 2003, http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/kenaf.html.

Other Links

• A Quieter Car Ride With Kenaf, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, 2002 - USDA research indicates kenaf fiber may one day be used in car interiors as lightweight insulation. 
• Biobased Products, U.S. Department of Energy - This site lists biobased products currently available that displace petroleum.
• Federal Biobased Products Preferred Procurement Program, USDA.
• Green Natural Fibers - An eastern North Carolina company that grows and processes kenaf.
• Kenaf, Resource Conservation Alliance fact sheet.
  Kenaf, The National Non-Food Crops Centre, Heslington, York, U.K.
• Kenaf, Purdue University, February 1998. 
• Kenaf, University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, updated 2005.

• Kenaf - A Possible New Crop for Central Florida, University of Florida Extension, reviewed May 2006.

• Kenaf Industries of South Texas L.P. - This vertically integrated company produces kenaf products including an extruded composite lumber.

Links checked April 2008.