Kenaf in Eastern North Carolina

Abstract

Thank you for the invitation. I am a tobacco and cotton farmer, and I am going commence by talking to you briefly about the history of kenaf. Kenaf is a plant indigenous to Africa. It is currently being grown in several areas throughout the world, mostly in warmer climates. It is a member of the hibiscus family, and is grown primarily for its fiber. The US government, after World War II, did a lot of research involving kenaf, which was to be used as a replacement for imported fiber crops such as hemp, ramie and jute-used primarily in cordage production. There has been a lot of research on kenaf across the United States, involving many universities, including North Carolina State University. Dr. Bill Fike did a lot of research back in the mid-80s on kenaf production, which was carried out primarily in the blacklands of North Carolina. He looked at producing kenaf as a replacement for hemp bast fibers currently used in the production of cigarette paper. He demonstrated that kenaf can be grown in North Carolina, and that you could successfully produce enough tonnage at a given price to produce profit for the farmer. The cigarette industry, however, did not accept kenaf as a viable replacement. There were some issues about contamination from the soil, and taste in the cigarettes from the kenaf paper.