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Abstract
Jute is one of the cheapest, strongest and most versatile of all natural fibres and is second only to cotton in amount produced and variety of uses. Assam is the largest producer of raw jute amongst the North Eastern states and is the third largest producer in the country. The state has produced 625575 bales during 2010-11. Assam registered the highest growth rate of production (2.18 per cent) during 1951-60 and highest productivity (1.86 per cent) during the year 1961-1970. The highest significant growth rate of area (10.60 per cent) was observed in Kokrajahar district while the highest production (14.36 per cent) and productivity (9.80 per cent) was observed in Goalpara district during the year 2001-2010. The most stable district for area under Jute was Kamrup (5.08 per cent), for production N.C. Hills (12.80 per cent) and for productivity Bongaigaon district (17.57 per cent), respectively.
Keywords: Jute, growth rate, instability
Introduction
Jute (Corchorus capsularis L. and C. olitorius L.) is one of the most affordable natural fibres and is second only to cotton in amount produced and variety of uses. Jute fibres are composed primarily of the components of wood fibre. Jute is often called 'The Golden Fibre" because of its colour. (World jute.com) Jute has both environmental as well as socio-economic impact. This is because it is biodegradable and does not produce harmful toxic gases when burnt and carbon dioxide assimilation rate is several times higher than that of trees. Jute cultivation also provide livelihood to millions of poor farmer families. Jute is annually renewable and the cheapest commercially available high modulus natural fibre and is utilized mostly as packaging materials. (Bhaduri et.al., 2010). India is the largest producer of jute contribut-ing 61.2 per cent of the total world production. Jute is the main commercial crop of the eastern and north eastern India providing livelihood security to about 5.0 million people (Sinha et al , 2009). The major jute producing states in India are West Bengal, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa. (Roy and Chattopadhyay, 2012). West Bengal ranks first in terms of area (71%) and production (81%) of jute in the country (Bera et.al, 2010). The yield of jute in West Bengal has been significantly higher at 2573 kg/ha, as...