AN ASSESSMENT OF THE QUALITY AND YIELD OF FLAX FIBER PRODUCED BY THE USE OF PURE BACTERIAL CULTURES IN FLAX RETS

Sterile flax stems were retted, in pure culture, with strains of bacteria isolated from anaerobic retting of nonsterile flax stems. Rets, inoculated with the same number of bacteria, were allowed to run for 40, 80, and 100 h; at the end of these periods the following criteria were assessed: bacterial numbers, pH, and flax stem weight loss. After scutching of the stems, fiber yield, length, strength, and fineness were measured and compared to the same measurements made on fiber samples expertly assessed by flax buyers as high quality. Bacillus spp. grew poorly in pure culture rets; the numbers associated with the straw were only slightly greater than the number originally introduced. Clostridium spp. numbers initially fell but recovered later in the ret. Both the species introduced and the time of retting had a major influence on the yield and quality of fiber produced. The C. acetobutylicum strain used, previously shown to be a poor producer of pectinolytic enzymes, produced a higher fiber yield and higher fiber quality than the other species tested.