Comparative Anatomical Studies on the Wood and Bast Fibres of Gmelina arborea

Aim: Fibre serves primarily as support to the plant and its characteristics are essential for growth, being also a considerable factor for pulp and paper production. Debarking of tree logs is one of the steps in converting wood into chips suitable for pulping. However, the bark of logs also so contains certain amount of fibre known as the bast fibre. This study aimed to evaluate the applicability of bast fibre in pulp and paper making in comparison with the wood fibre.

Methods: The bark and wood of Gmelina arborea were collected from the same branch of different trees in the Botanical Garden of the Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Nigeria. The samples were macerated and the vessel member was measured analyzing the fibre length, cell wall thickness, lumen diameter, and diameter.

Results: The wood fibre had significant higher length and lumen diameter while the bast fibre had thicker cell wall. Similarly wood fibre presented significantly higher coefficient of flexibility and slenderness ratio with an average of 0.718 ± 0.016 and 26.262 ± 1.518 while the Runkel ratio was higher in the bast fibre.

Conclusion: Wood fibres of this plant were more suitable for papermaking than bast fibres that lack the anatomical features required for this purpose.