Fig. 5From: The sequential microbial breakdown of pectin is the principal incident during water retting of jute (Corchorus spp.) bast fibresSEM micrographs (controlled retting with microbial formulation) of longitudinal sections of jute stems. (a, b) Intact epidermal layer on the outer surface of nonretted stems (day 0); (c, d) In midretted (day 7) stems, cementing material peels away from the outer surface, and fibre strands become visible; (e, f) Distinct fibre strands with no cementing material present on the outer surface in retted fibre samples (day 10)Back to article page