Characters of Fibre Quality in Lines of Flax Genetic Collection

Thirteen pure lines from VIR flax genetic collection were evaluated for their vegetative period, production, quality of textile fibre, structure and composition of the fibre. Correlation analyses showed that strength of technical fibres was positively correlated with plant height, straw production and number of bundles per stem section and negatively with the diameter of elementary fibres. The fineness and flexibility were linked with the ratio between the areas of the fibre and xylem tissues and negatively with the relative amount of encrusting components to cellulose in fibres. The content of total fibres in the stem correlated with the content of hand decorticated fibre. It opens the possibility of approximate preliminary estimation of fibre content according to plant exterior and hand decortication.