If water is available the plants are retted in the field itself.
First an earthen bund is made around the field. The depth of this bounded area is kept at
about 0.5m. Plants are placed in the bounded area and irrigation water is added to cover
the plants with water.
Retting Practices in Nepal
Harvested plants are either kept standing or left lying as such
for 3-5 days for defoliation. Large bundles having a diameter of about 25-36 cm are made.
Each of such large bundle contains 6-8 small bundles. These bundles are placed in shallow
water in one layer horizontally for retting.
Retting Practices in Thailand
Generally
stems are retted. Retting is done in stagnant water of ponds, roadside ditches and paddy
fields. The roadside ditches are usually 4.0-10.0m wide with average depth of about 0.5 to
1.5 m. Ambient temperature during the season is about 30°C and water temperature is about
28°C.
