Dye Plants: Potential Value of NTFP to Textile Industry in Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined dye plants as Non-Timber Forest Product (NTFP) and its contribution to the sustenance of textile industry in Ogun State. Stratified random sampling was used for the study. Ogun State was divided into four strata namely Egba, Yewa, Ijebu and Remo along ecological characteristics. From each stratum, two plant materials of food value were randomly selected among common food plants in Ogun state. The selected plants were cola species (nuts), ginger (roots), tobacco (flower), sorghum (stem/sheath leaves), maize (flowering top), Mango (leaves/bark) and Guava (leaves). Alum was however used as mordant with wood ash. The dye was extracted by boiling plant materials and mordant in water for 20 minutes. The dye result produced different colours – Cola accuminata gave red/wine; Cola nitida – bright red; Zingiber officinale – bright yellow or orange; Nicotiana tabacum – yellowish green; Sorghum bicolor – wine red; Zea mays – bright yellow; Mangifera indica – yellow and Psidium guajara – brown. The impart of the dye on substrate showed good result in terms of radiant colours, good penetrating ability and poor fading on washing and exposure to sunlight. The potential of the NTFP was revealed through income generated from collection of the plant and processing of the dye for textile industry. Budgetary analysis revealed that 1kg of plant material could produce 10litres of dye with a net profit of N600. Consequently, it is recommended that appropriate conservation measures must be put in place through policy formulation for dye plants, while adequate fiscal measures would encourage collection and processing for income and employment generation.