Real-Time Evolution of the Mechanical Properties of Flax Stems During Post-Harvest Dew Retting: Towards Objective Retting Assessment
Abstract
Post-harvest field dew retting is a critical stage in flax fibre production because it facilitates the separation of fibre bundles from the surrounding stem tissues. In current agricultural practice, the optimum retting stop-point is still assessed largely using empirical criteria, motivating the development of quantitative indicators of retting progression. In this study, the mechanical properties of flax stems were investigated throughout a 91-day field dew retting campaign. Bending and lateral compression experiments were combined with a hollow-tube analytical model to determine equivalent flexural and compressive properties from force–deflection measurements. The equivalent flexural modulus and equivalent flexural yield strength showed an overall reduction during prolonged retting, whereas the equivalent compressive properties exhibited much less pronounced systematic variation. Additional tissue-removal experiments showed that the peripheral tissues make a substantial contribution to the whole-stem flexural response, while optical microscopy revealed increasingly evident separation and detachment of these tissues during the later stages of retting. Together, these results identify whole-stem flexural properties as promising quantitative indicators of retting progression and provide a basis for the future development of objective mechanical approaches for field retting assessment.
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BibTeX
@article{reda2026realtime,
title = {{Real-Time Evolution of the Mechanical Properties of Flax Stems During Post-Harvest Dew Retting: Towards Objective Retting Assessment}},
author = {Ali Reda and Lionel Buchaillot and Steve Arscott},
journal = {Agriculture},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3390/agriculture16181940},
url = {https://cnrs.hal.science/hal-05742620v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Real-Time Evolution of the Mechanical Properties of Flax Stems During Post-Harvest Dew Retting: Towards Objective Retting Assessment
AU - Ali Reda
AU - Lionel Buchaillot
AU - Steve Arscott
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/08
JO - Agriculture
DO - 10.3390/agriculture16181940
UR - https://cnrs.hal.science/hal-05742620v1
AB - Post-harvest field dew retting is a critical stage in flax fibre production because it facilitates the separation of fibre bundles from the surrounding stem tissues. In current agricultural practice, the optimum retting stop-point is still assessed largely using empirical criteria, motivating the development of quantitative indicators of retting progression. In this study, the mechanical properties of flax stems were investigated throughout a 91-day field dew retting campaign. Bending and lateral compression experiments were combined with a hollow-tube analytical model to determine equivalent flexural and compressive properties from force–deflection measurements. The equivalent flexural modulus and equivalent flexural yield strength showed an overall reduction during prolonged retting, whereas the equivalent compressive properties exhibited much less pronounced systematic variation. Additional tissue-removal experiments showed that the peripheral tissues make a substantial contribution to the whole-stem flexural response, while optical microscopy revealed increasingly evident separation and detachment of these tissues during the later stages of retting. Together, these results identify whole-stem flexural properties as promising quantitative indicators of retting progression and provide a basis for the future development of objective mechanical approaches for field retting assessment.
SN - 2077-0472
ER -