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Corchorus olitorius
Also called Tossa Jute, Indian Jute, Jew's Mallow, Jute
Nalta jute is an annual herb in the mallow family, grown mainly for its fibre and as a leafy vegetable across the tropics. It needs warm weather, fertile well-drained soil and steady moisture, and it is sown from seed each season.
Jute mallow or Jew's mallow or Mallow leaves or Nalita jute (Corchorus olitorius, also known as "Jute leaves", "Tossa jute", "Mloukheyeh" "muteezi", "lunkomba", "ewedu", "saluyot", and "West African sorrel") is a species of shrub in the family Malvaceae. Together with C. capsularis it is the primary source of jute fiber. The leaves and young fruits are used as a vegetable, the dried leaves are used for tea and as a soup thickener, and the seeds are edible.
Corchorus olitorius is an annual crop. The plant grows well in the lowland tropics, ranging from warm temperate zones through tropical desert to wet forest zones. It can tolerate( annual precipitation between 400 and 4290 mm (optimum 1000 mm per year). Some cultivars are sensitive to waterlogging, especially when young. Temperatures between 16.8 and 27.5 °C are optimal for growth. For the soil a pH of 4.5 to 8.2 is needed. The plant prefers a fertile, humus-rich, well-drained alluvial soil but also grows well in suboptimal soil conditions. Before sowing the soil is prepared carefully by plowing and the seeds are broadcast or dribbled behind the plow in the wet season. Twenty-four hours before sowing the seeds must be soaked for ten seconds in hot water (around 93 °C) to overcome dormancy. If the small seeds are mixed with sand, it makes it easier to sow them. And if the soil is wet, germination takes place two to three days after sowing. In some systems the seedlings are transplanted at a height of 10 cm. The plants are grown in rows with a spacing of 20–50 cm.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Corchorus olitorius by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
