Editing Flax (section)

=====Retting flax=====
Several methods are used for [[retting]] flax. It can be retted in a pond, stream, field, or tank. When the retting is complete, the bundles of flax feel soft and slimy, and quite a few fibers stand out from the stalks. When wrapped around a finger, the inner woody part springs away from the fibers. Pond retting is the fastest. It consists of placing the flax in a pool of water which will not evaporate. It generally takes place in a shallow pool which will warm up dramatically in the sun; the process may take from a few days to a few weeks. Pond-retted flax is traditionally considered of lower quality, possibly because the product can become dirty, and is easily over-retted, damaging the fiber. This form of retting also produces quite an odor. Stream retting is similar to pool retting, but the flax is submerged in bundles in a stream or river. This generally takes two or three weeks longer than pond retting, but the end product is less likely to be dirty, does not smell as bad, and because the water is cooler, is less likely to be over-retted. Both pond and stream retting were traditionally used less because they pollute the waters used for the process.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}

In field retting, the flax is laid out in a large field, and dew is allowed to collect on it. This process normally takes a month or more but is generally considered to provide the highest quality flax fibers, and it produces the least pollution.<ref>{{Cite book |last=H V Sreenivasa Murthy |title=Introduction to Textile Fibres (Woodhead Publishing India in Textiles) |publisher=Woodhead Publishing India PVT LTD (2017 Revised edition) |year=2016 |isbn=9789385059094 |location=New Delhi, India |pages=3.1.1}}</ref>

Retting can also be done in a plastic trash can or any type of water-tight container of wood, concrete, earthenware, or plastic. Metal containers will not work, as acid is produced when retting, and it would [[corrode]] the metal. If the water temperature is kept at {{convert|80|F|C|order=flip}}, the retting process under these conditions takes 4 or 5 days. If the water is colder, it takes longer. Scum collects at the top, and an odor is given off the same as in pond retting. 'Enzymatic' retting of flax has been researched as a technique to engineer fibers with specific properties.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Akin Dodd |first=Foulk |year=2008 |title=Pectinolytic enzymes and retting |journal=BioResources |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=155–169}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Akin Dodd |first=Foulk |year=2001 |title=Processing techniques for improving enzyme-retting of flax |journal=Industrial Crops and Products |volume=13 |issue=3 |pages=239–248 |doi=10.1016/s0926-6690(00)00081-9}}</ref>