TITLE
A MICROBIAL CONSORTIUM USED IN FASTER RETTING OF JUTE & MESTA
THE FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention relates to a new microbial consortium or composition and a process for retting of bast fibre crops using the said microbial consortium. The present invention more particularly relates to removal of pectin and xylan containing materials that surrounds the individual fibre cells by the use of a microbial consortium of the present invention for quicker retting of bast fibers such as jute and mesta. The invention has demonstrated the benefits of using a microbial consortium for the degradation of pectin and xylan, and therefore accelerating the retting process with high quality fibre production.
The applicants have also demonstrated the benefits of using the new microbial consortium during water scarce condition in artificial retting tanks ordinarily made of polythene-lined or concrete retting tank using lesser volume of underground water for retting.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Jute is one of the most versatile bast fibres, commonly known as Golden Fibre, having several advantages such as high tensile strength, excellent thermal conductivity, coolness, ventilation function among others. Jute fibre is obtained from the bark of two cultivable species genus Corchorus viz. C. capsulars and C. olitorius, of the family malvaceae.
Natural fibres mainly formed out of cellulose (58-63%), are surrounded by a hydrophobic layer thus inhibiting their wetting. This so called "natural impurities" containing mainly pectin and hemicelluloses (22-25%), lignin (12-15%) and small amounts of proteins, waxes, fats and mineral compounds present in the primary wall and middle lamella. The low cellulose content, coarseness, stiffness due to the presence of pectin, low extensibility, low grip performance and some other disadvantages seriously restrict the raw jute fiber from spinning. So a series of bio-chemical and enzymatic processing sequences have become necessary to improve the spinability of the fibres, mainly jute.

The process of separation and extraction of fibres from non-fibrous tissues and woody part of the stem through dissolution and decomposition of pectins, gums and other mucilaginous substance is called retting. The ultimate quality of Jute fibre depends to a large extent on the process of retting.
Pectin comprises pectic acids and pectic salts of calcium, magnesium, and. iron. Pectins are acidic polysaccharides and comprise of α-(1, 4)-linked D-galacturonan backbone, occasionally interrupted by α-(1, 2)-linked α-L-rhamnopyranose residue. The homo-galacturonan parts of the polymer are referred as "smooth" regions, while the rhamnose rich zones are called "hairy" regions. Pectin can be divided into two groups on the basis of degree of methylation: a) high methoxyl (HM) b) Low methoxyl (LM). Low methoxyl (LM) Pectin can form gel at low pH (3.5 or low) and also in presence of Ca2+ ion. Pectin degradation requires the combined action of several enzymes that can be classified into two main groups: - Polygalacturonases and Pectin Lyases. Polygalacturonases (PGases) are the pectinolytic enzymes that catalyze the hydrolytic cleavage of the polygalacturonic acid chain with the introduction of water across the oxygen bridge. Pectin Lyases perform non-hydrolytic breakdown of pectin polymer. Pectin was extracted from jute ribbon as well as fibre by the procedure described by Kalapathy and Proctor (2001). Literatures revealed that jute (Singh, 2010) fibre contains 0.2 to 4.4 % pectin.
Attempts have been made to isolate and identify the microbes responsible for retting by several workers across the world. Among the fungi, Aspergillus niger (Kundu and Roy, 1962), Macrophomina phaseolina, Mucor, Chaetomium sp., Phoma sp. (Ahmed, 1963), Sporotichum sp., Trichoderma sp. and Curvularia sp. (Haque et al., 2001), and several Penicillium sp. have been found effective in retting. Several aerobic bacteria of the genus Bacillus, viz., B. subtilis (Kundu and Roy, 1962), B. polymixa, B. mesentericus, B. macerans (Bhattacharyya, 1974), Micrococcus sp. (Haque et al., 2003) and anaerobic bacteria of the genus Clostridium viz., C. tertium, C. aurantibutyricum, C. felsineum (Alam, 1970) have been isolated from retting water and were found effective in the retting process.
It would be clear from the work of various researchers involved in microbial retting, that not a single bacteria or fungi are responsible to carry out the retting process (Banik et al. 2003). Here comes the application of a mixed culture concept - the consortium. Various methods

are known which encompasses retting or removing pectin containing substances from the individual bast fibre.
A very recent Indian Patent Application No: 513/KOL/2008 A entitled "A microbial formulation for retting of bast fibre and its production using the same" discloses a selective bacterial consortium(s) to form multi-species bio-film community on water submerged jute stems and perform enzymatic retting. The selected bacterial consortium is designed to incorporate higher numbers of pectinases producers; comparatively lower numbers of cellulase and xylanase producers and no laccase producers. The selective bacterial consortium efficiently colonizes jute (stem) surfaces and forms bio-films on jute stem surface. The bio-film based consortium firmly attach to jute stems and thereby confers natural resistance to the application against 'wash-out' or dilution when retting is performed in large water bodies and/or subject to accidental flooding/rain. Further, the bio-film form of the consortium is directed to produce higher levels of retting enzymes (than their planktonic form) and deliver these at the jute (stem)-biofilm microenvironment. The target specific enzyme provision and delivery allows efficient retting, improved fiber quality, and reduced retting time-period.
US Patent no. 554,256 entitled "Method of degumming decorticated plant bast fibre discloses a method of degumming of decorticated plant bast fibre, such as ramie, flax hemp, to remove pectin containing material. In this method, the decorticated plant bast fibre is first washed with a washing solution containing a surface-active reagent to penetrate the plant bast fibre to remove the water soluble material. The washed plant bast fibre is then rinsed with an aqueous, acidic solution containing fungal pectinase for a preferable period of time between about 10 to 20 minutes to degum the plant bast fibre. The treatment solution is maintained at a elevated temperature in the range between 60-65°C and has a pH between about 2.0 to 3.5
A large number of patents filed entitled "Cell-wall degrading enzymes" and "Pectate lyase variants" which describe only the enzymatic part but does not enlighten the application part i.e. the methods of retting.
US Patent no 2,407,227 discloses a retting process for treatment of fibrous material such as flax, ramie and hemp. The retting process includes the separation of individual fibres from the surrounding plant matter from each other.

US Patent no 2,407,227 further discloses a method for retting of flax and other analogous fibres in plant material as mentioned above, which is carried out in an enzymatically active solution having a mildly acidic pH. This method consists of positively acidifying water to a degree of approaching and slightly less than the optimum acid concentration for enzymatic activity. To this solution there is added an enzymatically active solution from a previous ret so as to bring the concentration of acid of the resulting mixture to the optimum value. The mixture is then heated to a temperature which will maximize the enzymatic action. The flax or the analogous fibrous plant materials are then steeped into the mixture which is maintained at a sustained elevated temperature. The fibrous plant material is removed from the mixture when the acid concentration of the solution in which the fibrous plant material is steeped, begins to decline.
US Patent no 2,407,227 further discloses that if decorticated fibre is to be retted, the water can be more highly acidified, even to a pH of 4.0. Then heated preferably to a temperature of 90-95°F and then mixed with a suitable amount of heated solution from the previous ret. If solution from the previous ret is not available, the solution may be developed through the retting of detached shives. It is further disclosed that, the retting of the decorticated material requires a total time of 24-36 hours.
US Patent no 2,725,289 discloses a process for chemical retting for ramie flax hemp jute and other plant materials. The fibrous material is subjected to a first treatment by an aqueous solution having an alkali base containing a palmitate of an amine base which acts as an emulsifier and then to a second treatment with an aqueous solution which includes the same substances as that in the first treatment and additionally contains an oxidizing agent.
US Patent no 1,842,024 discloses a process for retting of fibres in which a cellulose fibre is surrounded by a cortex of ligneous material, such as flax, ramie, jute sisal, and hemp etc. an enzyme capable of digesting a cortex of the ligneous material surrounding the cellulose fibre is added to the retting bath. Suitable disclosed enzymes include enzymes prepared from fungi, such as spices of Aspergillus. It is disclosed that best results are obtained in a bath having pH values in the range between 5 and 8 with an optimum value being 7. The pH value of the enzyme bath is regulated by the addition of acids such as acetic acid or sulphuric acid and the duration of the enzyme step can vary between 24 - 48 hours.

While the processes are known for the retting of plant bast fibre, more particularly of jute, the known processes as stated above, requires the addition of chemicals, maintenance of pH and temperature of the enzyme bath and proved to be very complicated process for the farmers. These processes may leave various impurities within the fibre which may not be desirable in certain applications as well as deteriorating the quality of fibre due to the application of harsh chemicals. Therefore, there is a need for improvement in the existing conventional retting process of plant bast fibre, more specifically of jute that not only effectively ret jute in a substantially shorter period of time as compared to the conventional method and also provide a high quality fibre that is at least equal to or superior to that obtainable by the conventional retting methods.
During the last few years, the average rainfall in jute growing areas of India and particularly of West Bengal was very low during the retting season. Under such conditions, farmers were compelled to ret their jute plants in mud water leading to the inferior quality of jute fibre. Farmers used ground water for retting in such drought situation, but as the soil is dried, most of the water percolates down and they had to use ground water frequently to maintain the water level, which becomes very costly affair for the poor jute farmers. As such, ground water does not contain any retting microbes, so there is a delay in the retting process because of improper microbial growth at the initial stage. Farmers, who use polythene, lined retting tank or concrete retting tank utilizing ground water, also face the same problem of delayed retting because of improper microbial growth at the initial stage. Hence, there was need for the introduction of our new approach for quick retting with improvement in fibre quality in the existing method of retting.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a composition for accelerating the retting process of jute & mesta with the application of a microbial consortium in the retting tank to remove the pectin and xylan containing material from the bast during water scarce conditions utilizing less volume of water. The present invention provides a microbial retting consortium comprising of three Bacillus pumilus strains. These three isolates were identified as Bacillus pumilus IMAU80221; Bacillus pumilus GVC 11; Bacillus pumilus SYBC-W by 16S rDNA sequencing (ribotyping) of a 977 bp length of 16S rRNA gene. The same isolates have been deposited in the MTCC, Chandigarh under Indian Patent deposits and the number assigned to them were respectively MTCC 5573, MTCC 5574 and MTCC

5575. This microbial consortium is capable of removing the pectin and xylan containing materials from bast in a very short period of time with the improvement in fibre quality compared to conventional method of retting. The present invention also demonstrates that, the microbial retting consortium is capable of degrading pectin extracted from jute bast and is comparatively superior to the commercially available pectinase enzyme, in terms of polygalacturonase activity on both the citrus pectin as well as jute pectin as substrate. The present invention also demonstrates that the microbial consortium synergistically degrade hemicellulose extracted from jute bast as evidenced by the positive results of xylanase assay. The present invention also explores the possibility of using microbial consortium in the form of spore suspension very efficiently for jute retting purpose. The present invention further provides a scope for using the retting liquor as a rich nutritional source for fertilization purposes.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
1. Preparation of microbial consortium: Fifty retting water samples were collected from various districts of quality jute producing areas of West Bengal, Assam and Bihar. More than 200 microbes were cultivated in a pectin containing medium having neutral pH. Further 60 isolates were screened out exhibiting higher extra-cellular pectin degrading enzyme activity. Finally, ten isolates that can efficiently degrade polygalacturonic acid as well as highly esterified pectin were selected.
Tests for xylanase production: These isolates can also produce xylanase enzymes. Literatures on xylanase enzymes reveal that, this enzyme has a very effective property of bleaching fibres naturally.
Tests for production of cellulase enzymes: The isolates screened out on the basis of pectinolytic activity, were further tested for production of cellulose degrading enzymes because, production of even low amount of cellulase will affect the quality of jute fibre. None of the ten isolates were found to produce cellulolytic enzymes.
Tests for the scope of antagonism: Out of these ten isolates, one particular isolate was found incompatible with the others. So, that isolate was discarded as this isolate was not suitable for making consortium.

Synergism tests for better activity of the consortium: Finally nine isolates were applied in all probable combination and tested for pectin degrading capability. Out of nine, a combination of three isolates was found to be very effective for jute retting purpose. These three micro organisms when mixed in a ratio of 1:2:1 gave the best result. These micro organisms can also be used in 1:1:2 and 1:1:1 ratio.
Activity pH range of the consortium: A broad range of pectin degrading activity was observed in a range between 5.0 and 11.0. It gives three peaks on the pH 6.0, 8.0 and 10.0, having highest activity at pH10.0. So, this consortium can be active at a broad range of pH.
Salt and acid tolerance of the microorganisms of the consortium: The microbial strains of the consortium can tolerate and grow in a condition having more than 5% salt concentration. The components of the microbial consortium remain also viable at lower values of pH.
2. Comparative activity assay of commercially available pectinase and retting consortium's
polygalacturonase on different substrates:
When citrus pectin used as substrate, retting consortium-polygalacturonase scores higher activity as compared with commercial pectinase (at 10 mg/ml concentration). Pectin, extracted from jute bast, when used as substrate, retting consortium-polygalacturonase shows better activity as compared to the commercial pectinase. Retting consortium shows more effectiveness (in terms of polygalacturonase activity), when compared with the commercial pectinase, for both the types of pectin substrates whether it is citrus pectin or jute pectin, which is not fully soluble in water.
3. Activity assay of xylanase produced by the microbial retting consortium using
hemicellulose as substrate extracted from jute bast:
Hemicellulose extracted from jute bast was also found susceptible to the xylanse produced by the component microbes of the microbial retting consortium. The 72 hours old microbial culture was used to assay xylanase activity and the result from this assay shows that microbes can degrade jute-hemicellulose as substrate. Moreover, the most important fact is that the microbes in the form of consortium can degrade hemicellulose more efficiently than used individually. So a synergistic effect in terms of xylanase activity was also observed.

4. Feasibility of using microbial retting consortium in the from of spore suspension for jute
retting purpose.
All the three component organisms of the microbial retting consortium are spore forming species of the genus Bacillus. Exploiting this striking feature, we tried to explore the possibility of using spore suspensions of retting microbes for jute retting purpose. Results from the small scale trials indicate that the spore suspension of the microbes present in microbial consortium can ret whole jute plant effectively within 13-15 days.
5. Identification of the microbes: These three isolates were primarily identified by the
substrate utilizing capacity by semi-automatic microbial identification system of Biolog
(microstation GEN III microplates, software ML_51_01_ml3). All of them were identified as
Bacillus pumilus with a probability of 1.000 (with different similarity level).
These three isolates were further identified as different strains of Bacillus pumilus, namely: Bacillus pumilus IMAU80221; Bacillus pumilus GVC 11; Bacillus pumilus SYBC-W by 16S rDNA sequencing (ribotyping) of a 977 base pair fragment. These three isolates were found to show 99 % maximum identity in individual BLAST analysis.
6. Scope of using retting liquor as a source of nutrients: Retting liquor obtained by using the
microbial consortium was found to be a rich source of nutrients, more specifically a rich
source of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, calcium, magnesium and micro nutrients like
zinc, manganese and copper etc. Next important crop grown by farmers after the jute is
paddy which requires a substantial amount of various plant nutrients. So retting liquor thus
obtained can also be used as a nutritional source for paddy cultivation.
EXPERIMENTAL FINDINGS:
• A microbial retting consortium has been developed characterized by the production of pectin and xylan degrading enzymes.
• The said consortium is comprised of three different strains of Bacillus pumilus: Bacillus pumilus IMAU80221; Bacillus pumilus GVC 11; Bacillus pumilus SYBC-W as identified by ribotyping analysis.
• When drought condition appears during retting season, this microbial consortium can be added externally to the retting tank for quick retting utilizing ground water.

• The said consortium multiplies in the retting tank as evidenced by the total cfu of microbial consortium during retting.
• The microbes secrete pectin-degrading enzymes and also xylanase enzyme during the retting period as evidenced by the enzymatic analysis of retting liquor. The dynamics of enzyme secretion confirms that the organisms not only multiplies within the retting liquor but can produce significant amount of enzymes to make the retting process fast and safe i.e. without production of any cellulolytic enzymes.
• The dynamics of enzyme secretion also confirms that, retting microbes first attack its primary and most important target - pectin and maintains its activity throughout the retting period.
• The dynamics of xylanase secretion shows a slow and steady increase during the retting period.
• The use of this microbial consortium improves fibre quality significantly.
• The use of this microbial consortium requires lesser time for completion of retting as compared to the conventional method.
• The said consortium proves to be very effective in degrading both citrus pectin and jute pectin, compared to the commercially available pectinase under laboratory condition.
• The said microbial consortium synergistically degrades xylan component of hemicellulose extracted from jute bast, as evidenced from the activity assay of xylanase.
• All the three component microbes of the said microbial consortium in the form of spore suspension proved to be highly effective for retting of whole jute plants within 13 to 15 days.
• The use of this microbial consortium also provides a scope of using the retting liquor as a source of nutrient.

Example 1:
(Ribbon retting)
About 39 Kg whole plant (that corresponds to 284 no of jute plants), were decorticated to give 17.5 kg of green jute ribbon. The population of the microbial consortium was kept in the gradient range of 1012 to 1014 colony forming unit per milliliter of liquid culture. The ribbons were then sprayed with the microbial consortium. The consortium was diluted in 1:1 ratio before application for uniform spraying. The sprayed (inoculated) ribbon was then kept for 1 hour to adhere the microbes to the jute ribbon. After that, the ribbons were immersed into a polythene lined retting tank containing minimal volume of water. Retting was completed between 6-7 days and the fibre was separated by washing with fresh water. The dry weight of the fibre obtained was 2.5 kg (recovery percentage is 14.3% of wet weight of green ribbon).
Another example of ribbon retting gives a better recovery of dry fibre. 20 Kg of green ribbon produced 4 kg of dry fibre i.e. recovery percentage is 25 % of the wet weight of green ribbon.
A small scale retting trial was conducted to assess the dynamics of enzyme secretion and the variation in pH values of retting liquor during the retting period. The enzymological analysis data reveals the effectiveness of the microbial consortium irrespective of low values of pH and ambient temperature. During the retting period the average maximum temperature was 31°C with minimum value for the same scored only 25°C. The maximum rainfall was scored as high as 109 cm during this period.
Example 2:
(Whole plant retting)
Whole jute plant can also be retted with a very less quantity of underground water in the polythene lined or cemented retting tank. Jute produced in 1 bigha (1333.33 sq. meters i.e. about 70-80 q whole jute plant) requires 2 litres of microbial consortium of 1012 to 1014cfu/ml for efficient retting. The same population of microbial consortium was kept as in case of ribbon retting. In polythene lined or concrete retting tank only 1:1 plant to water ratio was sufficient for retting purpose with the application of microbial consortium. Whole plant retting was completed within 12-15 days as compared to the conventional method that requires 18-21 days at the

same environmental condition. The whole plant retting of mesta was completed within 10 days in the month of November.
Example 3:
(Pectin extraction and efficacy of the consortium for pectin degradation)
Pectin extracted from 5.0 gm dry green jute ribbon with 0.2 N and 0.3 N HCI gives 254.7 mg of dry pectin powder (i.e. 5.1% of the dry green ribbon). After treating with microbial consortium, 89.3 % of this pectin was found to be degraded. Where as in case of control (retting of ribbon without the application of microbial consortium), 79.1 % of pectin was degraded.
Example 4:
(Comparative study of activity of retting consortium's polygalacturonase and commercially available pectinase enzyme)
When citrus pectin used as substrate, retting consortium-polygalacturonase scores higher
activity compared to commercial pectinase. More than 2.72 fold increase in activity was shown
by the retting consortium enzymes with respect to the commercial pectinase.
When pectin, extracted from jute bast, used as substrate, retting consortium polygalacturonase
shows better activity as compared to the commercial pectinase. In case of jute pectin, the
degree of increase in activity was 1.7 fold with respect to the commercial pectinase.
Retting consortium shows more effectiveness (in terms of polygalacturonase activity), when
compared with the commercial pectinase, for both the types of pectin substrates whether it is
citrus pectin or jute pectin.
The use of commercially available pectinase enzyme is not farmers' friendly because of higher cost involvement even if 1% enzyme solution is used for large scale enzymatic retting. Whereas, use of microbial consortium for the same purpose will lower down the cost drastically.
Example 5 (Hemicellulose Extraction and assessment of enzyme production by the retting consortium using the hemicellulose as substrate)

Process for extraction of Hemicellulose: using Ca(OH)2 as the extracting solution. Hemicellulose extracted from jute was used as substrate to check the action of xylanase. Enzyme analysis data reveals positive results. Moreover, a synergism in terms of xylanase activity was also observed when the organisms are used as consortium (1:2:1 ratio) than individual activity assay.
Example 6:
(Use of microbial consortium as spore suspension and its effect on Jute Retting)
All the three component microbes of microbial consortium belong to the spore-forming genus of Bacillus. Spore suspensions of these organisms were prepared by ethanol (50 %) treatment and concentrated 10 times. A small scale whole plant retting trial was conducted using spore suspension of the retting microbes instead of microbial consortium of vegetative cells. Spore suspension was inoculated into the minimum volume of water containing jute plants. A result from this retting trial confirms that spore suspension is also very much effective if used for the retting purpose. Considerable amount of enzymes are also secreted during the retting period as evidenced by the enzymatic analysis of retting water. Spore suspension of microbial consortium has been proved to be very much effective for jute retting purpose. Retting trials in duplicate were conducted using the spore suspension of the microbial retting consortium. Results from these two trials indicate that the spore suspension can ret whole jute plant in 13 and 15 days irrespective of the fact that average maximum and minimum ambient temperature was maintained in the range of 31.4°C and 25.5°C.
Fibre quality: A radical improvement was observed for the both ribbon and whole plant retting. Fibre quality data reveals that fibre strength has been improved (23.2 g/tex) as compared to control(20.8 g/tex) and fineness also scores better (2.83 tex) as compared to control (3.2 tex) in a ribbon retting experiment. The fibre obtained by whole plant retting of jute with microbial consortium recorded a very good strength (28.1 g/tex) and fineness (2.7 tex) compared to strength (23.5 g/tex) and fineness (3.1 tex) of control. Dried jute fibre color also showed a very significant improvement. The overall data regarding fibre quality reflects an improvement in the grade of the fibre. The fibre quality data of mesta indicates that the mesta fibre maintains very good strength (27.57 g/tex) and a fineness of 2.78 tex.
The invention provides a process for removing pectic substances from jute & mesta, said microbial retting consortium characterized by high pectinolytic and xylanolytic activity,

selectively removes pectin and xylan (hemicelluloses) and improves the overall process and fibre quality of jute retting. Inoculating said bacterial consortium on jute & mesta helps to promote microbial growth by degrading pectin and xylan present in the jute bark. The said bacterial consortium has been characterized by the property of degrading pectic and hemicellulolytic substances without affecting cellulosic fibre within an aqueous environment.
In the above process, the microbial retting consortium comprising three bacteria selected from a diverse group of organisms (mainly consisting of the genus Bacillus) isolated from jute retting water. The said consortium is comprised of different strains of Bacillus pumilus namely; Bacillus pumilus IMAU80221; Bacillus pumilus GVC 11; Bacillus pumilus SYBC-W, here referred to as microbial retting consortium.
The said consortium selectively removes pectin and its methyl esterified components from jute & mesta bark without affecting the cellulosic bast fibre. The said consortium also removes hemicelluloses, more specifically, xylan present in the jute & mesta bast. The microbial consortium synergistically degrades the xylan component of hemicelluloses extracted from jute bast as evidenced by the positive xylanase assay.
These three isolates of the consortium when mixed in a ratio of 1:2:1 gave the best result, but they can also be used in 1:1:2 or 1:1:1 ratio.
In the present process, said consortium, remains active in a broad spectrum of pH values between pH 5 to 11, showing its higher activity in the alkaline range of pH values with an optimum activity at pH 10, but still remains enzymatically active at pH 6.
The said consortium shows no antagonistic effect on the growth on each other of the organisms of retting consortium. The said consortium shows enzymatic synergistic effect within the components of retting consortium, said consortium remains viable at acidic range of pH values and enzymatically active at environment having higher salt concentration. This implies that, the said consortium can work irrespective of all the environmental conditions e.g. acidic, alkaline or saline.
The application of the said consortium improves jute & mesta fibre quality evidenced by the improvement of fibre strength, fineness, colour etc.

It will be evident from the above description that the application of the said consortium shortens the period of retting as compared to the conventional retting method, the said consortium shows more effectiveness in terms of polygalacturonase activity compared to commercially available pectinase enzyme when pectin extracted from jute bast and citrus pectin were used as substrate. The microbes of the said consortium are spore forming and use of spore suspension of the said consortium can also ret whole jute plants within a short period of time. The use of microbial consortium also provides a scope of using retting liquor as a nutritional source for various purposes.

We Claim:-
1. A microbial consortium for fast retting of bast fibre comprising three Bacillus pumilus strains containing Bacillus pumilus IMAU 80221, Bacillus pumilus GVC 11 and Bacillus pumilus SYBC-W by 16S rDNA sequencing (ribotyping) of a 977 bp lengh of 16S rRNA gene, mixed in a ratio of 1:2:1.
2. A microbial consortium as claimed in claim 1 wherein said consortium comprising three Bacillus pumilus strains containing Bacillus pumilus IMAU 80221, Bacillus pumilus GVC 11 and Bacillus pumilus SYBC-W by 16S rDNA sequencing (ribotyping) of a 977 bp lengh of 16S rRNA gene, mixed in a ratio of 1:1:2.
3. A microbial consortium as claimed in claim 1 wherein said consortium comprising three Bacillus pumilus strains containing Bacillus pumilus IMAU 80221, Bacillus pumilus GVC 11 and Bacillus pumilus SYBC-W by 16S rDNA sequencing (ribotyping) of a 977 bp lengh of 16S rRNA gene, mixed in a ratio of 1:1:1.
4. A microbial consortium as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein three isolates are identified as different strains of Bacillus pumilus, namely Bacillus pumilus IMAU80221; Bacillus pumilus GVC11; Bacillus pumilus SYBC-W by 16S r DNA sequencing (ribotyping) of a 977 base pair fragment.
5. A process for accelerated removing of pectic substances from jute and mesta using microbial consortium as claimed in claims 1 to 4 in a predetermined amount in a retting tank to remove pectin and xylan containing material from bast during water scarce conditions utilizing less volume of water, said process is carried out at a pH range between 5.0 and 11.0 with three peaks at 6.0, 8.0 and 10.0, preferably at pH10.0.

6. A process as claimed in claim 5 wherein the jute plants are effectively retted in approximately 13 to 15 days.