ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT The excessive industrial use of dye producing plants has threatened the existence of these species and biodiversity. Exploration of abundantly available natural dye sources not only provide industrial benefits but also share the load of dye yielding plants. In the present study we used the inflorescence of munj sweet cane (Saccharum bengalense Retz.) to extract natural colorant for textile industry. This easily available plant is cheap source of natural colorants and good alternative of synthetic dyes. The munj sweet cane inflorescence extract and fabric was treated with microwave radiations. The dyeing aspects like temperature, time, fabrics to extract ratio, salt type and salt concentrations were optimized. Pre-and post mordanting was carried out and optimized using copper, iron, moringa and turmeric. All the samples were analyzed by spectra flash D65 10 Deg to determine the color strength (%) value. Results proved inflorescence extract of munj sweet cane (RS, two minutes) using aqueous media as a good source of natural dye. Three grams of sodium chloride as exhaustion agent was observed to be the best while 70 0C temperatures gave best colour strength. Among chemical mordants, iron proved to be good one for producing varying shades and better colour strength. Bio mordanting with turmeric was proved to be more beneficial for getting best color strength and new shades.