Fig. 4

SEM micrographs of microbial colonization progression and microbial interactions in comparative studies (between conventional retting and retting with microbial formulation). (a) Outer surface of jute bark on day 3 (conventional retting method without microbial formulation); on the surface of the jute stem, fewer microbial cells were observed. (b) Outer surface of jute bark on day 3 (retting with microbial formulation); dense mycelial growth and bacterial colonization were both observed. (c) Outer surface of jute bark on day 7 (conventional retting method without microbial formulation). (d) Outer surface of jute bark on day 7 (retted with microbial formulation). In contrast to conventional retting, retting with microbial formulation results in a substantially faster rate of colonization on bark samples and cell wall degradation. After day 7, there was no significant difference in microbial colonization on either surface between the two groups of patients