Botanically Musa texitilis and commonly known as abaca or Manila hemp or Cebu hemp or Davao hemp belongs to family Musaceae (Moreno 2001). The plant is native to Asia (Philippines) and is widely distributed in the humid tropics and grows abundantly in Philippines, Ecuador, and Costa Rica (Ocfemia 1930). Philippines is the leading producer of abaca in the world followed by Ecuador (Umali and Brewbaker 1956; Hadi et al. 2011). Morphologically the plant resembles the banana plant (Musa sapientum) which grows from the rootstock producing about 25 fleshy stalks (fiberless) and forms a circular mat called as “mat” or “hill.” About 12-25 leaves are produced from each stock and these leaves have overlapping petioles that cover the stalk to give a shrubby appearance and form a “false trunk” or “pseud­ostem.” The diameter of the pseudostem is about 30-40 cm and the leaves grow in acropetal succession. The leaves are bright green on the adaxial surface and yellow­ish green on the abaxial surface whose length ranges from 1 to 2.5 m (3-8 ft) and width ranges from 20 to 30 cm. The plant grows to a height of about 12 ft (4-8 m) as the oldest petioles develop from the base of the stalk while the younger ones develop successively from the higher points on the stalk. The sheaths or petioles yield the valuable abaca fibers whose length range from 1.5 to 3.5 m and are vari­ously colored including white, brown, red, black, or purple which is reported to depend on the plant variety and the position of petiole. It has been found that the fibers obtained from outer sheaths are darkest in color than those obtained from the inner sheaths. A mature abaca plant produces an inflorescence of small dark red flowers arranged in spikes which ultimately develop into banana-like fruits. These fruits (8 cm long and 2.5 cm in diameter) are inedible having green skins with white pulp inside consisting of large and black seeds (Fig. 3.1).