In recent years, the average yield of jute in India and Bangladesh, the main producers in the world, has slightly increased from 1.93 t.ha-1 in 2000–2001 to 2.35 t.ha-1 in 2009–2010 (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 2010; Statistical Year Book India, 2012) despite the expanding global demand for natural fibers because there has been little work on breeding new and superior varieties. In addition, the two cultivated species of jute are different in terms of growth habitat, disease and pest resistance, and characteristics related to fiber and seed yield (Kundu, 1951; Edmonds, 1990).