The bacteria present on samples of desiccated flax stems were Bacillus mycoides, B. subtilis, Erwinia carotovora, Pseudomonas fluorescens, P. putida and Micrococcus sp. and the fungi present were Cladosporium herbarum, Fusarium culmorum, Botrytis cineria, Epicoccum nigrum and yeast. When inoculated on autoclaved stems or in liquid culture, B. subtilis produced mainly pectin-lyase and xylanase. However, only pectin-lyase was detected in significant levels in autoclaved stem sections or in liquid cultures inoculated with E. carotovora. Enhanced pectin-lyase and xylanase levels were detected in field-retted stems sprayed with B. subtilis compared with enzyme levels in stems sprayed with E. carotovora or the control stem tissues. Increases in the fungal population coincided with a reduction in the bacterial population on treated stems at the later part of retting. Enhanced retting was observed in stems sprayed with B. subtilis and consequently the stems produced finer fibres than fibres from E. carotovora-sprayed or control stems.