Sisal (Agave sisalana) is an agave Agave is a genus of monocots and is a perennial. In the APG III system, it is placed in the subfamily Agavoideae of the broadly circumscribed family Asparagaceae. Some authors prefer to place it in the segregate family Agavaceae. Traditionally, it was circumscribed to comprise about 166 species, but it is now usually understood to have about 208 that yields a stiff fibre Fiber, also spelled fibre, is a class of materials that are continuous filaments or are in discrete elongated pieces, similar to lengths of thread. They are very important in the biology of both plants and animals, for holding tissues together. Human uses for fibers are diverse. They can be spun into filaments, string or rope, used as a component traditionally used in making twine Twine is a strong thread or string composed of two or more smaller strands or yarns twisted together. More generally, the term can be applied to any thin cord, rope A rope is a length of fibres, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength . Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly constructed cord, line, string, and twine and also dartboards. The term may refer either to the plant or the fibre, depending on context. It is sometimes incorrectly referred to as sisal hemp because hemp Hemp is the name of the soft, durable fibre that is cultivated from plants of the Cannabis genus, cultivated for commercial use was for centuries a major source for fibre, so other fibres were sometimes named after it.
The plant's origin is uncertain; while traditionally it was deemed to be a native of Yucatan Yucatán is one of the 31 states of Mexico, located on the north of the Yucatán Peninsula. The Congress of Yucatan was installed on August 20, 1823; and was admitted to the Mexican federation on 21 December 1823, being the 8th state admitted. The Yucatan peninsula includes three states: Yucatán, Campeche, and Quintana Roo; all three modern, there are no records of botanical collections from there. Gentry Howard Scott Gentry was an American botanist recognized as the world's leading authority on the agaves hypothesized a Chiapas Chiapas is the southernmost state of Mexico, located towards the southeast of the country. Chiapas is bordered by the states of Tabasco to the north, Veracruz to the northwest, and Oaxaca to the west. To the east Chiapas borders Guatemala, and to the south the Pacific Ocean, Chiapas has an area of about 74,211 km2 (28,653 sq mi). The 2005 Mexican origin, on the strength of traditional local usage. In the 19th century, sisal cultivation spread to Florida With an area of 65,758 square miles , it is ranked 22nd in size among the 50 U.S. states. Florida has the most coastline in the Contiguous United States encompassing approximately 1,200 miles. The state has four large urban areas, a number of smaller industrial cities, and many small towns, the Caribbean The Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and Northern America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America islands and Brazil Brazil (pronounced /brəˈzɪl/ ; Portuguese: Brasil, IPA: [bɾaˈziw]), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil, listen (help·info)), is the largest country in South America and the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical, as well as to countries in Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people (as of 2009, see table) in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.72% of the world's human population, notably Tanzania Coordinates: 6°18′25″S 34°51′14″E / 6.307°S 34.854°E The United Republic of Tanzania is a nation in central East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian and Kenya The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. Lying along the Indian Ocean, at the equator, Kenya is bordered by Ethiopia (north), Somalia (northeast), Tanzania (south), Uganda plus Lake Victoria (west), and Sudan (northwest). Kenya has numerous wildlife reserves, containing thousands of animal species. The capital city is Nairobi. Kenya's, and Asia Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population. During the 20th century Asia's population nearly quadrupled. The first commercial plantings in Brazil were made in the late 1930s and the first sisal fibre exports from there were made in 1948. It was not until the 1960s that Brazilian production accelerated and the first of many spinning mills was established. Today Brazil is the major world producer of sisal. There are both positive and negative environmental impacts from sisal growing.
Traditionally used for rope and twine, sisal has many uses, including paper, cloth, wall coverings and carpets.
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The sisal plant
Flowers in Goa Goa (pronounced /ˈɡoʊ.ə/ ; Konkani: गोंय) is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located on India's west coast in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its western coast. Goa is India's, India India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with 1.18 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Mainland India is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the.Sisal plants consist of a rosette Often, rosettes form in perennial plants whose upper foliage dies back with the remaining vegetation protecting the plant. Another form occurs when internodes along a stem are shortened, bringing the leaves closer together, as in lettuce and dandelion and some succulents. In yet other forms, the rosette persists at the base of the plant (such as of sword-shaped leaves about 1.5 to 2 metres tall. Young leaves may have a few minute teeth along their margins, but lose them as they mature. Sisals are sterile hybrids of uncertain origin; although shipped from the port of Sisal in Yucatán Yucatán is one of the 31 states of Mexico, located on the north of the Yucatán Peninsula. The Congress of Yucatan was installed on August 20, 1823; and was admitted to the Mexican federation on 21 December 1823, being the 8th state admitted. The Yucatan peninsula includes three states: Yucatán, Campeche, and Quintana Roo; all three modern (thus the name), they do not actually grow in Yucatán, the plantations A plantation is a large farm or estate, usually in a tropical or subtropical country, where crops are grown for sale in distant markets, rather than for local consumption. The term plantation is informal and not precisely defined there cultivate henequen (Agave fourcroydes) instead. Evidence of an indigenous cottage industry The putting-out system was a means of subcontracting work. It was also known as the workshop system. In putting-out, work was contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who completed the work in their own facility, usually their own home in Chiapas Chiapas is the southernmost state of Mexico, located towards the southeast of the country. Chiapas is bordered by the states of Tabasco to the north, Veracruz to the northwest, and Oaxaca to the west. To the east Chiapas borders Guatemala, and to the south the Pacific Ocean, Chiapas has an area of about 74,211 km2 (28,653 sq mi). The 2005 Mexican suggests it as the original location, possibly as a cross of Agave angustifolia and Agave kewensis.
Propagation of sisal is generally by using bulbils produced from buds in the flower stalk or by suckers growing around the base of the plant, which are grown in nursery fields until large enough to be transplanted to their final position. These methods offer no potential for genetic improvement. Invitro multiplication of selected genetic material using meristematic tissue culture (MST) offers considerable potential for the development of improved genetic material. [1]
The sisal plant has a 7-10 year life-span and typically produces 200-250 commercially usable leaves. Each leaf contains an average of around 1000 fibres. The fibres account for only about 4% of the plant by weight. Sisal is considered a plant of the tropics and subtropics, since production benefits from temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius and sunshine.[2]
Extracting the fibre
Baled Brazilian sisal fibre Sisal fibre drying machine in Java.Fibre is extracted by a process known as decortication A decorticator is a machine for stripping the skin, bark, or rind off nuts, wood, plant stalks, grain, etc, in preparation for further processing, where leaves are crushed and beaten by a rotating wheel set with blunt knives, so that only fibres remain. In East Africa, where production is typically on large estates, the leaves are transported to a central decortication plant, where water is used to wash away the waste parts of the leaf. The fibre is then dried, brushed and baled for export. Superior quality sisal is found in East Africa, once washed and decorticated. Proper drying is important as fibre quality depends largely on moisture content. Artificial drying has been found to result in generally better grades of fibre than sun drying, but is not feasible in the developing countries where sisal is produced. In the drier climate of north-east Brazil, sisal is mainly grown by smallholders and the fibre is extracted by teams using portable raspadors which do not use water. Fibre is subsequently cleaned by brushing. Dry fibres are machine combed and sorted into various grades, largely on the basis of the previous in-field separation of leaves into size groups.[3]
Environmental impact
Sisal farming initially caused environmental degradation, because sisal plantations replaced native forests, but is still considered less damaging than many types of farming. No chemical fertilizers are used in sisal production, and although herbicides are occasionally used, even this impact may be eliminated, since most weeding is done by hand.[4] The effluent from the decortication process causes serious pollution when it is allowed to flow into watercourses.[5] In Tanzania there are plans to use the waste as bio-fuel.[6]
Uses of sisal
A sisal plantation in Morogoro, Tanzania Coordinates: 6°18′25″S 34°51′14″E / 6.307°S 34.854°E The United Republic of Tanzania is a nation in central East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian. The Uluguru Mountains can be seen in the backgroundTraditionally, sisal has been the leading material for agricultural twine (binder twine and baler twine) because of its strength, durability, ability to stretch, affinity for certain dyestuffs, and resistance to deterioration in saltwater,[7] but the importance of this traditional use is diminishing with competition from polypropylene and the development of other haymaking techniques, while new higher-valued sisal products have been developed.[2] Apart from ropes, twines, and general cordage, sisal is used in low-cost and specialty paper, dartboards, buffing cloth, filters, geotextiles, mattresses, carpets, handicrafts, wire rope cores, and Macramé.[2] In recent years sisal has been utilized as an environmentally friendly strengthening agent to replace asbestos and fibreglass in composite materials in various uses including the automobile industry.[2] The lower-grade fibre is processed by the paper industry because of its high content of cellulose and hemicelluloses. The medium-grade fibre is used in the cordage industry for making ropes, baler and binder twine. Ropes and twines are widely employed for marine, agricultural, and general industrial use. The higher-grade fibre after treatment is converted into yarns and used by the carpet industry.[7]
Inflorescence in Goa Goa (pronounced /ˈɡoʊ.ə/ ; Konkani: गोंय) is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located on India's west coast in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its western coast. Goa is India's, India India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with 1.18 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Mainland India is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the.Other products developed from sisal fibre include spa products, cat scratching posts, lumbar support belts, rugs, slippers, cloths, and disc buffers. Sisal wall covering meets the abrasion and tearing resistance standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials and of the National Fire Protection Association.[4]
Despite the yarn durability sisal is known for, slight matting of sisal carpeting may occur in high-traffic areas.[2] Sisal carpet does not build up static nor does it trap dust, so vacuuming is the only maintenance required. High-spill areas should be treated with a fibre sealer and for spot removal, a drycleaning powder is recommended. Depending on climatic conditions, sisal will absorb air humidity or release it, causing expansion or contraction. Sisal is not recommended for areas that receive wet spills or rain or snow.[2] Sisal is used by itself in carpets or in blends with wool and acrylic for a softer hand.[8]
As extraction of fibre uses only a small percentage of the plant, some attempts to improve economic viability have focused on utilizing the waste material for production of biogas Biogas typically refers to a gas produced by the biological breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. Biogas originates from biogenic material and is a type of biofuel, for stockfeed, or the extraction of pharmaceutical materials.
Sisal is a valuable forage for honey bees because of its long flowering period. It is particularly attractive to them during pollen shortage. The honey produced is however dark and has a strong and unpleasant flavour.[9]
Global production and trade patterns
Global production of sisal fibre in 2007 amounted to 240 thousand tonnes of which Brazil, the largest producing country, produced 113,000 tonnes.[10]
Tanzania produced approximately 37,000 tons, Kenya produced 27,600 tonnes, Venezuela 10,500 tonnes and 9,000 tonnes were produced in Madagascar. China China is seen variously as an ancient civilization extending over a large area in East Asia, a nation and/or a multinational entity contributed 40,000 tons with smaller amounts coming from South Africa, Mozambique, Haiti, and Cuba. Sisal occupies 6th place among fibre plants, representing 2% of the world’s production of plant fibres (plant fibres provide 65% of the world’s fibres).[3]
Historical image showing a sisal plantation on Java.As one of the world's important natural fibres, sisal is covered by activities of the International Year of Natural Fibres The United Nations General Assembly declared 2009 as the International Year of Natural Fibres along with the international year of astronomy 2009.
Heraldry
The sisal plant appears in the arms of Barquisimeto Barquisimeto is the capital city of the State of Lara located in west central Venezuela, halfway between Caracas and Maracaibo on the Turbio River, Venezuela.[11]
The Yucatan State in Mexico features a deer bounding over a sisal plant on its coat of arms.[12]
See also
References
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Agave sisalana |
- ^ UNIDO
- ^ a b c d e f "The Sisal plant". http://www.wigglesworthfibres.com/products/sisal/sisalplant.html. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- ^ a b NNFCC It is situated in the Bio Centre on the York Science Park at the University of York. It was opened by Larry Whitty, Baron Whitty "Sisal" - URL retrieved February 24, 2009
- ^ a b Sisal Floor and Wall Coverings - URL retrieved June 25, 2006
- ^ Forest Conservation in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania Retrieved December 21, 2008
- ^ Biofuels Digest Retrieved December 21, 2008
- ^ a b "World of Sisal". http://www.sisal.ws/. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- ^ Kadolph, Sara J and Ann L Langford (2002). Textiles. New Jersey: Person Education, Inc. ISBN The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering (SBN) code created by Gordon Foster, now Emeritus Professor of Statistics at Trinity College, Dublin, for the booksellers and stationers W.H. Smith and others in 1966 0-13-025443-6.
- ^ Fichtl & Adi 1994, Hepburn & Radloff 1998
- ^ FAO Fibres Statistical Bulletin- URL retrieved November 22, 2008
- ^ "Alcaldia de Barquisimeto". http://www.alcaldiadebarquisimeto.gov.ve/iribarren/Escudo.html. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
- ^ Coat of arms of Yucatan
- G. W. Lock, Sisal (Longmans Green & Co., 1969)
- Howard Scott Gentry Howard Scott Gentry was an American botanist recognized as the world's leading authority on the agaves, Agaves of Continental North America (University of Arizona Press, 1982) pp. 628–631
Sister project links
- Data related to Agave sisalana at Wikispecies Wikispecies is a wiki-based online project supported by the Wikimedia Foundation. Its aim is to create a comprehensive free content catalogue of all species and is directed at scientists, rather than at the general public. Jimmy Wales—chairman emeritus of the Wikimedia Foundation—stated that editors are not required to fax in their degrees,
- The Wiktionary Wiktionary is a multilingual, web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 151 languages. Unlike standard dictionaries, it is written collaboratively by volunteers, dubbed "Wiktionarians", using wiki software, allowing articles to be changed by almost anyone with access to the website definition of sisal
- "Sisal hemp". Encyclopædia Britannica The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica's transition from a British to an American publication. Some of its articles were written by the best-known scholars of the day. This edition of the encyclopedia is now in the public domain, but the outdated nature (11th ed.). 1911.
Categories: Sisal | Crops originating from the Americas | Flora naturalised in Australia | Invasive plant species | Honey plants | Flora of Pakistan
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Browse our amazing collection of Asian design style gifts, furniture, lamps, hand painted art, bamboo rugs, sustainable sisal carpets, Japanese design ...
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Mon, 17 May 2010 08:57:28 GM
Durable post allows cats to get a full stretchMade with fibrous, durable . sisal. that naturally inspires scratching32 inches high to allow cat to stretch.
Q. One of them breaks down, too, but I've forgotten which. Which wears longest?
Asked by Dinah - Thu May 14 09:42:57 2009 - - 2 Answers - 0 Comments
A. you are asking for two ends of the spectrum, the softest, kindest to the feet will also be the one to wear the quickest. Jute will last the longest, but seagrass is the softest, most comfortable.
Answered by Shredded Cottage Cheese - Thu May 14 09:47:50 2009
