Fibers of Agave salmiana cultivar Xa'mni: physical characterization and comparison between leaf maturity and growth environment

In the Valle del Mezquital region in Central Mexico, the cultivar Xa'mni of Agave salmiana is preferred by local artisans for the quality of the fiber obtained from its leaves. Length, thickness, linear density, and color of Xa'mni leaf fibers were evaluated in function of the maturation stage of the leaf (young, mature, and old leaves) and the growing environment (rainfed vs. irrigated areas). The effect of leaf maturity over the length was evident only in one group of fibers, which increased 17.5% their length in mature leaves and 85.5% in old leaves with regard to young leaves. As to thickness, it always increased as the leaf aged (i.e., from 102.5 to 135.9 and 161.1 mu m, for young, mature, and old leaf fibers, respectively), and in most cases, their linear density increased with the maturity of the leaf (i.e., from 75.6 dtex in young leaf fibers to 94.1 and 186.0 dtex in mature and old leaves, respectively). By contrast, no significant differences in the color of the fibers were observed as an effect of the leaf maturity. The growing conditions, whether the specimen was planted in a rainfed area or near an irrigated area, did not influence the characteristics of the fibers.