Hesperaloe

	Fiber Production from Hesperaloe in Arizona, USA
Overview	Hesperaloe is a xerophytic perennial that produces high-value fibers for paper-making. It is an experimental crop with the potential for reducing water consumption and soil erosion in hot desert environments currently cropped to high-water use crops such as cotton and alfalfa.
Scale	field, enterprise, commercial farm, local region
Location	Sonoran Desert Region, Maricopa, Arizona (33.0°N, 112.0°W)
Elevation	300 to 600 meters
Climate	Tropical and subtropical desert (BWh)
Agricultural Region	Crop farming, grain or cotton dominant (I)
Population Density	1 - 10 persons / square kilometer.
Principle Crops	Hesperaloe funifera (Agavaceae; no English common name; Spanish common name is Samandoque).
Domestic Animals	none
Soils	Aridisols (Argids) (D2)
Natural Vegetation	Broadleaf evergreen shrubform, minimum height 3 feet, growth singly or in groups or patches (Bsp) [Sonoran Desert scrub]
Ecoregion	Tropical/subtropical Desert Province (D3)
Basic Principles addressed	Conserve Resources, Adjust to Local Environments, Diversify
Page Author and Date	Steven P. McLaughlin, 1999.

Crop production in the Sonoran Desert region of Arizona is dominated by irrigated cotton and alfalfa, both high water users-4 to 6 acre feet for cotton, 6 to 9 acre-feet for alfalfa. Because water supplies for agriculture are limited in the long term in this region, these conventional systems are not sustainable. Several projects at the University of Arizona are developing promising desert plants as new crops that (1) produce unique, high-value products and (2) require less water. One of the most promising is Hesperaloe funifera (Agavaceae), a perennial species native to the Chihuahua Desert of northern Mexico. This species produces very long, thin fiber cells that produce a paper that is stronger than that made from virgin softwood or the most expensive vegetable fibers such as sisal or abaca. Hesperaloe is a CAM plant, which means that it takes up CO2 and loses water at night, thus greatly reducing transpirational water loss.

Long-term (11 years) field trials have confirmed that Hesperaloe does require less that half the irrigation water used by conventional crops in the region-about 2-3 acre feet. Biomass yields were surprising high-about 60-70 Mg/ha per harvest, for three harvests made at 5 years, 8 years, and 11 years. The perennial plant cover eliminates wind erosion. No insecticides have been required, but herbicides and some hand weeding are needed during stand establishment. Laboratory tests of the fiber show that it can replace virgin softwood as a reinforcing or strengthening fiber in various paper products including recycled or secondary products.

Conserve Resources

As a perennial, Hesperaloe minimizes erosion, particularly wind erosion. Its CAM physiology is highly effective in conserving water.

Adjust to Local Environments

Hesperaloe is a desert plant with water-conserving physiological properties and tolerances that makes it well adapted to dry environments.

Diversify

Hesperaloe could provide growers with an additional crop option in a production region characterized by unusually low crop diversity.

field

Hesperaloe in the field (3 year-old stand).

Related Literature:

McLaughlin, S. P., and S. M. Schuck. 1991. Fiber properties of several species of Agavaceae form the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Economic Botany 45: 480-486.

Ravetta, D. A., and S. P. McLaughlin. 1993. Photosynthetic pathways of Hesperaloe funifera and H. nocturna (Agavaceae): novel sources of specialty fibers. American Journal of Botany 80: 524-532.

McLaughlin, S. P. 1995. Morphological development and yield potential in Hesperaloe funifera (Agavaceae), an experimental fibre crop for dry regions. Experimental Agriculture 31: 345-353.

McLaughlin, S. P. 1996. Domestication of Hesperaloe: progress, problems, and prospects. Pp. 395-402 in J. Janick (ed.), Progress in New Crops. ASHS Press, Alexandria, VA.

Ravetta, D. A., and S. P.McLaughlin. 1996. Ecophysiological studies in Hesperaloe funifera (Agavaceae): a potential new CAM crop. Seasonal patterns of photosynthesis. Journal of Arid Environments 33: 211-223.