Agave sisalana

Sisal hemp, henequen

Useful reference: 17

Stemless perennial with thick succulent leaves 1-1.5 m long having smooth edges and a sharp dark-brown terminal spine. The plant produces a central spike up to 6 m high after seven or eight years. The leaves are threshed for the durable white fibres used in the manufacture of rope and twine. The leaf, waste, or pulp, left as a by-product accumulates in large amounts at processing sites. Sisal leaf waste has been used profitably for cattle and rabbit feed. Up to 27 kg of fresh sisal waste have been fed daily to dairy cows, but the average intake of sisal waste when used as a supplement for grazing cattle is about 10 kg per day. Undesirable side-effects have not been observed even after heavy feeding of sisal waste for long periods. The succulence of fresh sisal waste makes it a useful feed during dry periods. Once accustomed to it, cattle find sisal waste quite palatable. Sisal waste ferments rapidly and should be used within forty-eight hours or be either sun-dried or ensiled. It takes about one month for "untrained" cattle to reach the maximum intake of fresh waste, whereas a cow which has received sisal waste the previous season attains the same level in a week. Cattle accustomed to sisal waste attack it avidly. The main limitation of utilizing sisal waste for feed is its high moisture content. Besides, it is perishable and low in nutritive value, mostly because of its lack of digestible protein and phosphorus.