Henequen industry in Yucatán
Henequen industry in Yucatán Peninsula is an agribusiness of a plant native to Yucatán, Mexico. After extraction from the plant, henequen is processed as a textile in various forms to obtain a range of products for domestic, commercial, agricultural and industrial use, as binder twine for crops such as hay. Until the mid-20th century, it was a major industrial activity, the mooring of vessels depending on it. Its decline is attributed to the industry size, its socio-economic impact, as well as the invention of synthetic fibers and the manufacturing from these of substitute products which displaced henequen and sisal fibers. In addition to its fiber, the juice extracted from the henequen plant has been industrialized as a liquor similar to tequila. Also derived from its juice are certain steroidal chemicals used in the pharmaceutical industry.
The English term agave was known in the Mayan languages as ki. Henequen (Agave fourcroydes) was referred to as henequen blanco by the Spaniards and sakki by the Mayan, while sisal (Agave sisalana,) was henequen verde to the Spaniards and yaxqui to the Maya.
Just before the rainy season sets in the vegetation — dry as tinder from the rays of a tropical sun that having beaten down on it for months — is burned off. The drenching rains of the wet season mingle the ashes with the soil, which is all the fertilizing it needs. Then at the opening of the next season, sometimes after a second light burning off, the ground is divided into mecates, or spaces about 75 square feet (7.0 m2). To each worker are given so many mecates to plant daily. He makes a series of holes, very shallow, in the burned soil about 8 feet (2.4 m) apart in each direction, and in these holes places a bud or cutting of a hencquen plant. Each mecate then contains from 80 to 100 plants. The holes are not made with a shovel or hoe, but with a stout stick shod with a sharp iron point, and the holes are frequently mere excavations in the soft, friable, limestone rock. The workers work at planting very swiftly, and in an incredibly short time a vast extent of territory is planted. During the whole of the first season, and especially toward the close of the rains, the newly planted ground has to be kept clear. This work is done with the machete. In less than three years, the plants are so large that further care is unnecessary, and in from five to seven years they begin to yield. The plants then are nearly 6 feet (1.8 m) high, and bear a great number of stout leaves from 4–5 feet (1.2–1.5 m) long. They continue bearing for 20 years. The edges of these leaves are provided with innumerable sharp thorns, sickle or fish-hook shaped, and the point of the leaf is prolonged into a black, very sharp spike or thorn-like.
...
Wikipedia