Search

..................................

Select Level of Detail

At a Glance

General

Technical

............................

+ Non-Wood Fiber Crops - Hesperaloe

............................

Access BioWeb Content

Search

Explore By Topic

Browse Index

............................

BioWeb Glossary

Search

Alphabetical Listing

............................

Contributors Log in

bioweb.sungrant.org » Technical » Biomass Resources » Agricultural Resources » New Crops » Non-Wood Fiber Crops » Hesperaloe

Hesperaloe	Printer Friendly

Hesperaloe is a desert plant native to northern Mexico. Two species (H. funifera and H. nocturna) are being examined as possible new fiber crops. The fiber cells of Hesperaloe are unusually long and thin (3 to 4 mm long and 14 to 17 microns wide). This high length to width ratio is found only in a few other specialty fibers, such as abaca and sisal. While Hesperaloe can be used to produce specialty papers, its largest market opportunity is projected to be as a blend with other fibers to increase strength, softness, and other performance characteristics. Hesperaloe is being developed mostly for fiber use, but should economic conditions be favorable, could be used for other bioenergy and bioproduct uses.   H. funifera and H. nocturna display compact growth habits, and likely can be grown at high stand density. They are water efficient, but commercial production in the Southwest will probably require irrigation. Seeds are scarce and slow to germinate, requiring stand establishment using transplanted seedlings. Initial growth is slow and Hesperaloe is not competitive with weeds in the first few years, requiring weed control.    The projected crop cycle for Hesperaloe consists of stand establishment - with transplants in year 1, first harvest in year 4 or 5, and subsequent harvests every 2 to 3 years. Fresh weight yield of each harvest is projected to be around 200 Mg/hectare (90 tons/acre). The dry fibrous material represents about 30% of the leaf fresh weight, with pulp yields of approximately 40% of the dry fiber. Efforts are underway to develop mechanical means to efficiently harvest Hesperaloe leaves.

References
Eaton, F.E.; Roth, R.L.; McLaughlin, S.; and Nelson, J. (2002). A harvesting system for Hesperaloe leaves. 2002 Association for the Advancement of Industrial Crops Annual Conference on New Crops and New Uses. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada: August 25-28. McLaughlin, S.P. (1995). Hesperaloe, New Crop FactSHEET. Purdue University Center for New Crops and Plant Products. Retrieved from http://newcrop.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/cropfactsheets/Hesperaloe.html McLaughlin, S.P. (1996). Domestication of Hesperaloe: Progress, problems, and prospects. In Progress in new crops (pp. 395-402). J.Janick (ed.), Arlington, VA: ASHS Press. Roseberg, R.J. (1996). Underexploited temperate industrial and fiber crops. In Progress in New Crops (pp. 60-84). J.Janick (ed.), Alexandria, VA: ASHS Press. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. (1996, September). Hesperaloe has properties that interest papermakers. Industrial Uses, IUS-6.