Editing Sisal (section)

==Cultivation==
Sisal was used by the [[Aztecs]] and the [[Maya peoples|Maya]] to make fabrics and paper.<ref>{{cite web|last=Seigler|first=David|year=2005|title=Fibers from Plants|url=http://www.life.illinois.edu/ib/363/FIBERS.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130804031742/http://www.life.illinois.edu/ib/363/FIBERS.html|archive-date=August 4, 2013}}</ref>

In the 19th century, sisal cultivation spread to [[Florida]], the Caribbean islands, and Brazil ([[Paraíba|Paraiba]] and [[Bahia]]), as well as to countries in Africa, notably [[Tanzania]] and [[Kenya]], and Asia. Sisal reportedly "came to Africa from Florida, through the mechanism of a remarkable German botanist, by the name of Hindorf."<ref name="Gunther">{{cite book
  | last = Gunther
  | first = John
  | title = Inside Africa
  | publisher = Harper & Brothers
  | year = 1955
  | pages = 408
  | isbn = 0836981979}}</ref>

In [[Cuba]] its cultivation was introduced in 1880 by [[Fernando Heydrich]] in [[Matanzas]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LeL5KJ8_4fUC&q=habana+heydrich&pg=PA291|title=Economía y colonia: la economía cubana y la relación con España (1765–1902)|last=García|first=Antonio Santamaría|date=1900|publisher=Editorial CSIC Press|isbn=978-8400090081|language=es}}</ref>

The first commercial plantings in Brazil were made in the late 1930s, and the first sisal fiber exports from there were made in 1948. Brazilian production did not accelerate until the 1960s, and the first of many spinning mills was established.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}} Today, Brazil is the major world producer of sisal.<ref name="FAOSTAT"/>

===Propagation===
Propagation of sisal is generally by using [[bulbils]] produced from buds in the flower stalk or by [[suckers (botany)|suckers]] growing around the base of the plant, which are grown in nursery fields until large enough to be transplanted to their final positions. These methods offer no potential for genetic improvement. ''[[In vitro]]'' multiplication of selected genetic material using [[Meristem|meristematic tissue culture]] offers considerable potential for the development of improved genetic material.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=o8447 |title=UNIDO |access-date=2013-11-09}}</ref>

===Fiber extraction===
Fiber is extracted by a process known as [[Decorticator|decortication]], where leaves are crushed, beaten, and brushed away by a rotating wheel set with blunt knives, so that only fibers remain. Alternatively, in [[East Africa]], where production is typically on large estates,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Yuko Ikeda|first=Shinzo Kohjiya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1-eiAgAAQBAJ&dq=Sisal+fibre+is+extracted+by+a+process+known+as+decortication,+where+leaves+are+crushed,+beaten,+and+brushed+away+by+a+rotating+wheel+set+with+blunt+knives,&pg=PA262|title=Chemistry, Manufacture and Applications of Natural Rubber|publisher=Elsevier Science|year=2014|isbn=9780857096913|pages=262}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Witucki|first=Lawrence A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NXpTmBPOgfAC&dq=Sisal+in+East+Africa,+where+production+is+typically+on+large+estates.&pg=PA3|title=Agricultural Development in Kenya Since 1967|publisher=U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service|year=1976|location=University of Minnesota|pages=3}}</ref> the leaves are transported to a central decortication plant, where water is used to wash away the waste parts of the leaves.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gutierrez|first1=Jerry|title=What is Sisal?|url=http://www.naturalarearugs.com/blogs/what-is-sisal-material.php|website=www.naturalarearugs.com|access-date=29 May 2016|date=26 May 2015|archive-date=7 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807043654/http://www.naturalarearugs.com/blogs/what-is-sisal-material.php|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The fiber is then dried, brushed, and baled for export. Proper drying is important, as fiber quality depends largely on moisture content. Artificial drying has been found to result in generally better grades of fiber than sun drying, but is not always feasible in the less industrialized countries where sisal is produced. In the drier climate of northeast Brazil, sisal is mainly grown by [[smallholder]]s and the fiber is extracted by teams using portable ''raspadors'', which do not use water.<ref name=IENICA/>

Fiber is subsequently cleaned by brushing. Dry fibers are machine combed and sorted into various grades, largely on the basis of the previous in-field separation of leaves into size groups.<ref name=IENICA/>

<gallery mode="packed">
Image:Pacas de sisal.jpg|Baled Brazilian sisal fiber 
File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM De droger is het laatste onderdeel in het proces van vezelbewerking op vezelonderneming Lho Soekon in Atjeh Noord-Sumatra TMnr 10011421.jpg|Sisal fiber drying machine in Java
File:Mt Uluguru and Sisal plantations.jpg|A sisal plantation in [[Morogoro]], [[Tanzania]]: The [[Uluguru Mountains]] can be seen in the background.
File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Kleine aanplant van bloeiende sisal agaven in de cultuurtuin te Salatiga Midden-Java TMnr 10011536.jpg|Historical image showing a sisal plantation on Java
File:Photo Some men select the sisal fibers before they are immersed in the washing tubs 1959 - Touring Club Italiano BBU 120.jpg|Manual selection of sisal fibers before washing
File:Photo A cargo of sisal fibres on a ship in the port of Tanga 1959 - Touring Club Italiano BBU 122.jpg|A cargo of sisal fibers on a ship in the port of [[Tanga, Tanzania|Tanga]] in 1959
</gallery>

===Environmental impacts===
Sisal farming initially caused [[environmental degradation]], because sisal plantations replaced native forests, but is still considered less damaging than many types of farming.  No chemical fertilizers are used in sisal production, and although herbicides are occasionally used, even this impact may be eliminated, since most weeding is done by hand.<ref name=advanced/> The effluent from the decortication process causes serious pollution when it is allowed to flow into watercourses.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=mdjQRmdKl-oC&dq=Sisal%2Bdeforestation&pg=PA154 Forest Conservation in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania] Retrieved December 21, 2008</ref>

Sisal is considered to be an invasive species in [[Hawaii]] and [[Florida]].<ref>{{cite web|title=sisal: ''Agave sisalana'' (Liliales: Agavaceae): Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States|url=http://www.invasiveplantatlas.org/subject.html?sub=3552|website=www.invasiveplantatlas.org|publisher=The University of Georgia – Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health and the National Park Service|access-date=29 May 2016}}</ref>