Science Fair Projects Ideas - Tequila agave

All Science Fair Projects

      

Science Fair Project Encyclopedia for Schools!

  Search    Browse    Forum  Coach    Links    Editor    Help    Tell-a-Friend    Encyclopedia    Dictionary     

Science Fair Project Encyclopedia

For information on any area of science that interests you,
enter a keyword (eg. scientific method, molecule, cloud, carbohydrate etc.).
Or else, you can start by choosing any of the categories below.

Tequila agave

(Redirected from Agave tequilana)
Tequila agave
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Plantae
Division:Magnoliophyta
Class:Liliopsida
Order:Asparagales
Family:Agavaceae
Genus:Agave
Species:tequilana
Binomial name

Agave tequilana A. Weber

Ref: ???

The tequila agave Agave tequilana Weber, often called blue agave or agave azul, is an agave, a principal economic product of Jalisco state in Mexico due to its role as the base ingredient of tequila, a popular alcoholic drink.

The tequila agave grows natively in Jalisco, favoring the high altitudes (over 1500 meters) and sandy soil. Commercial and wild agaves have very different life cycles. Both start as a large succulent, with spiky fleshy leaves, which can grow to over two meters in length. Wild agaves sprout a shoot when about five years old which grows into a stem up to five meters tall and topped with yellow flowers. The flowers are pollinated by a native bat (Leptonycteris nivalis ) and produce several thousand seeds per plant. The shoots are removed when about a year old from commercial plants to allow the heart to grow larger. The plants are then reproduced by planting these shoots; this has lead to a considerable loss of genetic diversity in cultivated blue agave.

Tequila is produced by removing the heart of the plant in its twelfth year, normally weighing between 35-90 kg. This heart is stripped of leaves and heated to remove the sap, which is fermented and distilled. Other beverages like Mezcal and Pulque are also produced from Blue and other agaves by different methods (though still using the sap) and are regarded as more traditional.

Over 200 million Blue Agave plants are grown in several regions of Mexico, but in recent years the ability of farmers to meet demand has been in question. Through poor breeding practices, Blue Agave has lost resistance to fusarium fungus and several other diseases which currently render 25%-30% of the plants unusable for consumption.

10-26-2009 08:16:03
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details
Science kits, science lessons, science toys, maths toys, hobby kits, science games and books - these are some of many products that can help give your kid an edge in their science fair projects, and develop a tremendous interest in the study of science. When shopping for a science kit or other supplies, make sure that you carefully review the features and quality of the products. Compare prices by going to several online stores. Read product reviews online or refer to magazines.

Start by looking for your science kit review or science toy review. Compare prices but remember, Price $ is not everything. Quality does matter.
Science Fair Coach
What do science fair judges look out for?
ScienceHound
Science Fair Projects for students of all ages
All Science Fair Projects.com Site
All Science Fair Projects Homepage
Search | Browse | Links | From-our-Editor | Books | Help | Contact | Privacy | Disclaimer | Copyright Notice