landraces of tequila's plants: fibres, sugars and tequila · high selection pressure •...
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Landraces of tequila's plants: fibres, sugars and tequila
Ana G. Valenzuela-ZapataUniversidad de Guadalajara CUCIENEGA
Postdoctoral researcher Ghent University-ITESO
Agave and Bioenergy Workshop, may 12-13 2010, CUCEA UDG Guadalajara Energy Biosciences Institute
Agave Plant diversity
• Low diversity - Industrialised agriculture-
blue agave
• High diversity in farmers- in situ
conservation landraces
• Ex situ conservation
Low diversity in blue agave plantations
Production systems of agave
Traditions and conservation in situ
A sample of agave species in Europe
La Mortola Italy Cordoba Spain
Geneve, Suisse Strasbourg Fr
1985
• Low diversity-high pressure: industrial agriculture
• High diversity-low pressure: traditional farmers
From the agave symposium 1985
Tequila Agave Group TAG sensu Pérez, 1887
1. Azul Agave tequilana Weber 2. Sigüín3. Criollo o pata de mula4. Zopilote5. Moraleño6. Bermejo7. Chato• Mano larga-mano anchaque• Cucharo
Cultivate: a cultivated plant withknown wild ancestors.
Cultigen: a plant known to existonly in cultivation.
Gentry, 1982
definitions
• References: Trelease, 1920 Gentry, 1982 but
also Colunga-GarciaMarín and Hogdson,
Nobel, Nabhan, Garcia-Moya, Illsey, Larson,
Eguiarte, Garcia and more!
• Agave growers interviews
• Searching and Collecting plants
• Planting and propagating species for to
have more materials
• Specimens preparation
• Measurements in fresh plants
• Vouchers in herbarium
Methods
Results
Two groups of plants
1. Tequilana’s Group sensu ValenzuelaAgave tequilana W (azul) or A. angustifolia ssp tequilana
Cv azul, siguin, criollo o pata de mula and variegata
2. Others
A. Agave americana subtilis cv “chato or sahuayo” B. Cultigens “moraleño” and “bermejo” from Sisalana
groupC. A. rhodacantha cv “zopilote” (flowering in 2008)
Tequila Agave Group TAG sensu Pérez, 1887
• 1997 agave collection1. Azul Agave tequilana Weber 2. Sigüín
• Criollo o pata de mula• Zopilote
3. Moraleño4. Bermejo5. Chato
– Mano larga-mano anchaque– Cucharo
Results
A. angustifolia ssp tequilana Sisalanae A. americana subtilis
Azul
Siguin
Moraleño
Bermejo
Chato
A. angustifolia ssp tequilana
Sisalanae
A. americana subtilis
Sisalanae
• Sisalana group’s cultivars inhibited tequila fermentation
• Hard fibres of A. americana subtilis(chato) caused mechanical problems in tequila production
• The tequila agave group, related to blue agave, also had less fibres and a short flowering cycle
A. angustifolia ssp. tequilanacv. sigüín
A. angustifoliassp. tequilanacv. pes-mulae
A. angustifolia ssp tequilana variegata
• Perhaps the origin of the cultivars were in situ with 4 landraces found.
Agave angustifoliassp. tequilana
cv azul
Tequilana’s flowers group
Azul Azul variegata Siguin Pata de mula
A. americana L. cv. Subtilis (chato or sahuayo)
Sisalanaecv or cultigen?
moraleño
Moraleño Pata de mula
Sisalanaecultivar or cultigen? bermejo
Agave rhodacantha Trelcv. zopilote
2008
1997
Conclusions in TAG Selection pressure
• XIX century, agaves for
tequila had low selection
pressure
• Tequila production used
traditional methods
• Sisalana group’s and other
agave cultivars were grown
in the same plots
Inter-species
Variability
Intra-specieAgave tequilana
Masal selection
Clonal selection
Species
High selection pressure
• Tequila laws only allowed the use of blue agave in the 1970’s,
so the selection pressure changed and other landraces were no
longer cultivated.
• The prohibition of landraces in tequila production negatively
influenced the traditional knowledge and conservation of
agave plants in the Tequila region by growers.
• Some authors have declared the genetic erosion in A. tequilana
to be one of the most important studied in crops.
Agave plants are not included as biofuels crops
• SEMARNAT, 2008• FAO, 2008
Challenge in agave production
Sustainable agriculture
•Economy•Social
•Environment
Papers sustainable agriculture in blue agave
1. Les appellations d’origine et les durabilités socio-économique et écologique : le cas de la tequila au Mexique (Bowen and Valenzuela, 2008)
2. Geographical Indications, terroir and socioeconomic and ecological sustainability: the case of tequila (Bowen and Valenzuela, 2009)
3. Isolation and characterization of Ty1-copia retrotransposon sequences in the blue agave (Agave tequilana Weber var. azul) and their development as SSAP markers for phylogenetic analysis (Bousios A., Saldana-Oyarzabal I., Valenzuela- Zapata A.G. y Word C. y Pearce S.R. 2007
4. Effects of soil management practices on soil fertility measurements on Agave tequilana plantations in Western Central Mexico (GOBEILLE Alayne ; YAVITT Joseph ; STALCUP Philip; VALENZUELA Ana. 2006.
One of the Policies dilemma about biofuels in Latin America
The compatibility between:
• the international competitiveness of agro-fuels and a
• socially inclusive and • Environmentally sustainable rural
development agendaLlambí, 2009
Thanks to my family, teachers and friends