Agroforestry Services: Living fence  Industrial Crop: Fiber  Management: Standard  Minor Global Crop

A plant of the drier tropics and subtropics, where it is found at elevations up to 2,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 15 - 27c, but can tolerate 10 - 45c[ 418 ]. It can be killed by temperatures of -5c or lower[ 418 ]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 900 - 1,250mm, but tolerates 500 - 1,800mm[ 418 ]. Requires a sunny position in a well-drained soil. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 7.5, tolerating 5.5 - 8[ 418 ]. The plant has escaped from cultivation in many of the areas in which it is cultivated and has become invasive in some areas including several of the Pacific Islands and Australia[ 305 ]. Harvesting the leaves for fibre can begin 2 - 4 years after planting, depending on temperature, and usually continues for about 10, occasionally up to 20, years before the plant flowers and dies[ 418 ]. The average yield is about 0.9 tonnes/ha of dried fibres[ 418 ]. On the best plantations in East Africa, yearly yields of 2.0 - 2.5 tonnes/ha of dried fibres are obtained[ 418 ]. A monocarpic species - the plant lives for a number of years without flowering but dies once it does flower. However, it normally produces plenty of suckers during its life and these continue growing, taking about 10 - 15 years in a warm climate, considerably longer in colder ones, before flowering[ 11 ]. The roots rarely go deeper than about 35cm[ 418 ]. One ton of fibre removes about 30 kg N, 5 kg P, 80 kg K, 65 kg Ca and 40 kg Mg from the field. Because the fibres themselves contain few minerals, the majority of the nutrients can be returned to the land with the pulp[ 418 ].

Carbon Farming

• Agroforestry Services: Living fence  Simply managed rows of shrubs and trees.
• Industrial Crop: Fiber  Clothing, rugs, sheets, blankets etc. Currently, almost none of our fiber are produced from perennial crops but could be!
• Management: Standard  Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.
• Minor Global Crop  These crops are already grown or traded around the world, but on a smaller scale than the global perennial staple and industrial crops, The annual value of a minor global crop is under $1 billion US. Examples include shea, carob, Brazil nuts and fibers such as ramie and sisal.