REGENERACIÓN DEL COGOLLO DE Agave lechuguilla Torr. DE CINCO PROCEDENCIAS BAJO CULTIVO

Under natural conditions, regeneration of Agave lechuguilla lasts up to 22 months. Thus, gatherers of lechuguilla's fiber from wild populations, in addition to travel long distances to collect the fiber, obtain a lower annual yield than they could get from these plants if they were under cultivation. The objective of the present study was to assess regeneration of the lecnuguilla's cogollo under cultivation far five provenances, applying different levels of nitrogen and irrigation. The experiment was carried out in La Gloria Ranch in General Cepeda, state of Coahtiila, Mexico, from September 2003 to June 2004. Young plants (35 cm high) were used to be planted in fall 2002 and fertilization treatments were applied during fall 2003. The experiment was established under a completely randomized design and an A X B factorial arrangement, where A = five provenances and B = six treatments. No differences were found between treatments (ps0.05), however, differences were found between provenances. Marte and Jaumave ejidos were outstanding (ps0.05) with average lengths of 0.33 and 0.32 m during a 1 O months assessment period.