ABACA HARVESTING

The first harvest depends on: The varieties of abaca The soil and climate where they grow; and, The cultural methods practiced.

Some major points to consider in harvesting:

Abaca in the higher altitudes matures later than in the lower elevation due to high relative humidity that enhances longer vegetative growth and delays the appearance of the flagleaf. Under normal conditions, the first harvest can be done between 18 and 24 months. When the flagleaf appears, the stalk is considered matured.

 Harvest mature stalks. Longer and heavier stalks produce more fibers. Good fiber recovery extends to more tan one (1) month from flagleaf to early inflorescense. Do not let the stalks become over-mature, because the fiber from the outer leafsheath will be difficult to extract.

Never harvest immature stalks because:

These produce inferior quality fibers. Fibers deteriorate faster, hence, these cannot be stored for long periods. The mother plant assist young shoots in the production of food for their normal growth. The suckers will be forced to develop extensive leaf systems to produce food.

Subsequent harvest should be done at an interval of 3-4 months for the following reasons:
To give stalks sufficient time to mature. To avoid gaps for weeds to proliferate; and To avoid over matured stalks.

Topping
Done by a toppler. Leaves of the stalk to be harvested are cut at the base of the petioles with the use of the sickle fastened at the top of a bamboo pole called sungkit. Topping is done to avoid inconvenience to the harvester. Minimize damage to the young and immature plants when the stalk is toppled down.

Tumbling
Done by a tumbler. The toppled stalk is tumbled down with the use of bolo. The stalk is cut slantingly to avoid water accumulating in the cut portion.

Tuxying
Done by a tuxero. This is the method of separating the outer layer from the inner layer of the leafsheath. The outer layer contains the fibers while the inner layer layer contains the secondary fibers and pulpy material.

The two methods of tuxying are:

A. Bacnis Consist of separating the inner layer of the leasfsheath from the outer layer by flattening the whole leafsheath. Using a specially made tuxying knife, a slanting incision is made through the middle inner layer of the leafsheath about 2 feet from the butt end. Then holding the cut portion of the inner layer, a hand pull is applied to separate it from the outer layer.

b. Locnit
The leafsheath is not separated from the stalk, but he stalk is laid flat on the ground. The tuxying knife is inserted between the outer and middle layer at the butt end of the laefsheath The outer fibrous layer is pulled off in 2 to 3 inches wide, depending on the curvature of the sheath. The remaining layers of the leafsheath are then pulled off and discarded to expose the next sheath fro similar process. A tuxero can tuxy around 60 stalks per day of an average size of 25 kgs. Abaca stalk.