AZÚCARES EN AGAVES (Agave tequilana Weber) CULTIVADOS EN EL ESTADO DE GUANAJUATO

Abstract

The objetive of this work was to determine if the quality of Guanajuato agaves is equal to the agaves cultivated in Jalisco. A comparative study was made of the sugar content of the agave (A. tequilana Weber) cultivated in both states. Used were data of total reducing sugars (%TRS) and Brix degrees (ºBx) of raw juice samples provided by a tequilera of the region between August and December, 1998 and January and May, 2000. The data were statistically processed, applying an ANOVA analysis and a Tukey test to compare the media and the correlation between °Bx and %TRS was made. In the first period, the media %TRS from the supplier of Manuel Doblado, Gto. was 24.43 ±2.29 and did not show a significant statistical difference (p<0.05) with the suppliers of Los Altos, Jal. In the second period, the media of the suppliers of Pénjamo, Gto. was 26.78±5.96 and was equal statistically to suppliers 4, 5, 6, 7 y 9 of Los Altos, Jal. The correlation between %TRS and °Bx of 0.9621 was significant to a level of 1%. One concludes that, according to sugar count, the agaves from Guanajuato are of good quality and do not present a significant statistical difference with respect to those cultivated by seven suppliers from the state of Jalisco.