3.1. Substrate preparation
From a harvest carried out in January, a pure henequen leaf
juice was obtained with a soluble solids content of 9 Bx and pH
4.5. After sterilization, the juice was diluted to 6–8 Bx with distilled
water. Each one of the dilutions was complemented with
industrial molasses until 12 Bx was reached. For the third series
of experiments, juice from henequen leaves collected in September
was used; a pure juice was obtained with a soluble solids
content of 12 Bx and pH 4.5. After sterilization, this was diluted
to 10 Bx with distilled water and supplemented with molasses
up to 12 Bx.