Guayule rubber and latex content — seasonal variations over time in Argentina

COATES, W; AYERZA, R; RAVETTA, D.A.

Industrial Crops and Products

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2001 vol. 14 p. 85 - 91

0926-6690

Rubber from guayule (Parthenium argentatum Gray, Asteraceae) is essentially equivalent to that from the rubbertree (He
ea brasiliensis). Increased incidents of ‘latex allergies’, especially among health care workers, have resultedin a renewed interest in guayule, because it has been shown that individuals sensitive to latex allergies do not reactto guayule latex. Little work documenting changes in guayule latex content with plant age, from season to season, oramong lines has been reported. To provide some of this information and hence to assist with the commercializationof guayule, a project was initiated to determine rubber and latex changes over time in guayule plants growing inCatamarca, Argentina. Lines G7-14, N-565 and 11591 were sampled every 2 months, whereas lines AZ-5, AZ-3,P2-17, P1-12, P3-11, G10-130 and G1-16 were sampled every 6 months over a 3 year period. Statistically significantdifferences in plant weight, and in rubber and latex contents, were found among some lines. Plant weights werepositively correlated with age. Latex and rubber contents showed little correlation with age. The latex and rubbercontents were well correlated (0.73 for all lines). Latex and rubber production among some lines was statisticallydifferent. Seasonal effects on latex and rubber percentages were significant only for lines G7-14 and 11591, whereasseasonal effects on latex and rubber production were significant only for lines G7-14 and N-565. The results for thevarious lines indicates that time of harvest may not be critical to maximize yield. Harvesting the crop throughout theyear would require a smaller capacity processing facility than seasonal harvesting and reduce the cost of a processingfacility and production. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.Keywords: Parthenium argentatum; Guayule; Latex yield; Rubber yield