Queensland Uni studies guayule agronomics

Brisbane, Australia - Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia are studying new varieties of the desert shrub guayule (Parthenium argentatum Gray) with the aim of developing commercial plantations for production of natural rubber latex.

The Australian study is funded by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) has evaluated new varieties of a latex rubber producing plant known as guayule (pronounced whyoole).

The effort follows agronomic research and commercial plantations in the US where high-yielding varieties have been grown in Arizona and California by the Yulex company. Yulex reportedly has expressed interest in setting up plantations in Australia. " The broad objective of this study was to investigate the commercial potential of guayule in Australia." said Dr Doug George who is supervising a number of PhD students working on the project.

This is an external link and should open in a new window. ERJ is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Press release from U. Queensland

RIRDC research report (Sept 2005)

Websiteof Yulex Corp.