Evaluating New Guayule Varieties for Low-Allergenic Rubber Production
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Evaluating New Guayule Varieties for Low-Allergenic Rubber Production A report for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation by D. George, M. Gupta and P. Dissanayake September 2005 RIRDC Publication No 05/147 RIRDC Project No UQ-94A © 2005 Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation. All rights reserved. ISBN 1 74151 210 7 ISSN 1440-6845 Evaluating New Guayule Varieties for Low-Allergenic Rubber Production Publication No. 05/147 Project No. UQ-94A The information contained in this publication is intended for general use to assist public knowledge and discussion and to help improve the development of sustainable industries. The information should not be relied upon for the purpose of a particular matter. Specialist and/or appropriate legal advice should be obtained before any action or decision is taken on the basis of any material in this document. The Commonwealth of Australia, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, the authors or contributors do not assume liability of any kind whatsoever resulting from any person's use or reliance upon the content of this document. This publication is copyright. However, RIRDC encourages wide dissemination of its research, providing the Corporation is clearly acknowledged. For any other enquiries concerning reproduction, contact the Publications Manager on phone 02 6272 3186. Researcher Contact Details D.L.George School of Agronomy and Horticulture The University of Queensland, Gatton Gatton, Queensland, 4343. Phone: (07) 5460 1308 Fax: (07) 54601367 Email: [email protected] RIRDC Contact Details Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Level 1, AMA House 42 Macquarie Street BARTON ACT 2600 PO Box 4776 KINGSTON ACT 2604 Phone: 02 6272 4539 Fax: 02 6272 5877 Email: [email protected]. Website: http://www.rirdc.gov.au Published in September 2005 Printed on environmentally friendly paper by Canprint ii Foreword Guayule, a crop suited to semi-arid areas, produces latex that is low-allergenic and is thus vital to people who may suffer life-threatening allergies caused by tropical Hevea rubber. There is an increasing demand for high end rubber products for medical use such as rubber gloves and catheters as well as condoms. The availability of Hevea rubber is decreasing due to reduced labour and competition from other crops. Synthetic rubber, while being non-allergenic, does not possess the resistance to viral transmissivity of guayule rubber, and its price is increasing due to increased petroleum prices. Australia has large areas of land with soils and climate suitable to guayule production. Yulex Corporation (U.S. based) has expressed interest in setting up a pilot plant in Australia to process the crop. The report describes three major areas of research: evaluation of USDA germplasm, seed dormancy and direct seeding. New U.S.D.A. lines generally produced higher biomass, rubber yields and resin yields from stem and branches compared with old lines. AZ-1 and AZ-2 produced consistently significantly higher rubber yields than the old lines at both Gatton and Chinchilla. AZ-5 produced the highest rubber yield of 966 kg/ha at Gatton in the third year (an increase of 43% over the old lines); however, plant type was variable indicating potential for further selection. Increased rubber and resin yields from these new lines ensure that guayule is economically more competitive than in the past. The seed dormancy and direct seeding research are important in reducing the establishment costs (transplants) of the crop. The seed coat serves as a mechanical barrier to the emerging radicle as well as a source of germination inhibitors. Further, this research has shown that the light requirement can be totally replaced by exogenous gibberellins but the concentration varies with the level of dormancy. Direct seeding research demonstrated that the crop can be successfully established using a fine seedbed, shallow precision planting, post-plant irrigation and effective weed control. This results in much reduced establishment costs. This project was funded from RIRDC Core Funds which are provided by the Federal Government. This report, a new addition to RIRDC’s diverse range of over 1200 research publications, forms part of our New Crops R&D program, which aims to accelerate the development of viable new crop industries. Most of our publications are available for viewing, downloading or purchasing online through our website: • downloads at www.rirdc.gov.au/fullreports/index.html • purchases at www.rirdc.gov.au/eshop Peter O’Brien Managing Director Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation iii iv Contents Foreword ........................................................................................................................................iii Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................vi 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................1 1.1 Importance of rubber ..........................................................................................................1 1.2 Rubber producing plants and latex allergy .........................................................................1 1.3 Guayule as a potential alternative.......................................................................................1 1.4 Potential to grow guayule in Australia ...............................................................................2 1.5 Limitation in commercialisation.........................................................................................2 1.6 Objectives of this research..................................................................................................2 2. Literature review........................................................................................................................3 2.1 Introduction.........................................................................................................................3 2.2 History of the development of guayule...............................................................................3 2.3 Botany of guayule...............................................................................................................4 2.4 Adaptation ........................................................................................................................12 2.5 Cultural requirements .......................................................................................................13 2.6 Plant breeding and germplasm..........................................................................................15 2.7 Shrub processing and coproduct utilisation ......................................................................16 2.8 Seed harvesting and processing ........................................................................................17 2.9 Seed dormancy..................................................................................................................18 2.10 Seed germination enhancements.....................................................................................21 2.11 Field establishment .........................................................................................................23 2.12 Production potential in Australia ....................................................................................28 2.13 Conclusions.....................................................................................................................30 3. Germplasm evaluation .............................................................................................................31 3.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................31 3.2 Materials and method .......................................................................................................31 3.3 Measurements and data collection....................................................................................35 3.4 Results – Gatton................................................................................................................37 3.5 Results – Chinchilla..........................................................................................................46 3.6 Across site analysis...........................................................................................................56 3.7 Discussion.........................................................................................................................58 4. Seed dormancy in guayule .......................................................................................................62 4.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................62 4.2 General materials and method ..........................................................................................62 4.3 Germination tests..............................................................................................................63 5. Direct seeding of guayule .........................................................................................................84 5.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................84 5.2 Materials and method .......................................................................................................84