Guayule – A Promising Crop from the Desert »
Indiana Public Media, the NPR channel in that state, featured guayule on its “Moment in Science” series.
The report emphasizes the usefulness of guayule’s rubber content as well as its potential to produce energy from leftover biomass after rubber extraction. Because it’s a desert crop, requiring comparatively little water to produce and the rubber extraction process uses water and no harsh solvents, the report also acknowledges that it is a relatively clean product whether used for energy, rubber or both. Have a listen on their website.
Yulex: Arizona’s 2009 Green Innovator of the Year »
Jim Mitchell (center) of Yulex accepts Green Innovator of the Year Award
Guayule materials got a green stamp of approval on November 19 when the Arizona Technology Council presented Yulex Corporation with the Green Innovator of the Year award at the Governor’s Celebration of Innovation gala in Phoenix. The award is given to an Arizona-based company in the technology industry each year, and recognizes Yulex’s scientific advancements and its commitment to providing environmentally supportive and sustainable products.
Yulex Corporation (headquartered in the Greater Phoenix area since 2007) has put the region at the epicenter of a new sustainable, made-in-the-U.S.A. industry supplying biobased material to many different industries that make medical, consumer and industrial products. The guayule-based product can be used in everything from shoes to mattresses, cleaning products and automotive products among others.
“Receiving this award is an honor and a testament to the clean tech business the Yulex team has built in Arizona,” says Jeff Martin, President and CEO of Yulex Corporation. “We’re experiencing growing demand for Yulex® natural rubber materials from manufacturers seeking to use renewable high-performance materials for their customers while minimizing the use of petroleum-based synthetics in their product designs.”
Also see: Local company wins “green” award
Guayule Genome Decoded »
Yulex senior scientist Katrina Cornish, Ph.D., and colleagues from the USDA’s Agriculture Research Service published a paper yesterday in BMC Plant Biology journal detailing their effort to sequence the complete plastid genome in guayule.
Guayule cells produce latex.
Plastids are major organelles found in the cells of plants and algae. Plastids manufacture and store important chemical compounds used by the cell.
The DNA barcoding study completed by Yulex and USDA ARS scientists allows genetic identification of commercially significant lines of guayule (Latin name: Parthenium argentatum) for the production of latex and related sustainable materials.
Guayule: Then & Now »
In a Salinas, Calif. newspaper we recently came across a great column chronicling the guayule industry in that region before and after th
e bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941.
With trade from Southeast Asia cut off and rubber essential to the U.S. war effort, the guayule rubber produced in Salinas became a national security issue overnight.
A key difference between guayule then and now was that in the 1940s, the guayule cultivated could only be harvested for its rubber after seven years of growth. Today, 12 to 20 months is all that’s needed for the guayule that Yulex Corporation and its partners cultivate to mature, and it’s harvested once per year with far more rubber latex produced from each plant! (To learn more about guayule’s history, visit the Guayule Timeline at Yulex.com)
It was also around World War II that U.S. scientists discovered how to make synthetic rubber from petroleum-based materials, and once the war ended, the U.S. focused on synthetic rubber and latex as the primary alternative to natural, imported sources. As Jim Albanese writes in his ‘Wayback Machine’ column in The Salinas Californian:
“In 1945, the last year of the war, 1,628 acres of guayule were harvested in the Salinas Valley. An additional 7,429 acres were planted but never harvested. Those plants were subsequently destroyed.
If only we’d had a little more faith and patience with guayule. Today, the humble plant is a godsend to medical professionals and patients, offering its juices to provide nonallergenic gloves and other equipment.”
Too true, Jim, but it’s not just medical patients and latex allergy sufferers who have embraced guayule today. It has also been discovered by the manufacturers of everyday consumer products. Specifically, they’ve discovered its benefits as a safe, renewable material over synthetic petroleum-based materials.
And from that perspective, at least one thing hasn’t changed: guayule is still being used to save the planet.
Governor’s Innovation Award finalist seeks growers »
Named a finalist in the Arizona Tech Council’s prestigious Governor’s Celebration of Innovation, Yulex Corporation is inviting farmers and agriculture leaders to learn about cultivating guayule and partnering with Yulex as the company expands in Arizona.
Meetings are scheduled for September 12, 15, and 23 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the University of Arizona’s Maricopa Agricultural Center located at 37860 W. Smith Enke Rd., Maricopa, Ariz. 
Guayule is grown across Arizona and used to produce Yulex® rubber and latex emulsions.
Growers can expect to learn about the agricultural best practices and crop science that Yulex has developed to cultivate high latex yields from this new industrial crop.
Yulex supplies its material to manufacturers of medical, consumer and industrial products eager to replace petroleum-based synthetic rubber and latex materials as well as imported natural materials from Southeast Asia.
The meetings are free and open to the public with lunch provided. Seating is limited. To reserve a space, growers are encouraged to contact Jan Davis at jdavis@yulex.com or 520.381.2112.
