Yulex Corporation grants $3m to University of Arizona to breed guayule, a rubber-producing plant for arid environments.

Tech Launch Arizona, the University of Arizona’s (UA) commercialisation arm, has signed a partnership with latex producer Yulex Corporation which will see the firm grant $3m to the University.

The five-year grant will be used to engineer guayule, a rubber-producing plant that lives in arid conditions, to have a higher yield with shorter harvest cycle time. Should the research prove successful, the plant is promising for the producing of biorubber for medical, consumer and industrial applications.

Yulex and UA have a long partnership, with Yulex planting its first experimental crops on UA’s campus grounds.

Dennis Ray, UA professor in the School of Plant Sciences who will lead the research, said: “Commercial production of guayule was always our goal, and we look forward to a continued and productive collaboration with Yulex Corporation, the world leader in developing different biomaterials from guayule. The goal of our work will be to increase the rubber content in Yulex’s guayule lines and to decrease the time to harvest to help in the sustainable cultivation of guayule in Arizona.”