Plant population, planting date, and germplasm effects on guayule latex, rubber, and resin yields

Guayule (Parthenium argentatum Gray) is a perennial shrub native to the Chihuahuan Desert. While guayule traditionally has been cultivated for rubber, more recently it is being cultivated for its hypoallergenic latex. Other uses including termite resistant wood products and an energy source have also been identified. However, the effects of various agronomic practices, such as planting and harvesting dates, plant spacing, cutting height and frequency, irrigation frequency, and herbicide application, on latex concentration and yield of newly developed germplasm have not been reported. The objectives of this study were to determine the yield and concentration of latex, rubber, and resin of four guayule lines planted at two populations and two planting dates. Four guayule lines (AZ-1, AZ-3, AZ-5, and 11591) were transplanted at two dates (28 November 2000 and 7 June 2001) and two plant populations (27,000 and 54,000 plants ha−1). Treatments were replicated four times. Each treatment plot was subdivided into six subplots for harvesting at 6-month intervals beginning 1 year after transplanting. Results showed that transplanting date did not affect plant size or latex concentration or yield consistently. Instead, it appeared that the time of harvest (fall vs. spring) was more important. The sixth (last harvest) in the fall planting date and the fifth harvest date in the spring planting date were the optimum for plant biomass and latex, rubber, and resin concentrations and yields. The lines AZ-1 and AZ-3 were larger, whereas AZ-5 had higher latex and rubber concentrations than the control, 11591. The greater plant population (54,000 plants ha−1) had higher biomass, rubber, and resin yields than the lower population (27,000 plants ha−1) at the early harvest dates, but not at the later harvest dates (5 and 6). More studies must to be conducted to determine the optimum plant population and transplanting date for other newly developed guayule germplasm lines.