Dryland natural rubber
Organisation: Fitzgerald Biosphere Group
Grower Group R&D Grant amount: $200 000
Fitzgerald Biosphere Group will initiate the development and commercialisation of Parthenium argentatum (guayle) as a sustainable, multi-functional industrial crop in Western Australia. The project has three objectives: to trial Parthenium argentatum as a perennial crop on the South Coast, to raise awareness of the species as an alternate commercial crop and to develop relationships with potential investors.
Parthenium argentatum is a species from which natural rubber is sourced. It is native to the desert of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico; similar regions of which can be found in Australia.
The $17.4 million Grower Group R&D Grants Program is a major component of the Agricultural Sciences R&D Fund managed by DAFWA.
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