Irrigation water, nitrogen, and bioregulation for guayule production
1985
Bucks, D.A. | Roth, R.L. | Nakayama, F.S. | Gardner, B.R.
Guayule (Parthenium argentatum Gray) has the potential of becoming a viable crop of both agricultural and industrial importance for resin and rubber production. The successful cultivation of guayule in a non-native, semi-arid environment involves both the judicious control of water and fertilizer applications. Dry matter, resin and rubber content and yield were significantly different for whole, clipped, and bioregulator plants harvested from the agriculturally marginal soil of 95% sand after two seasons. Production functions based on water and nitrogen applications were developed to predict both the growth habit and yield potential of guayule. Although guayule can withstand extreme drought, water and nitrogen applications of more than about 2850 mm (112 in.) and 210 kg/ha (190 lb/ac) were required to achieve the most production in the 2 years. Resin yields of 1900 kg/ha (1695 lb/ac) and rubber yields of 1500 kg/ha (1340 lb/ac) were some of the highest ever reported with present-day guayule cultivars and were possibly due to better soil aeration, a longer effective growing season, and a more effective plant root development than in other situations. Although guayule has been highly suggested as a crop with a low water and nutrient requirement, moderate-to-high irrigation amounts combined with low nitrogen applications gave the highest biomass production which resulted in the highest resin and rubber yields. The bioregulator sprayings at low concentrations did not improve yields to date for the various water and nitrogen treatments. Additional research is needed on optimizing further the water and nitrogen use of guayule at an older age, with newer cultivars, and more effective methods of applying bioregulators.
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