CASA GRANDE, Ariz.—PanAridus, an agribusiness development firm specializing in the natural rubber-producing desert shrub guayule, has patented eight new strains of guayule, according to the company.
The plant variety patents were issued on April 22, according to PanAridus CEO Michael Fraley.
“Announcing these eight PVPs on Earth Day is symbolic of our commitment to marrying science with maintaining a lighter footprint to meet human needs,” Fraley said.
Since its founding in 2009, PanAridus has devoted itself to creating guayule strains with ever higher yields of rubber latex to make them profitable to farmers and create a domestic source of natural rubber, the company said.
In 2012, PanAridus began offering samples of tire-grade guayule rubber for tire and rubber product manufacturers to evaluate at their facilities. The next year, PanAridus announced its expansion into a new agricultural operations center in Casa Grande.