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Rubber from dandelions

It is small and unprepossessing and yet could deliver a valuable raw material: the Russian dandelion produces natural rubber, an essential component in many consumer articles. More than 90 percent of global demand today is covered by rubber plantations in southeast Asia. But there may be shortages in the foreseeable future, as demand is steadily growing while pathogens and extreme weather conditions increasingly threaten supply. That is why additional sources of supply are being sought in Europe and the USA.

The Russian dandelion produces a milky fluid in its roots, which contains a high-quality rubber. It also contains large amounts of inulin which can be used as a sugar substitute. The dandelion is an undemanding plant, requiring little fertilisation or weed control. It grows in nutrient-poor areas that would be unsuitable for agricultural use. Thus its cultivation would not compete with that of crops. A consortium of public research institutions and companies is currently working on the prerequisites for the commercial extraction and processing of latex from dandelions in Europe.

Plant breeding has to solve two problems: 1. the milky fluid or latex coagulates very quickly when the dandelion root is cut; and 2. the roots are heavily branched making it difficult to process them. Using a standard procedure called mutagenesis, attempts are to be made to breed dandelions whose latex is more fluid. Furthermore, the Russian dandelion is to be crossed with other types of dandelion that have a taproot so that the resulting plants will have fewer branched roots.

The first lines of the newly-bred dandelion are being tested in the Plant Science Garden.

Date: 2011