Yield and Survival of Buckeye Gold

(Taraxacum kok-saghyz)
Katrina Cornish, Ph.D.,FAAAS
Endowed Chair and Ohio Research Scholar,
Bioemergent Materials cornish.19@osu.edu
Griffin Bates, Sarah McNulty, Victor Pool and
Niki Amstutz
Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, Department of Food, Agricultural and
Biological Engineering, The Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Wooster,
USA, and The Institute of Materials Research, The Ohio State University

Tire Technology Conference, Cologne, Germany, February 10-12, 2015

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 Rubber Yield per Acre?

= rubber/plant x planting x extraction

density efficiency

rubber/plant = rubber x harvested

conc root size
72
 Planting density
Effect of density on
Plant number
Plant size distribution
Plant biomass
Rubber yield
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 Planting Density Trial
yield/acre = rubber/plant x planting density x extraction efficiency

1.2 M/Ha 2.4 M/Ha

0.5 Million plants/Acre 1 Million plants/Acre

4.8 M/Ha 9.6 M/Ha

2 Million plants/Acre 4 Million plants/Acre

NOTE: These planting boxes provide conditions superior to the field

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 Planting date: May 13-15, 2013
Harvest date: Oct 7 Nov 1

Autumn Rubber Yield

1 month as transplants and 5 months in planting boxes
Planting Density Rubber Yield

M/acre M/Ha lbs/acre kg/Ha

0.5 1.2 1,396 1,523

1 2.4 1,495 1,631

2 4.8 1,672 1,824

4 9.6 1,621 1,768

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 Root weight variation
Fall Harvested Fresh Root Weights by Density
70

60
Fresh Root Weight (g)

50

40
Too small for efficient harvest
30

20

10

0
0.5 1 2 4
Million Plants / Acre
1.2 2.4 4.8 9.6
Million Plants/Hectare (planted) 76
 Overwintering

It is commonly believed that this crop

should be overwintered to increase
rubber yield

So half of the plants were harvested in

the following spring
77
 [Rubber] increased during winter

1.2 2.4 4.8 9.6

Million Plants/Hectare (planted)
78
 Root weight declines in winter
Mean Fresh Root Weight by Density
Fall vs. Spring Harvested Roots
16
Fall
Mean Fresh Root Weight (g)
14 Spring

12

10
Inulin reduction?
8 Root death?

4
0 1 2 3 4 5
Million Plants/Acre
0 2.4 4.8 9.6
Million Plants/Hectare (planted) 79
 Root Size, Autumn v Spring
Size and variation decline over winter
Fall Harvested Fresh Root Weights by Density Spring Harvested Fresh Root Weights by Density
70 70

60 60
Fresh Root Weight (g)

Fresh Root Weight (g)

50 50

40 40

30 30

20 20

10 10

0 0
0.5 1 2 4 Half 0.5 One 1 Two 2 Four 4
Million Plants / Acre Million Plants / Acre
1.2 2.4 4.8 9.6 1.2 2.4 4.8 9.6
Million Plants/Hectare (planted) Million Plants/Hectare (planted) 80
 Effect of in-box position and season
Total Rubber Conc by Density and Harvest
Fall harvest data showed the
90
greatest rubber
80 Fall
concentrations (57.47 mg/g)
Total Rubber Concentration Dwt mg/g

70
Spring
at the density of 2 million
60
plants/acre density p<0.01
50
ANOVA
40

30 Spring harvest data showed

20 greatest rubber
10 concentrations (66.69 mg/g)
0 at the 1 million plants/acre
N S N S N S N S
0.5 0.5 1 1 2 2 4 4
density p=0.167 ANOVA
M/acre M/acre M/Acre M/Acre M/Acre M/Acre M/acre M/acre
Density and Direction 81
 Season and Root Size

The highest total rubber concentrations appeared in the largest roots

120
Rubber or Latex Concentrations per
Density per Size Class DWt (mg/g)

Latex
100
Solid Rubber
80

60

40

20

0
5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1
.5 Million/Acre 1 Million/Acre 2 Million/Acre 4 Million/Acre

1.2 2.4 4.8 9.6

Million Plants/Hectare (planted)
82
 Temperatures (-26 to 32C)

2013/14 a very cold winter for NE Ohio 83

 Survival Rates (~50%)

1.2 2.4 4.8 9.6

Million Plants/Hectare (planted)
84
 Effect of Overwintering on Rubber Yield

Density Plant Rubber Rubber

Harvest Age (Million Survivability Yield Yield
(months) plants/acre) (%) (lbs/acre) (kg/Ha)

6 0.5 99 1399 1526

6 1 62 1498 1634

6 2 49 1718 1874

6 4 33 1520 1658

12 0.5 49 629 686 ~50% loss

across all
12 1 29 712 777
Overwintered crop densities
12 2 28 1073 1171

12 4 16 975 1064
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 Buckeye Gold Crop, Survivors
Similar losses were
observed in the fields (as
in the boxes) in quadrat
counts
A field transplanted in late
Autumn had only a few
survivors (saved them)

OARDC Fry Farm, Field 917 (May 22, 2014)

86
 Rubber/area (boxes)

The increase in rubber

concentration was not
enough to compensate
for plant loss

0 2.4 4.8 9.6

Million Plants/Hectare (planted) 87
 Cold-induced rubber (Post-harvest)

Effect of Root Cold Storage on Rubber/Root

Analyte
[Analyte] (mg/plant)
(mg/g dw root)

1200
Inulin
1000 Rubber amount
nearly doubled
800
in cold storage
600

Rubber
400

200
Latex

0
0 20 40 60
Post Harvest Storage Time (days)
88
 Projected [Rubber] with Cold Storage
Total Rubber Concentration by Density
Fall vs. Spring Harvest & Cold Storage Potential
120 Fall Harvest
Rubber Concentration (mg / g dwt)

Fall Cold Storage Potential

Spring Harvest
100

80

60

40

20

0
0.5 1 2 4
Million Plants / Acre
1.2 2.4 4.8 9.6
Million Plants/Hectare (planted) 89
 Projected yields from Box and Post Harvest Studies
4000 4364

3000 3273

kg/Hectare
lbs/acre

Autumn harvest + cold storage

2000 2182

Autumn harvest
1000 1091 No root loss
Spring harvest in cold
0
0 storage
0 1 2 3 4
Million plants/acre
0 2.4 4.8 9.6
Million Plants/Hectare (planted) 90
 2013 planting: 8 fields, 3 farms
8 acres (61 miles, 99 kilometers) planted in 2013

Cold Storage

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 Buckeye Gold conclusions
Early results suggest that commercially-
viable yields of TNR will eventually be
possible.

Even if field yields cannot approach the

planting box results, it should be noted that
all projections were based on average rubber
concentrations of 5-7% in single plants.

We already have plants 2-3 x this level and

have seen one over 18%
Courtesy Prof Dirk Prfer
The progress of the OARDC TK team is very
encouraging
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Cornish Lab

Everyone helped.

Interns (and Cindy)

not shown.

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 Our Partners
PENRA: Program of Excellence in Natural Rubber Alternatives

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