How can we enhance the resilience of the European bioeconomy in the face of climate change? Developing productive uses for marginal land is a key challenge for European agriculture.

Following our webinar on the Guayule value chain (link below), it is clear that Guayule is proving to be a viable alternative industrial crop for farmers in Mediterranean marginal lands, especially when we adopt a ‘whole plant’ approach to maximize the value of all it’s co-products, rubber, resin and also essential oils.

MIDAS partners at the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM) have published two  studies that prove the industrial potential of Guayule essential oil.

Key results:
🔹 High-Yield Potential: research on 16 accessions revealed essential oil yields up to 0.9% (dry weight). This is highly competitive with established aromatic plants like rosemary and sage, positioning essential oils as a commercially viable co-product.
🔹Scalability: A trial extraction using 1.2 tonnes of fresh biomass successfully demonstrated that lab results translate to industrial-scale production with consistent quality.
🔹Resilience and optimization: research trials on different irrigation regimens confirmed Guayule produces its highest essential oil yields under moderate water stress. This confirms its suitability for arid, marginal lands where water conservation is a priority.
🔹Tailored chemistry: by adjusting irrigation and harvest timing, we can “steer” the chemical profile, producing more monoterpenes or bioactive sesquiterpenes depending on whether the target market is cosmetics or biopesticides.

These findings strengthen the business case for Guayule in Europe, showcasing a multi-product approach that can be both climate-resilient and economically robust.

Read the full articles below 📖
1️⃣ https://lnkd.in/dUvMiS52

2️⃣ https://lnkd.in/d-pUR5Us

📺 Catch up on the guayule webinar and slides: https://lnkd.in/d6Vs4UYb