We are working to develop a domestic natural rubber crop in Ohio and for the U.S.
Natural rubber is a vital resource for any developed country and is used in over 40,000 commercial products. By 2020 the USA may suffer a supply shortfall of 1.5 million metric tons of imported natural rubber. While the use of synthetic rubber has surpassed natural rubber in quantity, there are particular properties and high-performance applications that make natural rubber irreplaceable by synthetic rubber.
OSU's Rubber Pilot Plant produces high quality rubber for the tire industry and medical quality latex hypoallergenic gloves.
Cornish Lab Group hand-planted approximately 61 miles of Buckeye Gold in 2013. That's a lot of dandelions!
Cornish Lab Group is a joint program comprised of both Horticulture and Crop Sciences and Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering PI's and Graduate Students.
