Farm tires from dandelions?

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Mitas, the Czech Republic tire maker, plans to test agricultural tires made with dandelion rubber, Modern Farmer reports.

Natural rubber, typically harvested from the rubber tree, is an integral part of the tire industry. According to Reuters, passenger car tires need to be 10-40 per cent natural rubber to stay flexible in cold weather and to prevent significant cracking. But there has always been concern over of the risks and volatility of rubber tree farming. Taraxacum koksaghyz – commonly called the Kazakh dandelion, native to the Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan region and a source of natural rubber – is hoped to be a future answer to those concerns.

According to Modern Farmer, in North America Mitas exclusively produces agricultural tires. Its sales and marketing director, Andrew Mabin, told AgWeb that Mitas, "is actively seeking new ways of improving our manufacturing process, which includes researching new raw materials or substitutes." BF