Agronomy of Guar (Cyamopsis Tetragonoloba) in the Southwest U.S.

Guar (Cyamopsis Tetragonoloba L.) is a heat-tolerant, drought-tolerant legume well adapted to semi-arid and arid regions of the U.S. where the growing season is longer.  The demand for guar gum has risen considerably since 2011 due to the major increase in oilfield fracking operations, but most guar used in the U.S. is imported from India and Pakistan either as gum or guar splits.  Guar variety testing demonstrates that newer varieties are competitive with varieties from the 1980s, but further breeding efforts are needed to improve the yield and gum content.  In addition to guar studies in variety testing, Rhizobium inoculant tests using commercial seedbox powder and custom granular inoculants to date have demonstrated no noticeable effect on guar growth and production.