Arizona farmers work with crops that can use less water during drought conditions

PINAL COUNTY, Ariz. (CNN) - Arizona's drought conditions could mean dealing with h2o shortages is successful the state's future. As a result, immoderate farmers are looking astatine alternate crops that tin turn with little water.

Jorge Tores reported connected a caller root of earthy rubber called guayule.

"We've had drought cycles, but this is the archetypal clip we've ever seen a megadrought wherever it's year-to-year," Tores said.

At Caywood Farms successful Casa Grande, determination volition beryllium nary alfalfa harvest this year.

"You tin perceive this crunching. It's conscionable starting to adust up," helium said.

In parts of Pinal County, there's not capable h2o to irrigate the farmlands arsenic successful the past.

Much of the h2o utilized present is from the Colorado River, which is stored successful water mead for 3 states and parts of Mexico.

It's astatine its lowest since it was filled successful the 1930s.

"It means that adjacent twelvemonth the farmers successful this country volition spot two-thirds of their aboveground h2o spell away. It's going to beryllium this mode for a agelong time, and it requires america to accommodate and travel up with caller solutions," Kevin Moran from Environment Defense Fund said.

One caller solution is switching to a caller harvest altogether. The crop, guayule.

"Crop switching, looking astatine little water-use crops similar guayule is 1 of the solutions we privation to beryllium looking astatine successful a drier aboriginal to let communities to prolong themselves," Moran

Guayule is an illustration of the benignant of alternate harvest that could alteration agriculture successful Arizona and the southwest.

"The rubber is each contained successful the bark area," Dr. David Dierig of Bridgestone Americas said.

It's a promising root of earthy rubber, too.

Dr. Dierig is simply a portion of Bridgestone's Agro Operations successful Eloy. He is researching and processing the exertion needed for guayule's applicable usage successful manufacturing products similar tires.

"And combined with different materials, the rubber connected this ten-acre tract would nutrient implicit 500 tires," Dierig said.

Local farmers similar Will Thelander are moving connected tract trials with guayule which is autochthonal to the southwest and tin thrive connected a fraction of the h2o that farmers presently need.

"The benignant of h2o we're doing now, erstwhile we're flooding, we person to bash that astir each 2 weeks for the maize and the cotton. The guayule, that's astir erstwhile a month," Pinal County Farmer Will Thelander said.

And a harvest similar guayule whitethorn beryllium what farmers request to support their mode of beingness alive.

"Without things similar guayule that volition usage little water, the prospects of aboriginal generations being capable to bash this are not large successful Arizona to beryllium wholly honorable with you," Thelander said.

According to the University of Arizona, determination are much than 2,000 taxon of plants that tin nutrient rubber, but the guayule is 1 of lone 2 plants with commercialized success.