Abstract:

The search for potential arid-adapted crops has yielded several species that produce industrial raw materials and can be cultivated in warm arid lands. However, there are few species adapted to cold arid environments like Patagonia. The objectives of this paper are to propose criteria for the search and development of new industrial crops for Patagonia, to analyze those species that have been suggested as potential crops, and to propose other candidates based on these criteria. We discuss the potential of the few species cited as potential crops for Patagonia: Colliguaya integerrima (Euphorbiaceae) and Lesquerella mendocina (Brassicaceae) as seed-oil sources; Grindelia chiloensis (Asteraceae), Colliguaya integerrima, Larrea sp. (Zygophyllaceae), and Mulinum spinosum (Umbelliferae) as politerpene sources, and Prosopis and Cercicium sp. as gum sources. We include a description of prospective families for oils, gums and terpenes.