Chapter 3 – Guar: An Industrial Crop from Marginal Farms

Guar or cluster bean ( Cyamopsis tetragonoloba [L.] Taub) is a drought tolerant, annual legume grown mainly in semi-arid regions of India and Pakistan on marginal soil. Guar seeds have a large endosperm, which is enriched in galactomannan, a commercial gum with a myriad industrial applications such as paper, textile, oil and gas drilling, pharmaceuticals, food, cosmetics, and explosives. The global demand for guar gum has increased sharply mainly because of fracking, a process involving deep, horizontal drilling for natural gas. Increased demand has translated into improved livelihood of the otherwise marginal farmers in the guar-growing countries. This chapter covers various aspects of the guar crop, which include cultivation, breeding and genetics, galactomannan synthesis and production, and applications of guar gum.

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