Hevea brasiliensis
Attention on "T. kok-saghyz" has revived due to allergic reactions to "Hevea" rubber used in medical devices, and to shortcomings in the supply of rubber from "Hevea brasiliensis". One threat to "Hevea brasiliensis" rubber production is the South American Leaf Blight (SALB), which has afflicted conventional rubber production in South America since 1934. This blight may spread to the "Hevea brasiliensis" trees in Southeast Asia, which are genetically very similar to each other and to those of South America. Furthermore, land used for rubber production is being converted to palm-oil plantations in order to produce biofuel, and labor costs reduce the profitability of "Hevea brasiliensis" plantations, as each tree must be manually tapped in order to harvest its latex. Rising oil-prices limit the economic viability of synthetic rubbers, and synthetic equivalents often cannot pragmatically replace natural rubber. In May 2019 German tire-maker Continental AG announced it was about to begin production of the "first bicycle tyre made with sustainable rubber from dandelions", which it intended to grow on the grounds of its own manufacturing plants, avoiding several of the traditional issues with "H. brasiliensis" latex—from the long lead-time between planting and cultivating (only six months for the dandelion, rather than seven years for the rubber tree) and volatile prices of the product due to the long transport-distances between places where the rubber can be grown and the company's factories.