Rubber Plantation

Plantaion of rubber plant

1. RECENT ADVANCES IN CULTIVATION AND PROCESSING OF RUBBER SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY: Dr . K. C. Mohapatra Srikanta Kumar Sahu DEPT. OF FRUIT SC. Adm . No.-05FSC/14 1 st Yr M.Sc (Ag)

2. INTRODUCTION: Rubber is a prominent plantation crop of considerable significance to the Indian economy. This industrial crop has since emerged as an icon of small holders’ stake in the plantation sector of our country. Natural Rubber tapped from the bark of the tree  Hevea brasiliensis is which is the raw material for an industry manufacturing about 50,000 products.  The consumption pattern of rubber in our country is highly in favour of natural rubber (76 %), quite contrary to the global consumption of synthetic rubber of about 53%. 

3. Cont … ORIGIN & DISTRIBUTION: Rubber had long been in historical plant. Since Columbus had discovered America in 1495 (509 yearsago ), Red Indian , ancient tribe of South of America, called it ' Caoutchoue ' . Meaning is ' Crying Tree ' . The reason is that when it is cut off with knife or sharpen tools, its natural latex automatically comes out as a tear of tree. A native to Brazil, rubber was introduced to India in 1873 and its commercial cultivation started in 1902. Charles Goodyear

4. AREA & PRODUCTION: WORLD SCENARIO Country Production in lakh tonne % share in global production Thailand 30.6 31.4 Indonesia 28.0 28.8 Malaysia 12.0 12.3 India 8.1 8.3 Vietnam 6.0 6.2 China 6.0 6.2 Others 6.6 6.8 World 97.3 INDIAN SCENARIO Region Share in Area ( % )* Share in Production (%)* Traditional Kerala & Kanyakumari district of Tamilnadu 83.64 94.14 Non Traditional a. NE states 11.31 3.75 b.Other nontraditional states 5.05 2.11 WORLD SCENARIO SOURCE: Rubber board, K erla (2011-12)

5. IMPORTANT SPECIES: Havea brassiliensis ( para rubber) Ficus elastica ( indian rubber)

6. Cont … Manihot glaziovii ( ceara rubber) Castiola elastica (panama rubber)

7. Cont … Taxacum sps dandelion_rubber Parthenium argentatuma ( guayel rubber )

8. BOTANY Hevea brasiliensis   is a diploid (2n = 36, x = 9), perennial, monoecious and cross-pollinated tree species. It belongs to the genus  Hevea  and the botanical family Euphorbiaceae .

9. FLOWER: Flowers are borne in many-flowered, axillary, shortly pubescent panicles on the basal parts of the new flush . Flowers are small, scented, unisexual and shortly-stalked, with larger bell-shaped female flowers at the terminal ends of main and lateral branches, and more numerous smaller male flowers, with 60-80 males to each female flower. Flowering takes place over a period of about two weeks with some male flowers opening first, lasting for one day and then dropping, followed by female flowers open for 3-5 days; the remainder of male flowers then open.  

10. CONT…. FRUITS AND SEEDS Only a small proportion of female flowers set fruit and of these 30-50% fall off after a month, and more fall off later. The mature fruit is a large, compressed, 3-lobbed capsule, 3-5cm in diameter, with 3 oil-containing seeds. The capsule bursts open at the end of the rainy season with a characteristic loud bang, similar to a rifle shot. The seeds are then collected for sowing in the nursery.

11. VARIETIES: Tjir 1, PB 86, BD 5, BD 10, PR 17 , GT 1, RRII 105, RRIM 600, PB 28/59, PB 217, PB 235, RRIM 703, RRII 5, PCK-1, 2 and PB 260 RRII-105 (HYV,80%)

12. SOIL: Rubber grows well in highly weathered soils consisting of lateritic soils. It prefers well drained porous soils which are moderate to highly acidic in nature.  Soils must have a minimum depth of 1 m without any intervening hard pan or impenetrable layer. Water table should be well below 1 m to ensure good aeration for root penetration. Ph-4.5-6

13. AGRO CLIMATIC REQUIREMENTS Can be grown- 10*N to 10*S lattitude Rainfall->2000mm Temperature-25-28*C Humidity-80% Sunshine-2000hrs/year @ 6hrs/day Weather condition-warm & moist Cold weather & high wind speed-affect production

14. PROPAGATION: Prepare a raised bed by cultivating and pulverizing the soil into fine tilth and raising it to 15 cm high from the ground level and 10 cm thick fine river sand or aged sawdust is added into it . The seeds are spread in the seedbed. The seeds are covered by putting a layer of fine river sand or aged sawdust to a thickness of about 1.5 cm. SEED PROPAGATION

15. Cont … STAGES OF SEED GERMINATION Emergence of Radicle   Seed starts to develop spider roots Emergence of stem without leaves Fully developed root system and emergence of leaves FULLY DEVELOPED

16. GREEN BUDDING STEPS Wipe the base of the stocks with a piece of cloth Make two parallel vertical cuts at the base of the rootstock stem, 7.5 cm long and 1 cm apart, and about 3 cm from the ground.

17. Cont … Join the two parallel vertical cuts by a horizontal cut either at the upper or lower end. Strip off bark either upward or downward depending on where the horizontal cut was made.

18. Cont …   Cut away the bark leaving 1 cm as tongue to hold the bud patch in position Extract bud patch from the bud stick by making similar incisions made on the rootstock but a little bit smaller to fit in. The inner side of the budpatch must not be touched, dirtied, bent, bruised or exposed too long.

19. Cont …  Insert immediately the budpatch in the budding panel made on the rootstock, ensuring at the same time that the budpatch is not places upside-down.   Secure the budpatch firmly by tying a piece of transparent budding tape of about 2 cm wide and 30 cm in length.

20. Cont …  Open the budding tape 21 days after budding. Green budpatch indicates successful budding operation whereas brown or black budpatch indicates budding failure . Cut-back the rootstock stem 10 cm above the end of the budding panel seven days after opening of the budding tape. The scion is expected to sprout in two or three weeks.

21. YOUNG BUDDING: In young budding technique, the seedling stock is raised in polybags of 18 cm x 38 cm lay flat dimension. When seedlings are about ten weeks old having basal stem diameter of 6 mm, they are ready for young budding operation. The buds used are also green but much younger in age and smaller in size than is normally used in green budding.

22. NURSERY: Nurseries are maintained for raising seedlings, budded plants and bud wood. Beds are prepared 60-120 cm wide and of convenient length with path ways laid in between to facilitate manuring , watering, weeding etc. Spacing in the nursery according to the type of planting materials is as follows: For raising seedling stumps: 23 x 23, 30 x 30 or 34 x 20 cm For budded stumps: 30 x 30 cm For stumped buddings: 60 x 60 cm For bud wood nurseries: 90 x 90 or 60 x 120 cm

23. Cont … TYPES OF NURSERY Bud stick multiplication nursery (ground nursery) Budded stump nursery (ground nursery) Budded stump in polybag nursery Young budding nursery High budding nursery Core stump nursery High density frame nursery (ground nursery)

24. LAND PREPARATION & LAYOUT: The area selected should be cleared of wild growth.  Silt pits of dimension 120x45x60 cm may be taken along the contour at suitable intervals to check erosion and to conserve water. Square planting is suitable for level and near level lands.  Rectangular system with planting lines oriented in the East West direction can be adopted in flat lands and slopes.  In undulating and hilly areas, planting should be done in rows across the slope along the contour lines.  The planting density recommended is 420 to 500 plants per hectare. Standard pits of 75 cm3 are dug in advance and filled with top soil, 12 kg organic matter and 175 g of rock phosphate.  Planting is done in the centre of the pit with shade and mulch provided.

25. TYPES OF PLANTING: i . Seed-at-stake planting: Planting seeds in situ is not found very successful in the country. ii. Stump planting: Seedlings raised in nurseries are transplanted after pruning the stem at a height of 45-60 cm from the collar. iii . Polybag plants: These plants are raised in two ways. (a ) Raise stock seedlings in polybags and afterwards green bud them at the appropriate stage and transplant. ( b ) Green budded stumps are planted in polybags of appropriate size and transplanted. In both the cases, transplanting can be done when the plants attain either 2-3 whorls or 6-7 whorls of leaves. iv. Budded stump planting: Seedlings raised in nurseries are budded and transplanted after pruning the stem at about 8 cm from the bud patch.

26. SPACING: Planting material   Spacing (m)   Population / ha Budded plants Hilly areas 6.7 X 3.4 445 Plains 4.9 X 4.9 420 Seedlings Hilly areas 6.1 X 3.0 539 Plains 4.6 X 4.6 479

27. MANURING: For immature rubber trees at pre-tapping stage Apply 12 kg of compost or FYM and 120 g of rock phosphate in each pit before planting. Apply 10:10:4:1.5 NPK andMg as per schedule given below: Months after planting Period of application Quantity per plant 10:10:4 12:12:6 3 September/October 225 g 190 kg 9 April/May 445 g 380 kg 15 September/October 450 g 380 kg 21 April/May 450 g 480 kg 27 September/October 550 g 480 kg 33 April/May 550 g 380 kg 39 September/October 450 g 380 kg Apply 400 kg of mixture/ha in 2 doses, once in April/May and another in September/October from the 5th year till the tree is ready for tapping.

28. Cont … Matured rubber trees under tapping For matured rubber trees under tapping apply NPK 10:10:10 grade mixtures at the rate of 900 g/tree (300 kg/ha) every year in two split doses. Add 10 kg commercial Magnesium sulphate for every 100 kg of the above mixture if there is magnesium deficiency.

29. PRUNING: Pruning to a height of 2.0-2.5m allows the development of a smooth trunk without branches or large scars. In polybag budding; allow the plant to grow without branches until 2.0- 2.5 m from union, then prune. Pruning also allows the development of a balanced canopy. Maintain 4-5 well-spaced branches to avoid wind damage.

30. IC OPERATION: Inter-cropping In the first two years the land area is not fully occupied by the rubber plants and the inter spaces can be utilized for growing inter crops which do not interfere with the growth of rubber plants The common inter crops cultivated in rubber plantations are banana, pineapple, tuber crops, ginger, turmeric, vegetables and medicinal plants . Fig:Rubber inter-cropped with cassava

31. Cont … Cover cropping Cover cropping is desirable in sloppy areas as it helps to prevent soil erosion. This practice also assists in enhancing the soil fertility, suppresses weed growth and controls the soil temperature.  Although, any leguminous crop with spreading habit can be grown, it is preferable to use ' Pueraria ' which establishes a thick ground cover.  The other legumes used are ' Calapagonium ’, ' Mucuna ', ' Centrosema '.

32. Cont … Mulching The young rubber plants need to be mulched by spreading dry leaves, grass cuttings and cover crop loppings around the plants.  This is usually done in the month of November to protect the plants from the adverse effect of any possible drought. Weed Control The weeds commonly found in the rubber plantations are Eupatorium, Chromolaena , Borreria , Lantana, Mimosa, Clerodendron , Mikania , Sida , Pennisetum , Axonopus , Paspalum , Digitaria , Cynodon  and  Imperata . Control- Diuron , Simazina , Alachor , Paraquat and Glyphosate

33. DISEASES: Abnormal leaf fall ( Phytophthora meadii ) Symptoms During southwest monsoon period, the fruits rot. Later, infected leaves fall in large number prematurely either green or after turning coppery red with a drop of latex often coagulated in the centre of a black lesion on the petiole. Control Prophylactic spraying of the foliage prior to the onset of southwest monsoon with 1% Bordeaux mixture (3000-4000 l/ha) or oil based copper oxychloride (30-40 litres of CDC-oil mixture / ha mixed in 1:5 proportion) is recommended.

34. Cont … Powdery mildew ( Oidium heveae ) Symptoms Prominently noticed on newly formed tender flush during the defoliation period of January-March. Tender leaves with ashy coating curl, crinkle, edges roll inwards and fall off leaving the petioles attached to the twigs giving a broom stick appearance. In later stages on older leaves white patches appear. Infected flowers and fruits shed. Control For young plants, spray wettable sulphur (0.2%) or carbendazim (0.05%) at fortnightly intervals. For mature trees, dust with sulphur 3-5 rounds at weekly to fortnightly intervals. Sulphur mixed with an inert material like talc (70:30 mixture) is generally used @ 11-13 kg/ha/round .

35. Cont … Pink disease ( Corticium salmonicolor ) Symptom The seat of infection is usually at the fork region. White or pink coloured cobweb mycelial growths form on the surface of the bark with streaks of latex oozing out from the lesion; resulting in rotting, drying up and cracking up of the affected bark. Control In the early stages of infection, apply Bordeaux paste up to 30 cm above and below the affected region. Tridemorph (2%) incorporated in 1% ammoniated field latex is also effective. Tridemorph (1%) or Thiram (0.75%) in pidivyl , china clay and water mixed in the proportion 1:2:4 by volume is very effective.

36. Cont … Bark rot ( Phytophthora spp.) Symptoms During rainy season, when trees are tapped, depressions are formed in the tapping panel due to localized rotting and drying bark. Black vertical lines running downward into the tapping bark and upwards into the renewed bark are noticed. The bark when renewed becomes highly uneven. Control The tapping cut and nearby bark should be washed with mancozeb (0.375%) or phosphorous acid (0.08%) at weekly intervals. The rotten bark may be scraped off and applied with fungicide and then covered with petroleum wound-dressing compound.

37. INSECTS: TERMITE Practice good sanitation in plantation. Destroy early colonies of termites. Regularly inspect termite tunnel sand destroy them.

38. Cont … ROOT-FEEDING GRUBS Do not apply insecticides since the grubs have many natural enemies. Use polybags in raising rubber seedlings to prevent grub attack.

39. Cont … MEALYBUGS Mealy bugs are hosts to many parasitic wasps of the Family Encyrtidae . The parasitic wasps have to be conserved in order to optimize their role in checking the population of mealybugs . Newly established population of mealybugs may be sprayed with soap solution or natural spray oil. Banana oil may be spread to coat the mealybugs and will suffocate them to death. During severe infestation, dimethoate may be spread judiciously.

40. Cont … WHITEFLY Tiny wasps,  Encarsia sp . parasitize nymphs of whiteflies. If the population of whitefly is newly established, soap solution may be sprayed underneath rubber leaves. During heavy infestation, deltamethrin and lambdacyhalothrin may be used.

41. PHYSIOLOGICAL DISORDERS: BROWN BLAST BARK BURST

42. HARVESTING & YIELD: Hevea latex found in the latex vessels contains 30-40% rubber in the form of particles. Latex is obtained from the bark of the rubber tree by tapping . The tapping technique is also called as ridley . During the 6 th year the requisite trunk girth of about 50 cm will be reached.  At this age the tree will be ready for tapping, the yields increasing gradually upto 11th year when they will stabilise.  The year wise yield parameters considered from the 6 th year to the 11th year is 900, 1300, 1500, 1800 and 2000 kg per ha respectively beyond which the yield is the same.  For working out the economics, the economic life of a rubber tree is considered as 25 years.

43. LATEX: LATEX VESSELS These are found in the tree’s soft bark. They are modified sieve tubes (cells formed by the cambium and coalescing when the dividing cell walls disintegrate) running anti-clockwise in concentric cylinders at an angle of approximately 30° to the vertical axis of the stem (which is why tapping is done invariably from top left to bottom right in order to cut the vessels at a right angle ). Matrola (latex meter) used to measure % of rubber. COMPOSITION OF LATEX Rubber particles (25-40% of total latex volume), variable in shape, but usually pear-shaped or spherical, and about 6 nm to 5 micron in size; Lutoids (10-20%), 0.5 nm to 3 micron in size, having an impact on the stability and flow of the latex; Frey- Wyssling particles (5%) which play probably a role in the coagulation and oxido -reduction processes; Other elements like proteins, resins, sugars, glycosides, tannins, alkaloids, mineral salts, and secondary metabolites.  

44. TAPPING: TAPPING DIRECTION & SLOPE Latex vessels run spirally low left to high right at an inclination of 3.7 - 5° from the vertical. Latex will flow out of the bark, only if the latex vessels are severed or cut.  For budded plants, the slope of cut is recommended at an angled of 30°, while the clonal seedlings at 25° from the horizontal.

45. Cont … SPEED OF TAPPING: A rubber tree with a trunk circumference of 50 cm can be tapped using half spiral for a maximum of 10 seconds only. DEPTH OF TAPPING: As the number of latex vessel rings are greater towards inside, tapping must be deep enough to severe as many latex vessels as possible. However, to avoid damage to the cambium, 1 mm of the bark should be left untapped. TIME OF TAPPING: The best month to open new areas for tapping is March. It is necessary to commence tapping early in the morning as late tapping reduces the exudation of latex.

46. Cont … TYPES OF TAPPING S/2 d/2 (half spiral, alternate day for 6 months and rested for 3 months) 100% Intensity S /2 d/2  6m /9 (half spiral, alternate day for 6 months and rested for 3 months) 67 intensity S /2d/3 (half spiral, third day) 67 intensity S/2 d/3 1m/2 (half spiral, daily for one month and rested for next  month) 100% intensity S /1 d/4 Full spiral, fourth day 100% intensity V /2 d/2  12m/16 Half circumstances and cut alternate day for 12  months and rested for the next 4 months 75% intensity

47. PROCESSING: COLLECTION OF LATEX DILUTON & STANDARDIZATION : The separation of fine sand particles and dirt from field latex by stirring alone is found to be impractical due to high viscosity. By dilution with water, the fluidity of the latex increases and separation of fine sand and dirt will be facilitated .

48. Cont … COAGULATION The latex is coagulated in metal pans using a dilute acid.  This pan is filled with a soft cake of coagulated latex.  As many as 20-30 rubber trees were tapped to fill this pan.

49. Cont … ROLLING After coagulation, the cake of raw rubber must be rolled to remove the water and washed to remove the acid.  A worker uses a wooden roller to compress the rubber and squeeze out the acidic water.  The metal covered table slopes so the water runs off away from the worker.  Later the cake will be squeezed through rollers to finish the process

50. Cont …   DRYING After rolling is completed, the sheet of raw rubber is dried on a rack and smoked(40-60*) over a wood fire.  Here a sheet of raw rubber dries next to a sheet of smoked rubber (left).  Smoking stablizes the rubber and in this form it is sold and transported to manufacturers of rubber products . 

51. Cont … SORTING, BALING, AND PACKAGING Upload dried sheets from trolleys. Fold the unloaded sheets and place them in the working area. Dried sheets should not be laid down over cement floors to reduce dirt contamination. Cut trim the undried portion of the rubber sheets for further drying. Sort according to color . Pile the dried rubber sheet and weigh to 33.33 kg per bale. Segregate two to three sheets to bundle the piled sheets and form a bale. Wrap the bale with transparent plastic sheet showing the name of owner; bales ready for sale are stored in dry place.

52. GRADES: INDIAN STANDARD NATURAL RUBBER (ISNR) / BLOCK RUBBER  Characteristic ISNR 3CV ISNR 3L ISNR 5 ISNR 10 ISNR 20 ISNR 50 Dirt percent by mass (Max) 0.03 0.03 0.05 0.10 0.20 0.50 Volatile matter, percent by mass (Max) 0.80 0.80 0.80 0.80 0.80 0.80 Ash, percent by mass (Max) 0.50 0.50 0.60 0.75 1.00 1.50 Nitrogen, percent by mass, Max >0.60 >0.60 >0.60 >0.60 >0.60 >0.60 Initial plasticity Po (Min) As agreed to between the purchaser and the supplier 30.00 (Min) >30.00 (Min) 30.00 (Min) 30.00 (Min) 30.00 (Min) Plasticity retention index, PRI (Min) 60.00 60.00 60.00 50.00 40.00 30.00 Colour ( Livibond scale) - 6.0 - - - - Mooney viscosity (1+4) at 100 C 60+5 - - - - - - Accelerated storage hardening Po (max) 8.00 - - - - - Colour code Black Black Green Brown Red Yellow

53. SYNTHETIC RUBBER: synthetic rubbers are made in the chemical plants, using the raw materials mostly from the petroleum industry. Important raw materials being used for the production of synthetic rubber are butadiene, styrene, isoprene, chloroprene, isobutylene, acrylonitrile, ethylene, and propylene.

54. Cont … Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (SBR) Polybutadiene Rubber (BR ) Polyisoprene Rubber (IR) Ethylene Propylene Rubber (EPM and EPDM) Butyl Rubber (IIR) Nitrile Rubber (NBR) Chloroprene Rubber (CR ) Silicone Rubber (Q) Polysulfide Rubber (T) Polyurethene Rubber (EU/AU) Chlorosulphonated Polyethylene ( Hypalon ) Rubber (CSM) Acrylate Rubber (ACM) Fluro Rubbers (CFM) Ethylene – Vinyl Acetate Rubber (EVA) Thermoplastic Rubbers (TP) COMMERCIALLY IMPORTANT SYNTHETIC RUBBER

55. PROCESSED PRODUCTS FROM RUBBER

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61. ORGANISATIONAL AND INFRASTRUCTURE ARRANGEMENTS The Rubber Board with its head office at Kottayam in Kerala coordinates the implementation of rubber development programmes and provides technical services for new planting, replanting, productivity improvement, modernisation of processing, exploitation of large byproducts to augment plantation economy, marketing, promotion of collective self help amongst small holders, training, labour welfare financial assistance in the form of grants and necessary inputs like improved planting material and supervision.

62. FUTURE THRUST Productivity enhancement of existing plantations through adoption of appropriate agro-management practices, Q uality upgradation of natural rubber through community processing, M odernisation of rubber and rubber wood processing factories and effluent treatment, P romoting group approach in planting, tapping, processing and marketing through Rubber Producers Societies and Special Programmes for doubling rubber area in North East, with the involvement of concerned state government and North Eastern Council.  

63. CONCLUSION: Rubber has been used for centuries as the favoured material for the manufacturing of many products. Manufacturing methods have evolved considerably towards achieving a greater efficiency, and overall volume of rubber. Hevea brasiliensis  is still a major source of the world's rubber, raised and harvested in many plantations centred mainly around Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. Although petroleum is now by far favoured as the main source for rubber manufacture, it is a non-renewable resource which will eventually become depleted.  Hevea brasiliensis  may therefore become more important in the future.