Rubber should be grown in literate or loamy soil, preferably on a slope or slightly high elaborated flat land where there is no possibility of water stagnation with good drainage.
Planting of Rubber Trees
Rubber is planted from the seedlings, and becomes ready for tapping in 6 or 7 years. For making the rubber plants high-yielding, its seedlings are grafted. This is done When the seedlings are about 5 or 6 cm. in diameter, buds from the selected high-yielding trees are grafted on to the seedlings. This is done to transmit the high-yielding quality of the “mother-tree”. The graft is, then, kept bound and left for a few weeks. After a few weeks the grafted buds sprout. Then, the old tree is cut off just above the point of union.
Rubber Trees aged 4 years
The distance at which the trees should be spaced has given rise to much discussion. The distances generally favoured is a spacing of 6 x 3 meters although there are some recommendations of a spacing of 4.60m x 4.60m to 4.90m x 4.90m on flat land and on Undulated and hilly land a spacijng of 6.10m x 3.00m to 6.70m x 3.40m . Unfortunately there does not appear to be any conclusive evidence yet published from which a comparison can be drawn between the results of close planting and those of wider planting. A consensus of opinion points to the greater value of a smaller number of larger and less crowded trees ; and it is at least probable that the crop will be obtained more cheaply from such a plantation than from one bearing a larger number of more crowded trees of the same age
Life Span
The rubber tree may live for a hundred years but its economic life period in plantations is only around 32 years 7 years of immature phase and 25 years of productive phase. Rubber trees convert inorganic nutrients from the soil, and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, into organic carbohydrates which are then turned into rubber latex. The latter passes up the tree through millions of capillary vessels or tubes located in the soft outer bark. At least once a year the leaves of the tree die and fall off in wintering, and new leaves are formed. During wintering, which lasts for sixteen weeks, the metabolism of the tree and the constitution of its latex are substantially affected. The yield is also reduced, and this, together with other climatic factors, accounts for marked seasonal variations in production.
This is typical stance of rubber trees ( This picture is of our trees on our 3rd Farm ).
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, ginger, turmeric, vegetables and medicinal plants.
Pruning
Pruning should be done in the early years to get a good straight trunk of between 2.5 – 3.5 meters. The reason for this is two fold firstly to give a good length for when the trees are mature enough to be tapped and secondly at the end of their life in 30 years the wood can be sold as timber and the longer the trunk the better the market price.
