T

he Rubber Tree (Hevea brasiliensis) is a robust perennial crop native of South America. It grows about 60 to 130 feet high and thrives in warm and moist climate

ranging from 70 to 95oF (21-35oC). Average annual rainfall of 80 to 120 inches (2,000-3,000

mm). Rubber grows well on elevations higher than 250 meters above sea level and some clones are grown profitably beyond 500 meters above sea level. Generally, rubber can be grown on wide range of soil types with soil pH of 5.0-6.8. Undulating or rolling lands with deep surface of soil are ideal for rubber growing. Steep slopes (less than 40%) can also be planted adopting contour planting. Flat or level lands are likewise good for rubber.

In the Philippines, rubber plantations started as big holdings

before world war II. These

include Menzi Rubber in Basilan; Rio Grande Rubber Estate in Kabacan, Cotabato; Goodyear Rubber plantation in Kabasalan, Zamboanga del Sur and Firestone Rubber company in Makilala, Cotabato.

From 3,400 hectares in 1960, the area planted to rubber expanded gradually through the years reaching 81,862 hectares in 1991. It is projected that rubber hectarage may increase tremendously within the next few years since in Mindanao alone, there are about 1.58 million hectares of potential rubber areas. Approximately 90% of the existing rubber plantations have trees that are already mature and tappable. Most immature rubber trees are found in Region XII.

PRODUCTION GUIDE
Land Preparation In areas with big trees, or in second growth forest, clear the under growth first to facilitate cutting of big trees, cut the large trees into logs and remove from the site. In cogonal areas, remove all cogon grass, but in hilly areas where cultivation is difficult, just remove the cogon along the rubber rows only. In flat but cultivated areas, plow the area twice before laying out and in hilly lands, prepare the land following contour lining and land terracing.

Planting Distance Planting distance depends on soil fertility, type of clones, type of planting materials and topography of the land.

LAND TYPE

DISTANCE (m)

NO. OF TREES/HA

Hilly (contour Flat or Undulating

10x2 8x3 (rectangular) 5x4 (rectangular) 6x3 (rectangular) 12x2 (avenue) 10x2 (avenue) 8x2.5 (avenue) 24x2x3 (avenue, double row)

500 416 500 555 416 500 500 416

Holing The size and shape of the hole depends largely on the soil condition and planting materials. In fertile and soft soils, hole shall be 25-30 cm diameter and 40-45 cm deep. In poor and hard soils, bigger holes are required from 40-45 cm diameter and 50-60 cm deep. Planting Planting will be done during rainy months. A planting material of a second leaf storey will be used. Bigger plants should be planted followed by smaller ones. Remove the plastic bag carefully and backfill with fertile soil. Cover Cropping Cover crops suppress weed growth and augment soil fertility, thus reducing cost of weeding and fertilizers. They also conserve soil moisture and minimize soil erosion. Weed Management Control weeds by using herbicides, slashing, line weeding and ring weeding. Chemical weed control is more practical and less expensive especially in rolling or hilly areas. Glyphosate (round-up) controls cogon and other grasses. Basta herbicide is used for mixed weeds in plantation. Slashing is done by cutting weeds of the entire plantation.

Replanting Replanting of missing hills is done up to the second year of plantation establishment so that replants can develop fully before closing in of canopy. Use polybag buddings of the same age as that on the initial plants in the field.

Pruning Prune to a height of 2.0-2.5 m. This allows smooth trunk to develop without branches or large scars..In polybag buddings, allow the plants to grow without branches until 2.0-2.5 m from the union, then prune. Maintain 4-5 well-spaced branches to avoid wind damage. Intercropping The most common intercrops for rubber during immature stage are peanut, upland rice, corn, sorghum, mungbean, soybean, sweet potato, pineapple and squash. Rubber can also be planted with perennial crops such as durian, rambutan, lanzones, coffee, calamansi, banana. They can be grown up to or even beyond the productive years of rubber. The purpose of growing these crops is to increase the efficiency of land use without sacrificing the growth and yield performance of rubber on a hectare basis. Fertilizer Application Fertilization must begin in the nursery to raise healthy and fast growing planting materials that can reach tappable size earlier and to develop healthy stand of trees with long productive life. Apply balanced fertilizer to the nursery seedlings starting on the first month after planting at twomonth interval, until the right size for budding (pencil-size ) is attained. Fertilizer mixture depends on soil analysis. In the absence of soil analysis, apply 10-15 g NPK fertilizer mixture per seedling in two or three dosages. Place the fertilizer 10 cm away from the base of each young plant to avoid injury and wilting
PERIOD AFTER PLANTING First year Second year Third year Fourth year AMOUNT (14-14-14) g/tree/year/split 125 250 500 500 PLACEMENT FROM THE BASE (cm) 30 60 90 120 PLACEMENT OF APPLICATION (every 6 months) 62.5 g/application 125 g/application 250 g/application 250 g/application

Rubber Diseases and Their Control

COMMON NAME A. Foliar Diseases 1. Birds eye spot or Helminthosporium leaf spot 2. Anthracnose leaf spot CONTROL MEASURES Spray zineb or maneb at weekly interval following manufacturers dosage. Spray copper-based fungicide at weekly interval following manufacturers dosage. Apply sulfur dust at the rate of 9 kg/ha at least 4 times weekly.

3. Powdery mildew or Oidium leaf disease B. Nursery Diseases 1. Birds eye spot

Spray dithane (M45) 10% solution of 60 ml/16 li water on fully-expanded leaves weekly. Spray expanded leaves with vitigran blue, daconil or cupravit at 0.2%/2.0 kg/li water (100-110 ml/16 li ) at least 4 rounds weekly

2. Colletotrichum and anthracnose leaf spot

C. Stem or Branch Diseases 1. Pink Disease

Apply benomyl at recommended rate.Add sticker, paint, brush the solution on infected portions. Cut affected trees, dig out its roots and burn everything to avoid further spread or contamination. Practice sanitation and proper cultural practices. Construct canals around the periphery of affected trees to prevent infection of the nearby trees. Practice sanitation in plantation. Cut affected trees. Scrape fungal growths and treat with benomyl. Panel fertilization is recommended every

2. Die-back

3. Stem Bleeding

4. Stem ustulina 5. Knob Gall D. Panel Diseases 1. Black stripe

Brush the tapping with either captafol, cycloheximide, or aluminum tris-o-ethyl after every tapping. Follow control measures recommended for the black stripe diseases of rubber.

2. Moldy rot

E. Physiological Disorders 1. Brown blast

Regulate tapping or lessens its frequency to prevent further deterioration. Scrape large burst on not-too-old trees and apply a wound dressing (fungicide).

2. Bark bursts

Other Pests of Rubber and their Control

Common Name 1. Termites Control Measures Practice good sanitation in plantation Destroy early colonies of termites Regularly insepct termite tunnels and destroy them Do not apply insecticide since the grubs have many natural enemies Use polybags in raising rubber seedlings to prevent grub attack Chemical control is not needed since bark borers have many natural enemies and occur only in low population Prevent the occurrence of rubber diseases to avoid attracting the beetles Grow rubber seedling in poly \bags Practice good sanitation Chemical control is not needed since sucking insects have many natural enemies Sustain baiting by putting five bait stations per hectare Visit stations every day to remove dead rats Practice good sanitation in the nursery and plantation Bait with metaldehyde if the population is high Collect and destroy slugs/snails in nurseries Reduce growth of cover crops during the wet season

2. Roof-feeding grubs

3. Bark borer

4. Sucking insects (scale insects, mealybugs, aphids)

5. Rodents

6. Slugs/Snails

PRODUCTION COST OF ONE HECTARE RUBBER FARM* (Year 1-5 after planting)
ACTIVITIES A. LABOR 1. Clearing, layouting, holing, etc 2. Hauling, grouping, planting & fertilizer application (basal) 3. Fertilizing 4. Crop protection (w eeding, spraying, etc) 5. Pruning, branch induction, etc. 6. Technical support services (optional) SUB-TOTAL B. MATERIALS 1. Tools (shovels, bolo, sprayer, etc) 2. Planting materials (Heven Green Buddings) at plantable size (525) 3. Fertilizers (complete 14-14-14, etc) 4. Chemicals (herbicides, fungicides, etc) 5. Lay-outing materials (rope, sticks, etc) 6. Tapping utensils (cups, springs, cup holder, etc) 7. Other chemical (formic, glacial, etc) SUB-TOTAL TOTAL 700.00 3,000.00 500.00 19,200.00 28,000.00 1,400.00 1,500.00 3,150.00 6,450.00 1,400.00 1,500.00 2,900.00 6,200.00 2,100.00 1,500.00 3,600.00 6,900.00 2,100.00 1,500.00 5,000.00 500.00 9,100.00 12,400.00 2,500.00 12,500.00 250.00 3,000.00 2,500.00 2,000.00 300.00 1,000.00 8,800.00 500.00 1,500.00 300.00 1,000.00 3,300.00 500.00 1,500.00 300.00 1,000.00 3,300.00 500.00 1,500.00 300.00 1,000.00 3,300.00 500.00 1,500.00 300.00 1,000.00 3,300.00 Y EA R 1 2 3 4 5

COST AND RETURN ANALYSIS (1 HECTARE)

CUPLUMPS
AGE OF TREES 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 15-22 YIELD (kg) 1,536 2,048 2,816 3,584 4,864 5,632 5,888 6,272 6,400 PRICE/ KG 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 45 GROSS INCOME 69,120 92,160 126,720 161,280 218,880 253,440 264,960 282,240 288,000 COST OF PRODUCTION (30%) 20,736 27,648 38,016 48,384 65,664 76,032 79,488 84,672 86,400 NET INCOME/ HA/YEAR 48,384 64,512 88,704 112,896 153,216 177,408 185,472 197,568 201,600 MONTHLY INCOME/HA 4,032 5,376 7,392 9,408 12,768 14,784 15,456 16,464 16,800

* Lecture presentation of DR. AGLORIA L. GABRONINO, IDM-USM DA-SMIARC Rubber Production Seminar

DISCLAIMER Trade names cited in this publication are used for the purpose of providing specific information and do not endorse products named nor imply criticism of similar ones not mentioned. The recommended practices or procedures are based on research and the best information available.

For more information, please contact:

Mr. Prospero Tanutan Agriculturist II Ms. Jessel Cardines DA-SMIARC, Bago Oshiro, Mintal Tugbok District, Davao City Telefax: (082) 293-0109 or (082) 293-0136 E-mail us : smiarc@yahoo.com

References: Rubber Manual for Smallholders Prof. Eugenio A. Alcala,Ph.D. USM, Kabacan, North Cotabato
Production and Marketing Scheme of Rubber Romulo L. Cena, Ph.D. USM, Kabacan, North Cotabato DR. GLORIA L. GABRONINO Chairman, Agribusiness Dept. Institute of Development Economics and Management USM, Kabacan, Cotabato The Philippine Recommends for Rubber Series No. 33-B PCARRD-DOST, Los Banos, Laguna

PRODUCED BY: Knowledge Management-Farmer Information & Technology Service (KMFITS) Center Department of Agriculture RFU XI-SMIARC, Bago Oshiro, Mintal, Tugbok, Davao City Copyright, January 2007