Rubber

Showing 14 of 14 practices.

1. • Core practice
   • Establishment
   • Stage: Budding

   Plant budded clones, not unselected seedlings

   Commercial rubber is propagated by budding a selected clone onto a seedling rootstock. Clones give more uniform and productive stands than local seedlings.

   Technical detail

   • Budding methods include green, brown and crown budding.
   • In Indonesian agroforestry trials, clones such as PB 260, RRIC 100 and BPM 1 were compared with local seedlings.
   • Choose clones recommended for your region by the national rubber research institute.

   Regions

   Widely applicable · Indonesia

   Confidence

   High confidence: several institutional sources agree

   Sources

   • [1] Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, TNAU Agritech Portal, India (opens in a new tab)
   • [3] Wibawa, Joshi, van Noordwijk & Penot, ICRAF / CIRAD, 2008 (opens in a new tab)

2. • Core practice
   • Pests & disease
   • Stage: Land prep & planting

   Remove old stumps and roots before replanting

   White root disease (Rigidoporus microporus) is most damaging where many old root stumps and woody debris are left. Young trees aged 2 to 6 years are most at risk.

   Technical detail

   • Clear and destroy old roots and stumps during land preparation.
   • Remove and burn infected roots from affected trees.
   • A three-year-old tree can die within six months of infection, so check young trees regularly.

   Regions

   Indonesia · Widely applicable

   Confidence

   Medium confidence: one institutional guide

   Sources

   • [4] Suryanto et al., Journal of Pure and Applied Microbiology 11(2), 2017 (opens in a new tab)
   • [1] Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, TNAU Agritech Portal, India (opens in a new tab)

3. • Conventional
   • Soil & nutrition
   • Stage: Land prep & planting

   Prepare large pits with compost and rock phosphate

   Fill planting pits with topsoil and compost, and add rock phosphate because these acidic soils are often short of phosphorus.

   Technical detail

   • Pit size about 1 m³.
   • Per pit: 12 kg compost or farmyard manure and 120 g rock phosphate before planting.
   • Spacing on plains about 4.9 × 4.9 m (about 420 trees/ha); on hills 6.7 × 3.4 m (about 445 trees/ha).

   Regions

   India (Tamil Nadu)

   Confidence

   Medium confidence: one institutional guide

   Source

   • [1] Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, TNAU Agritech Portal, India (opens in a new tab)

4. • Biological & regenerative
   • Soil biology
   • Stage: Land prep & planting

   Establish a legume cover crop between rows

   Creeping legumes protect the soil between young trees, suppress weeds and add nitrogen and organic matter.

   Technical detail

   • Common species: Pueraria phaseoloides, Calopogonium mucunoides, Centrosema pubescens and Desmodium ovalifolium.
   • Keep the cover weeded and clear of the tree rows while trees are small.

   Regions

   Widely applicable

   Confidence

   Medium confidence: one institutional guide

   Source

   • [1] Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, TNAU Agritech Portal, India (opens in a new tab)

5. • Biological & regenerative
   • Soil biology
   • Stage: Immature growth

   Rubber agroforestry for smallholders

   Indonesian 'jungle rubber' grows rubber with timber, fruit trees and annual crops in several layers. Improved systems keep this mix but use recommended clones.

   Technical detail

   • Over 80% of Indonesia's rubber area is smallholder land, much of it in mixed systems.
   • Reported benefits: income from several products, biodiversity, water conservation and carbon storage.
   • Trade-off: published yield and income comparisons with monoculture are limited, so returns need checking locally.

   Regions

   Indonesia

   Confidence

   Medium confidence: one institutional guide

   Source

   • [3] Wibawa, Joshi, van Noordwijk & Penot, ICRAF / CIRAD, 2008 (opens in a new tab)

6. • Conventional
   • Soil & nutrition
   • Stage: Immature growth

   Split fertilizer in two doses a year

   Feed young and tapped trees in two split doses timed with the rains, and correct magnesium where it is short.

   Technical detail

   • Tapped trees: NPK 10:10:10 at about 900 g per tree per year, in two doses.
   • Where magnesium is deficient, add 10 kg magnesium sulphate per 100 kg of mixture.
   • Timing in the guide follows the Indian monsoon; match it to local rainy seasons.

   Regions

   India (Tamil Nadu)

   Confidence

   Medium confidence: one institutional guide

   Source

   • [1] Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, TNAU Agritech Portal, India (opens in a new tab)

7. • Core practice
   • Harvest
   • Stage: Tapping

   Open trees only when they reach tapping girth

   Start tapping when the trunk is 50 cm in circumference at 1 m above the ground, which is usually about five years after planting.

   Technical detail

   • The cut slopes down at about 30 degrees from the horizontal.
   • Cut close to the cambium without touching it; FAO describes stopping about 1.5 mm short of it.
   • When the panel has been tapped down its full length (about 7 years), tapping restarts higher up. FAO describes about 28 years of harvest in total.

   Regions

   Widely applicable

   Confidence

   High confidence: several institutional sources agree

   Source

   • [2] FAO (opens in a new tab)

8. • Core practice
   • Harvest
   • Stage: Tapping

   Tap at daybreak and keep latex clean

   Latex flows best early in the morning; FAO notes that late-day tapping gives about a third less latex. Collect latex a few hours after tapping and keep cups clean.

   Technical detail

   • Collect cup contents about 4 hours after tapping.
   • Remove dried latex from the cut and bark, and clean cups regularly.
   • Tap each tree on a fixed schedule, and rest trees in the driest months.

   Regions

   Widely applicable

   Confidence

   High confidence: several institutional sources agree

   Source

   • [2] FAO (opens in a new tab)

9. • Conventional
   • Crop care
   • Stage: Tapping

   Choose a tapping system and limit stimulation

   Low-frequency systems such as half spiral every third day (S/2 d/3) reduce tapping intensity. Ethephon stimulation can be used, but not continuously.

   Technical detail

   • Ethephon: 5% active ingredient brushed on a 5 cm strip below the cut after light scraping.
   • TNAU advises not using stimulation continuously for more than 3 years.
   • If trees show tapping panel dryness (brown bast), reduce intensity or rest them for 3 to 12 months.

   Regions

   India (Tamil Nadu) · Widely applicable

   Confidence

   Medium confidence: one institutional guide

   Source

   • [1] Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, TNAU Agritech Portal, India (opens in a new tab)

10. • Biological & regenerative
    • Soil biology
    • Stage: Immature growth

    Trichoderma against white root disease

    Local Trichoderma isolates from Indonesia slowed the white root fungus in the lab and reduced disease on potted stumps.

    Technical detail

    • Four of 16 isolates reduced fungal growth by 66 to 71% in the lab.
    • Trials were on potted stumps; field results are not yet established.
    • Use alongside stump removal, not instead of it.

    Regions

    Indonesia (North Sumatra)

    Confidence

    Emerging evidence: early or small-scale evidence

    Source

    • [4] Suryanto et al., Journal of Pure and Applied Microbiology 11(2), 2017 (opens in a new tab)

11. • Core practice
    • Establishment
    • Stage: Budding

    Plant budded material of a recommended clone

    Indonesian rules call for clonal planting material: a recommended clone bud-grafted onto rootstock from a certified seed garden.

    Technical detail

    • Ministry of Agriculture guide (2014) latex clones: IRR 104, IRR 112, IRR 118, IRR 220, BPM 24, PB 260, PB 330, PB 340. Latex-timber clones: IRR 5, IRR 39, IRR 42, IRR 107, RRIC 100. This list covers the 2010 to 2014 period.
    • Older clones such as GT 1, PR 255, PR 261, RRIM 600 and RRIM 712 may still be used depending on site and target.
    • Rootstock seed should come from seed gardens with at least 95% clone purity. Buy budded stumps or polybag plants with no more than two leaf whorls.

    Regions

    Indonesia

    Confidence

    Medium confidence: one institutional guide

    Source

    • [5] Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate General of Estate Crops, 2014 (opens in a new tab)

12. • Core practice
    • Establishment
    • Stage: Land prep & planting

    Plant at 500 to 600 trees per hectare

    The Ministry guide sets ideal density at 500 to 600 trees/ha, with layouts that suit intercropping.

    Technical detail

    • Spacing options: 3 x 6 m, 4 x 5 m or 3.3 x 5.5 m. For intercropping use 3 x 6 m, with the 6 m rows running north to south.
    • Planting holes at least 40 x 40 x 40 cm.

    Regions

    Indonesia

    Confidence

    Medium confidence: one institutional guide

    Source

    • [5] Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate General of Estate Crops, 2014 (opens in a new tab)

13. • Conventional
    • Harvest
    • Stage: Tapping

    Match tapping frequency and stimulant to clone type

    The Rubber Research Institute separates quick-starter clones (such as PB 260 and IRR clones) from slow-starter clones (such as BPM 24, PR 255, GT 1). They need different stimulant use.

    Technical detail

    • The standard system in that review is S/2 d3 with ethephon 2.5%. Quick starters respond less to stimulant and are prone to tapping panel dryness, so stimulant is limited (the text says at most 12 times a year). Slow starters can take stimulant up to 18 times a year, twice a month.
    • Moving to d4 cut tapping days from 100 to 75 a year and cut costs, but lowered output of quick-starter clones by about 20%. S/2 d6 was not recommended because returns did not cover costs.
    • The authors suggest d4 for slow-starter clones south of the equator when prices are low, and using latex diagnosis to keep trees healthy.

    Regions

    Indonesia

    Confidence

    Medium confidence: one institutional guide

    Source

    • [6] Sumarmadji, A. Rouf, Y.B.S. Aji, T. Widyasari; Balai Penelitian Getas, Pusat Penelitian Karet, Warta Perkaretan 36(1), 2017 (opens in a new tab)

14. • Conventional
    • Harvest
    • Stage: Tapping

    Use clones that hold yield under low-frequency tapping

    Not every clone copes with tapping every fourth day. Institute trials name clones that do relatively well, and give stimulant timing for d4.

    Technical detail

    • Sayurandi (2020): d3 still out-yielded d4 overall, but PB 330, IRR 104, IRR 220 and RRIM 901 gave comparatively high yields under 1/2S d4 with 2.5% ethephon.
    • For BPM 24 on S/2 d4 with 2.5% ethephon every two weeks, applying stimulant 45 hours before tapping worked best in one Getas trial, the same timing advised for d3.
    • New clones IRR 309 and IRR 310 (2025) respond strongly to ethephon, resist Corynespora and Colletotrichum leaf fall and can be opened at 4.5 to 5 years. They still need the right tapping system.

    Regions

    Indonesia

    Confidence

    Medium confidence: one institutional guide

    Sources

    • [7] Sayurandi; Balai Penelitian Sungei Putih, Pusat Penelitian Karet, Warta Perkaretan 39(1), 2020 (opens in a new tab)
    • [8] M.O. Nugrahani, A. Rouf; Balai Penelitian Getas, Pusat Penelitian Karet, Warta Perkaretan 41(2), 2022 (opens in a new tab)
    • [9] F. Oktavia et al.; Pusat Penelitian Karet, Warta Perkaretan 44(1), 2025 (opens in a new tab)