RUBBER CULTIVATION, PLANTING

Rubber planting Methods रबड़ खेत करने की तरीके और उपचार के मै नीचे दिए गये है कृपया देखे..

Vacancy filling

Maintaining the full stand by replacing casualties and weak plants with suitable advanced planting material should be one of the priority areas during early upkeep. 

Pruning छंटाई

When budded stumps are planted, the vigorous sprout arising from the bud patch alone is allowed to grow, False shoots sprouting from the stock should be removed. Pruning of side shoots that arise up to a height of 2.5 m from the ground also should be done as branching is not desirable up to this height. 

Mulching, shading, irrigation and whitewashing 

The soil around the plants should be mulched properly with cessation of rains to conserve soil moisture, maintain optimum soil temperature and control weed growth. Mulching acts as an effective soil conservation measure and adds to the fertility of soil. Dried plant materials or plastic can be used as mulch. Polypropylene woven fabric acts as good mulch material for young rubber plants, especially in dry areas. Young plants during the year of planting are provided with artificial shade during summer with plaited coconut leaves or gunny bags. Contact shading (spraying of leaves with 10% china clay) of young rubber plants is also beneficial in reducing the radiation effect and transpiration loss. Life-saving irrigation during summer reduces casualty. From the second year onwards, brown portion of the main stem is whitewashed using lime or china clay to prevent sun scorch till the canopy develop partial shade. 

Branch induction

The rubber plants should produce branches at a height of 2.5-3 m to achieve high rate of growth. If branches are not produced naturally at this height, branching should be induced allowing a few lateral buds to develop through leaf cap or leaf folding method. 

COVER CROP 

Cover crop

Cover crops are established and maintained in rubber plantations for conserving soil and improving soil structure and fertility. Fast growing leguminous creepers, having the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen are widely used as cover crops in rubber. In addition, they have other attributes common to all cover plants like ability to suppress weed growth and reducing soil temperature. 

Establishment of cover crops 

Seeds of cover crops have very hard seed coat which delays or inhibits germination. Therefore pre-sowing treatment is done to ensure uniformity and higher percentage of germination (Table 2). Cover crops are to be established in new plantings immediately after clearing the area and in replanting one year ahead of planting if possible, or after felling the old stand of rubber. Either seeds or cuttings may be used. Fresh cuttings, two or three feet long should be planted when frequent rains are available. If seeds are used, the pre-treated seeds should be mixed with equal quantity of rock phosphate and sown in rows or in equidistant patches between the plant rows during May after pre-monsoon rains. The young cover plants in patches should be protected from weeds for four to five months. Cattle grazing and cutting away of the crop for fodder purpose should be avoided.
                 
                   Manuring of cover crop Manuring of cover crop helps in establishment, easy maintenance and efficient nitrogen fixation. Application of 165 kg of powdered rock phosphate (18% P05) per hectare in two equal splits, the first, one month after sowing and the second, two months after the first application is recommended. In areas where the soils are deficient in available potassium, along with rock phosphate, 50 kg of muriate of potash also should be added. It is enough to broadcast the fertilizer on the strips where the cover crop is planted. 

Control of cover crop

Cover crop

Cover crop should not be allowed to grow in plant bases twining on rubber plants. Mucuna can effectively be controlled by spraying 2,4-D 1.00 kg a.i./ha. 

Common caver crops grown in rubber plantations and their characteristics

 1. Pueraria phaseoloides

A twiner - cum creeper that can be propagated by seeds and cuttings. Palatable to cattle. The plant grows vigorously and smother weeds. Dries up during summer and regenerates during following monsoon. The seed rate is about 3-4.5 kg/ha.

Hot water treatment 

2. Mucuna bracteata

A very fast growing drought resistant cover crop from NE India. It is comparatively shade tolerant and not usually eaten by cattle. Fruit set is not seen in Kerala, however normal fruit set is reported in Tripura. The seed rate is about 200 g/ha. Stem cuttings can also be used for propagation, but the percentage success is low.

3. Calopogonium mucunoides

Native of Tropical America. It is a twiner and creeper with tolerance for poor soils. The legume dies off during dry months. It is a prolific seeder, seed rate is 3-4.5 kg/ ha.

4. Centrosema pubescens

*     Soaking seeds in hot water at 60 80°C for four to six hours

**   Soaking seeds in concentrated sulphuric acid followed by thorough washing

*** Mixing seeds with sand (one to two times its quantity) and grinding gently in a mortar or rotating in drums lined with sand paper or scratching seeds (especially for M. bracteata) on a sand paper or rough cement floor on the side opposite to the seed-attachment scar followed by overnight soaking in water

WEED CONTROL

Weeds are undesirable vegetation which suppress growth of young rubber by competing for nutrients and soil moisture especially during of weed management initial years.The concept of weed management in rubber plantation is to manage the weeds in such a way that they do not adversely affect the growth of rubber. Complete eradication of the entire weed flora from the field is not envisaged. years.Weeds can be controlled by manual, chemical (using herbicides) or mechanical (using weed cutters) methods. Manual weeding and herbicide application can also be done in rotation for effective weed control which provides better environmental safety.

Immature rubber 

The establishment of legume ground cover in the plantations will eliminate the growth of weeds in the interspaces. Therefore, weeding in the entire area is important during the initial one or two 

year period only. Four to five rounds of manual weeding are required during the first two years. During subsequent years, weeding can be restricted to plant basins or planting strips (contour terraces) with selective weeding of noxious and bushy weeds in the interspace. After 4th year, weed growth usually will not be a serious problem because by that time the rubber plants would have dominated in the association with a closed canopy. Therefore, weeding need year be carried out only in planting strips from 5th onwards.

Mature rubber

In mature plantations, weeds appear depending on availability of sunlight. Unlike in the case of immature rubber, no competition exists between mature rubber trees and weeds. Weeding in mature plantations should not be for beautifying the plantation, but only to facilitate free movement of tappers.

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Rubber Cultivation stumps

PLANTING MATERIELS रोपण सामग्री

The generally used planting materials are seedling stumps, budded stumps, polybag plants and root trainer plants, Tissue eultoure plants are used only for research purposes.

STUMPS 

Seedling stumps are prepared by pulling out polyelonal seedlings and cutting bak the stem at 45 to 60 cm of brown wood, tap root to convenient length and trimming of lateral roots (7,5 cm length), The cut end of stem is dipped in molten wax to prevent water loss. Budded stumps are prepared in the same way as seedlings stumps but a slanting cut with slope towards opposite side of bud is given at about 7,5 cm above the bud patch. Wax scaling and root trimming are done similar to seedling stumps. For green-budded and young-budded plants the cut made 15 to 20 cm above the bud patch leaving longer snag to prevent die back.

POLYBAG PLANTS  पॉलीबैग का पौधा

Polybag nursery

Polybag plants are raised either by budding seedlings that are developed by in situ planting of seeds (in polybags) or by planting budded stumps in polybags. Polythene (LDPE/HDPE) bags of 45 x 18 cm holding about 7 kg soil are generally used. Larger bags, 55 x 25 cm, which holds about 10 kg soil are preferred for raising larger plants (3 whorls or more). The polythene material used for the bag should be of 75-100 micron thickness (300-400 gauge). The bags should be filled with top soil which is rich in organic carbon for efficient water and nutrient supply to the plants, About 20 to 25 g rock phosphate is incorporated in the top half of the soil filled in the polybags. The filled polybags are stacked in trenches (30 cm deep) or on soil surface itself with sufficient support. Stacking by leaving a space in between every two rows favours better growth as the buds can be arranged to face the inter spaces. This also cultural operations. Budded stumps/ allows easy seeds are planted after the soil in the bags settles down. Dipping of root portion of budded stumps in cow dung slurry or 500 ppm IBA before planting enhances root development. Monthly application of the fertilizer 10:10: 4:1.5 NPKMg mixture at 10 g/plant initially, gradually increasing up to 30 g/plant, when each top whorl of leaf is mature is recommended. Regular watering and weeding is necessary. Partial shading (50% shade) during dry season reduces incidence of leaf spot diseases and sun scorch besides regulating transpiration loss. Plants are transplanted to the main field when they are at two to three whorl stage and the top whorl of leaves is mature.

ROOT TRAINER PLANTS   रूट ट्रेनर प्लांट

The root trainer containers usually used have a length of 26 cm and holding capacity of 600 cc with a tapering shape with vertical ridges on insideroc wall and a drainage hole. Well-cured coir pith length of 26 cm and holding capacity of 600 cc with mixed with neem cake, bone meal, pesticides and single super phosphate is used as potting medium. Curing of coir pith is done by keeping it immersed in water in a tank for a minimum period of two months with draining and refilling of water at fortnightly intervals to leach out the phenolic toxic compounds. Partially dried elephant dung mixed with equal quantity of soil can also be used as an alternative to coir pith. The potting medium should be packed well inside the root trainer cup before planting germinated seeds. If stumps are planted, compacting of medium is done along with planting. 

        

       The root trainers are stacked by pushing them into a raised bed of soil taking care that the drainage hole is not clogged. The developing tap root grows into the soil through the drainage hole. When the plants show healthy growth, the root trainer is lifted from the bed, the root pruned close to the drainage hole and stacked on stands made of iron or bamboo splinters so that the without touching the soil. plants in the containers remain suspended in air without touching the soil. Although the tap root resumes growth, it undergoes natural air pruning at the drainage hole. This stress induces emergence of large number of lateral roots into the potting medium. The ridges on the side wall of container directs these lateral roots down which in their turn also undergoes air pruning. Thus the hardened root trainer plants will have a tap root and well- oriented lateral roots forming a dense root plug.

       

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