Rubber plantation in kerala with reference to climatic conditions?

Answer 1

Rubber latex is extracted from rubber trees. The economic life period of rubber trees in plantations is around 32 years - up to 7 years of immature phase and about 25 years of productive phase.

The soil requirement of the plant is generally well-drained weathered soil consisting of laterite, lateritic types, sedimentary types, and nonlateritic red or alluvial soils.

The climatic conditions for optimum growth of rubber trees consist of:

1.Rainfall of around 250 cm evenly distributed without any marked dry season and with at least 100 rainy days per year.

2.Temperature range of about 20°C to 34°C with a monthly mean of 25°C to 28°C.

3.High atmospheric humidity of around 80%.

4.Bright sunshine amounting to about 2000 hours per year at the rate of 6 hours per day throughout the year.

5.Absence of strong winds.

Many high-yielding clones have been developed for commercial planting. These clones yield more than 2,000 kilograms of dry rubber per hectare per year, when grown under ideal conditions and ideal field.