Rubber consumption higher than the production - Rubber Board Chairman

Thodupuzha, 22-01-2010
The current consumption of rubber is much higher than the production, said Sri. Sajen Peter, IAS, Chairman, Rubber Board. He was inaugurating the meeting of Rubber Growers conducted as part of the Thodupuzha Karshikamela. The production of rubber has reduced by 9.2 percentage in the world market. The research wing of the rubber board is doing studies on 160 new varieties of rubber plants, he said. A new variety will be released every two years. He said that this will help to counter the decrease of production caused by climate changes. He stressed the need to produce good quality rubber sheets, which is the responsibility of rubber growers. A major factor that affects the rubber consumption and prices is the variations in the tire industry, he said. He mentioned that, when the rubber board was formed there were only less tan 5000 rubber planters in Kerala. Now the number is more than 11 Lakhs. A Rubber Clinic Board has been formed in order to clear the doubts of rubber planters regarding pesticides and pest control. Farmers can interact with the experts daily from 14:00 Hrs to 15:00 Hrs through the website http://clinic.rubberboard.org.in/

For maximum yield and better plant health, only 420 to 500 trees should be planted in a hectare, said K G Mohanan, Joint Rubber Production Commissioner. If more numbers are planted, chances of diseases are more, he said. During the early years, inter-cropping is helpful for the growth of the rubber trees. Farmers must also plant leguminous cover crops(like "Thottapayar") in order to prevent soil erosion. Cover crops also adds to the bio content of the soil (almost 7 tons per hectare), he said.
Sri T U Kuruvilla MLA presided over the meeting. Sri. P C Thomas ex MP, Sri M J Jacob, Sri. P K Kurian, Sri. Matew Varghese and Sri. Monichan also addressed the attendees.

Website of Rubber Board: http://rubberboard.org.in/