Rain guarding in 40000 ha; rubber yield up by 14000 tonnes
Our Bureau
AGARTALA, September 18, 2019: As a result of the increased level of adoption of rain guarding by rubber growers, NR production during the month of July 2019 went up by 14000 tonnes on a year on year basis. The production recorded in July was 60000 tonnes while it was 46000 tonnes in July 2018.
The harvesting operations in rubber in Kerala get hindered during rainy months resulting in steep fall in production. Confronted with a drastic reduction in production during the last few years, the Rubber Board took steps to ensure uninterrupted tapping during the monsoon period. The Rubber Board companies in Kerala procured rain guarding materials like polythene sheets and adhesive in bulk and distributed among small growers to promote rain guarding. As a result, nearly one lakh ha of plantations were rain guarded more than the previous year. This is what was reflected in the increased production in July.
Fall in production was one of the major concerns of the Indian rubber sector. This is mainly attributed to high percentage of untapped area, low adoption level of modern techniques like rainguarding and unscientific tapping methods. The present level of low price also has contributed to this. For addressing this issue of unharvested plantations, the Rubber Board has recently introduced a programme for adoption of such units in the small holding sector. The Board in association with its own companies and Rubber Producers’ Societies would take over such untapped holdings and arrange for the maintenance, tapping, processing and marketing of produce. Societies and companies have so far successfully adopted 1600 ha plantations during the last few months. This arrangement has resulted in reducing cost of production and in increasing the quantity and quality of the rubber produced.
The Board is also popularizing techniques like low frequency tapping (including once -a -week tapping) and controlled upward tapping to further improve production and bringing down the cost. The Board anticipates an annual production of 7.5 lakh tonnes this fiscal.