Rubber tree farm question

[stupidfarang]

Hi, my wife has just been given 10 rai and it is planted with 1 year old rubber trees. Anyone on here farm rubber? I want to know what type of fertiliser or organic matter that would help to develop the trees. 

[brianthainess]

They seem to thrive without anything in my area. good option though as loads are being cut to make way for durian, 5yrs and durian won't be worth a lot IMO, also pineapples are grown in-between the rubber trees, no care really needed.   

[stupidfarang]

56 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

They seem to thrive without anything in my area. good option though as loads are being cut to make way for durian, 5yrs and durian won't be worth a lot IMO, also pineapples are grown in-between the rubber trees, no care really needed.   

I agree about the rubber trees and even palm is being cut down so durian can be planted. Malaysia, Indonesia even China is planting Durian so am sure the price will drop one day. I am in Chumphon which grows a lot of durians, now there are massive warehouses are being built around Sawi and Laung Suan by Chinese and they buy the durian and ship them out. The traditional Thai buyer will be squeezed out. Had looked at pineapple but they take a couple of years to fruit, I want something that will help the soil so am looking at corn so there is a small return until the rubber kicks in, and looking at legumes to help the soil. Am no farmer and I do not want to be one, yet happy to help a wee bit to get the soil in good condition

[drtreelove]

On 12/24/2023 at 2:52 AM, stupidfarang said:

I agree about the rubber trees and even palm is being cut down so durian can be planted. Malaysia, Indonesia even China is planting Durian so am sure the price will drop one day. I am in Chumphon which grows a lot of durians, now there are massive warehouses are being built around Sawi and Laung Suan by Chinese and they buy the durian and ship them out. The traditional Thai buyer will be squeezed out. Had looked at pineapple but they take a couple of years to fruit, I want something that will help the soil so am looking at corn so there is a small return until the rubber kicks in, and looking at legumes to help the soil. Am no farmer and I do not want to be one, yet happy to help a wee bit to get the soil in good condition

Mixed species cover cropping. Most beneficial for soil and tree health and least expensive. 

See The Regenerative Agriculture discussion on this forum. 

 

There is a former member on this forum (2009 -2010 maybe) a permaculture advocate, who wrote a book that I think was available as an e-book "Fertilizer For Free",  about cover cropping. I can't remember his name. I'll look for it.

 

But the following videos from Dr Christine Jones  (Australian soil microbiologist) are the most up to date with modern science and practices in my opinion.

 

cover cropping orchards and vineyards

https://youtu.be/PJs8GU1cG30?si=aKmMgXp1oCSDH112

 

why change

https://youtu.be/SYRpFqUlK78?si=iUJnvKVDJtGt5boK

 

[drtreelove]

I had the e-book in my files. Copyright 2014. The author's website is no longer online. 

 

But the orientation is primarily about nitrogen fixation with legume cover crops. There has been so much more evolved information come out in the last 10 years.

fertilizer_for_free.pdf

[Dan O]

On 12/24/2023 at 4:19 PM, stupidfarang said:

Hi, my wife has just been given 10 rai and it is planted with 1 year old rubber trees. Anyone on here farm rubber? I want to know what type of fertiliser or organic matter that would help to develop the trees. 

Do a soil test to determine what you have already in the soil and ph of it. Rubber tree farming is a money pit and time suck (unless you do everything  yourself which is almost impossible) and few make any real income anymore as this crop has outlived the economic times were it was significant. My family has about 30 rai and they barely break even when accounting for everything, but refuse to admit it!   The latest trend in the south is palm for oil and so many farmers are zwit hungry thus year tge handwriting  is on the wall for that

[stupidfarang]

9 hours ago, drtreelove said:

Mixed species cover cropping. Most beneficial for soil and tree health and least expensive. 

See The Regenerative Agriculture discussion on this forum. 

 

There is a former member on this forum (2009 -2010 maybe) a permaculture advocate, who wrote a book that I think was available as an e-book "Fertilizer For Free",  about cover cropping. I can't remember his name. I'll look for it.

 

But the following videos from Dr Christine Jones  (Australian soil microbiologist) are the most up to date with modern science and practices in my opinion.

 

cover cropping orchards and vineyards

https://youtu.be/PJs8GU1cG30?si=aKmMgXp1oCSDH112

 

why change

https://youtu.be/SYRpFqUlK78?si=iUJnvKVDJtGt5boK

 

Hi, Thank you for these links, am now watching as I recover from Christmas lunch. Appreciate your input.

[stupidfarang]

8 hours ago, Dan O said:

Do a soil test to determine what you have already in the soil and ph of it. Rubber tree farming is a money pit and time suck (unless you do everything  yourself which is almost impossible) and few make any real income anymore as this crop has outlived the economic times were it was significant. My family has about 30 rai and they barely break even when accounting for everything, but refuse to admit it!   The latest trend in the south is palm for oil and so many farmers are zwit hungry thus year tge handwriting  is on the wall for that

Hi, am planning on doing a PH test next weekend when we are back in Ranong. The trees are already planted, they cut out the old and replanted, I have no say in what is growen and do not want to upset the family, I will not be sinking much money into the trees and it is not a business I know anything about and my wife has no interest in farming. The wife has been given the 10 rai and we will build a small two bed room house on it which will be rarely used, the family just want her to have a house near the family. I will have a read of the book and see what insights I can gain from it, my plan is minimal looking after the trees as they come with the land, will have someone do all the hard work.

[Dan O]

16 minutes ago, stupidfarang said:

Hi, am planning on doing a PH test next weekend when we are back in Ranong. The trees are already planted, they cut out the old and replanted, I have no say in what is growen and do not want to upset the family, I will not be sinking much money into the trees and it is not a business I know anything about and my wife has no interest in farming. The wife has been given the 10 rai and we will build a small two bed room house on it which will be rarely used, the family just want her to have a house near the family. I will have a read of the book and see what insights I can gain from it, my plan is minimal looking after the trees as they come with the land, will have someone do all the hard work.

I get the family dynamics as i deal with that constantly. I just keep my mouth shut as much as possible and do my own stuff.. You need to do a  full soil test to determine what is the best fertilizer mix to use. Im in NST in the south and the soil is sandy and holds no nitrogen as it just wash away and irrigation well water is too acidic.  If they were replanted in the last 2 to 3 years expect about 30% to die and need to be replanted. Fertilizer, grass cutting and pruning suckers off for the first 4 or 5 years is an ongoing process just to get to the point of starting to cut for rubber milk around year 7 or so. Find a trusted cutter so they don't rip you off as they collect the rubber milk at night and take it to market. They work on a set $ % of what is produced. 

[drtreelove]

On 12/26/2023 at 12:49 AM, stupidfarang said:

Hi, am planning on doing a PH test next weekend when we are back in Ranong. The trees are already planted, they cut out the old and replanted, I have no say in what is growen and do not want to upset the family, I will not be sinking much money into the trees and it is not a business I know anything about and my wife has no interest in farming. The wife has been given the 10 rai and we will build a small two bed room house on it which will be rarely used, the family just want her to have a house near the family. I will have a read of the book and see what insights I can gain from it, my plan is minimal looking after the trees as they come with the land, will have someone do all the hard work.

In my opinion a pH test alone is almost worthless, this is a much misunderstood and misused measurement; so you find out he pH is acidic or alkaline, what are you going to do about it?  Conventional soil testing (SLAN system geared to chemical fertilizer inputs) is inappropriate and obsolete in light of the most up-to-date organic land care and regenerative ag science and practices. 

 

With the questionalble economics of rubber and your non-interest in farming, why put a lot of money into soil testing and Rx amendments?  It takes much more than fertilizer to have a successful plantation, you would need to do a lot of self-study on tree crop management, methods and materials, or maybe decide to just rent or contract out the ag aspect of your land and the rubber production to a neighboring grower. Even intercropping the young rubber plantation with a cash crop will take some farming experience and dedication. 

[stupidfarang]

On 1/4/2024 at 8:48 AM, drtreelove said:

In my opinion a pH test alone is almost worthless, this is a much misunderstood and misused measurement; so you find out he pH is acidic or alkaline, what are you going to do about it?  Conventional soil testing (SLAN system geared to chemical fertilizer inputs) is inappropriate and obsolete in light of the most up-to-date organic land care and regenerative ag science and practices. 

 

With the questionalble economics of rubber and your non-interest in farming, why put a lot of money into soil testing and Rx amendments?  It takes much more than fertilizer to have a successful plantation, you would need to do a lot of self-study on tree crop management, methods and materials, or maybe decide to just rent or contract out the ag aspect of your land and the rubber production to a neighboring grower. Even intercropping the young rubber plantation with a cash crop will take some farming experience and dedication. 

Totally agree. After visiting the site and trying to find answers from the locals, plus the non interest of the wife in the farm, I have chosen to not do anything at all apart from build a small house on it which we will use about six times a year. I am not a farmer, and think it is a waste of time and money for me.  I do appreciate your time and answers, thay have been helpful. Thank you

Edited January 5 by stupidfarang