Rubber Tree Spacing?

[mcgbilly]

Can anyone advise what the best spacing for rubber trees would be for up in the north? How many trees per rai? I have looked around and see all kinds of spacing distances stated on the internet. I know the spacing distance would be an important factor in how well the trees grow and produce as well as where the land is located. It seems to vary anywhere from 1 meter to 3.5 meters distance between trees in a row and 2.5meters to 7 meters distance between rows. That is an awfull lot of variance. It would obviously make a big difference in the numbers of trees you can plant per rai.

Also, what could I expect as a typical yeild for the first year production for a 7 year old tree? 1/2 kilo?

Thanks for any help.

[Rubberman]

Can anyone advise what the best spacing for rubber trees would be for up in the north? How many trees per rai? I have looked around and see all kinds of spacing distances stated on the internet. I know the spacing distance would be an important factor in how well the trees grow and produce as well as where the land is located. It seems to vary anywhere from 1 meter to 3.5 meters distance between trees in a row and 2.5meters to 7 meters distance between rows. That is an awfull lot of variance. It would obviously make a big difference in the numbers of trees you can plant per rai.

Also, what could I expect as a typical yeild for the first year production for a 7 year old tree? 1/2 kilo?

Thanks for any help.

Hi mcgbilly,

Since you ask about the North I can comment on my research and practice but I have no yeild yet to base actual experience on. RRIT consultants and local wisdom backed by my recently published "Handbook on Rubber" suggests that 3m between trees x 7m between rows is optimum for healthy trees and yeild per rai, thats about 76 trees per rai. Also it allows for interplanting when trees are young and allows a tractor to pass easily between trees and 4 passes (two up and two down each row for ploughing and scraping off grass with a blade or 7 disc attachment. Closer than that and yeild would be adversely affected by overlapping crowns and soil degradation, I am told. We have planted this way on 120 rai in Nong Khai province and will start tapping next year. So far it looks good. We have neighbors who have planted 5m x 3m and 6m x 2.5m but the trees seem smaller and not so happy.

If you can find the book I mentioned above (I bought it in SE-ED Books) it gives tables for yeilds by variety for each year of production and lots of advice on planting, fertilizers soils etc. and is recently published. It also ties in with the various pamphlets published by RRIT. I am very keen to contact other planters in the north, particularly Nong Khai area east of Phon Phisai, so if you hear of any please let me know. There is a lot of rubber in this area and many nurseries as well as the RRIT station near Phon Phisai, but I have yet to find another farang rubber farmer here.

Where are you thinking of planting?

[stoneman]

Can anyone advise what the best spacing for rubber trees would be for up in the north? How many trees per rai? I have looked around and see all kinds of spacing distances stated on the internet. I know the spacing distance would be an important factor in how well the trees grow and produce as well as where the land is located. It seems to vary anywhere from 1 meter to 3.5 meters distance between trees in a row and 2.5meters to 7 meters distance between rows. That is an awfull lot of variance. It would obviously make a big difference in the numbers of trees you can plant per rai.

Also, what could I expect as a typical yeild for the first year production for a 7 year old tree? 1/2 kilo?

Thanks for any help.

Hi mcgbilly,

Since you ask about the North I can comment on my research and practice but I have no yeild yet to base actual experience on. RRIT consultants and local wisdom backed by my recently published "Handbook on Rubber" suggests that 3m between trees x 7m between rows is optimum for healthy trees and yeild per rai, thats about 76 trees per rai. Also it allows for interplanting when trees are young and allows a tractor to pass easily between trees and 4 passes (two up and two down each row for ploughing and scraping off grass with a blade or 7 disc attachment. Closer than that and yeild would be adversely affected by overlapping crowns and soil degradation, I am told. We have planted this way on 120 rai in Nong Khai province and will start tapping next year. So far it looks good. We have neighbors who have planted 5m x 3m and 6m x 2.5m but the trees seem smaller and not so happy.

If you can find the book I mentioned above (I bought it in SE-ED Books) it gives tables for yeilds by variety for each year of production and lots of advice on planting, fertilizers soils etc. and is recently published. It also ties in with the various pamphlets published by RRIT. I am very keen to contact other planters in the north, particularly Nong Khai area east of Phon Phisai, so if you hear of any please let me know. There is a lot of rubber in this area and many nurseries as well as the RRIT station near Phon Phisai, but I have yet to find another farang rubber farmer here.

Where are you thinking of planting?

Interested in finding this book...Which one of their stores did you find this in? Is the book written in English ot Thai?

Thanks

Stoneman

[mcgbilly]

Can anyone advise what the best spacing for rubber trees would be for up in the north? How many trees per rai? I have looked around and see all kinds of spacing distances stated on the internet. I know the spacing distance would be an important factor in how well the trees grow and produce as well as where the land is located. It seems to vary anywhere from 1 meter to 3.5 meters distance between trees in a row and 2.5meters to 7 meters distance between rows. That is an awfull lot of variance. It would obviously make a big difference in the numbers of trees you can plant per rai.

Also, what could I expect as a typical yeild for the first year production for a 7 year old tree? 1/2 kilo?

Thanks for any help.

Hi mcgbilly,

Since you ask about the North I can comment on my research and practice but I have no yeild yet to base actual experience on. RRIT consultants and local wisdom backed by my recently published "Handbook on Rubber" suggests that 3m between trees x 7m between rows is optimum for healthy trees and yeild per rai, thats about 76 trees per rai. Also it allows for interplanting when trees are young and allows a tractor to pass easily between trees and 4 passes (two up and two down each row for ploughing and scraping off grass with a blade or 7 disc attachment. Closer than that and yeild would be adversely affected by overlapping crowns and soil degradation, I am told. We have planted this way on 120 rai in Nong Khai province and will start tapping next year. So far it looks good. We have neighbors who have planted 5m x 3m and 6m x 2.5m but the trees seem smaller and not so happy.

If you can find the book I mentioned above (I bought it in SE-ED Books) it gives tables for yeilds by variety for each year of production and lots of advice on planting, fertilizers soils etc. and is recently published. It also ties in with the various pamphlets published by RRIT. I am very keen to contact other planters in the north, particularly Nong Khai area east of Phon Phisai, so if you hear of any please let me know. There is a lot of rubber in this area and many nurseries as well as the RRIT station near Phon Phisai, but I have yet to find another farang rubber farmer here.

Where are you thinking of planting?

Interested in finding this book...Which one of their stores did you find this in? Is the book written in English ot Thai?

Thanks

Stoneman

Thanks Rubberman,

I am planning to buy some land in the Udonthani area. Wow, only 76 trees per rai huh? Doesnt seem to make for much rubber production for 1 rai. At the rates I have seen (3 kilos per year, per tree) and being using an optimistic 75 baht per kilo, thats only about 17,100 (10,260 baht after deducting 40% for tappers). Going to take alot of rai to bring in enough to make a decent profit.

I did find some info somewhere about different strains of trees to plant that will give a higher yeild than the current (apparently) standard PRIM 600. I can't seem to find much info on the different strains that produce more. I think there was one that post somewhere that said a strain RIM 280 would produce up to 80% more rubber per tree. (could be less, not sure). I will try to find that book though. Thanks for the tip and the spacing info.

[Rubberman]

Can anyone advise what the best spacing for rubber trees would be for up in the north? How many trees per rai? I have looked around and see all kinds of spacing distances stated on the internet. I know the spacing distance would be an important factor in how well the trees grow and produce as well as where the land is located. It seems to vary anywhere from 1 meter to 3.5 meters distance between trees in a row and 2.5meters to 7 meters distance between rows. That is an awfull lot of variance. It would obviously make a big difference in the numbers of trees you can plant per rai.

Also, what could I expect as a typical yeild for the first year production for a 7 year old tree? 1/2 kilo?

Thanks for any help.

Stoneman - The shop was the Udon Thaani branch of SE-ED Books and its in Thai but lots of self explanatory pictures and tables. Your GF or wife can translate as mine did!!

The new high yeild strain that mcbbilly had heard about was most probably the RRIT 251 strain which is now being produced by most of the nurseries along the Mekong from Phon Phisai to Bunggarn. Its become very popular with more adventurous planters recently because the yeilds are now being proven. You may need to order it well in advance since the stocks last year were completely sold out early on.

Hi mcgbilly,

Since you ask about the North I can comment on my research and practice but I have no yeild yet to base actual experience on. RRIT consultants and local wisdom backed by my recently published "Handbook on Rubber" suggests that 3m between trees x 7m between rows is optimum for healthy trees and yeild per rai, thats about 76 trees per rai. Also it allows for interplanting when trees are young and allows a tractor to pass easily between trees and 4 passes (two up and two down each row for ploughing and scraping off grass with a blade or 7 disc attachment. Closer than that and yeild would be adversely affected by overlapping crowns and soil degradation, I am told. We have planted this way on 120 rai in Nong Khai province and will start tapping next year. So far it looks good. We have neighbors who have planted 5m x 3m and 6m x 2.5m but the trees seem smaller and not so happy.

If you can find the book I mentioned above (I bought it in SE-ED Books) it gives tables for yeilds by variety for each year of production and lots of advice on planting, fertilizers soils etc. and is recently published. It also ties in with the various pamphlets published by RRIT. I am very keen to contact other planters in the north, particularly Nong Khai area east of Phon Phisai, so if you hear of any please let me know. There is a lot of rubber in this area and many nurseries as well as the RRIT station near Phon Phisai, but I have yet to find another farang rubber farmer here.

Where are you thinking of planting?

Interested in finding this book...Which one of their stores did you find this in? Is the book written in English ot Thai?

Thanks

Stoneman

[stoneman]

Stoneman - The shop was the Udon Thaani branch of SE-ED Books and its in Thai but lots of self explanatory pictures and tables. Your GF or wife can translate as mine did!!

Interested in finding this book...Which one of their stores did you find this in? Is the book written in English ot Thai?

Thanks

Stoneman

Thanks for the info..Will attempt to find it in one of their stores here in BKK..

[thoongfoned]

hi,

the spacing is some thing that has always bugged me. we have a long way to go before tapping but this is what we have done.

on the first plot we went with what the thai people told us 3x7 and on the second 2years later i told the works to do 3x4, but in the end it is more like 4x4.

the 3x7 is alot easyer to get the tractor in and work cos it leaves loads of room between the trees.

the 3x4 (4x4) we got the tractor in the first year to turn the land, but now i choose to not to because of the root structure.

the way i see it is that you will lose trees to for any number of reasons and also some trees just dont grow that well so when you get nearer the tapping time you will be thinnning the trees out. the closer spacing that we have tryed lets us lose trees and in the end we should still have a good number to tap.

one of the only books i could find (in english) is "the tropical agriculturalist" isbn: 0 333 68355 2. in the book it refers to "village" size and "industrial" sized plantations. it says that on village size plant up to 700 trees/ha (very dense), plan to plant 500/550 trees/ha to ensure that 400 come into tapping. the book mainly refers to the GT1 clone. oh yes i bought the book in the uk.

only time will tell.

[mcgbilly]

Thanks Thoongfoned, Rubberman and Stoneman,

What would you say to figure for % of loss between the initial planting and the 7th year? I have read somewhere (this forum, I thik) that you should figure about 25% loss. Seems kind of high to me. Also, what is the #1 and #2 cause for the losses? Improper planting? Lack of proper irrigation/water? Improper care?

Seems to me, that any 25% loss could be reduced with proper care and concentrateing on reducing the losses.

Some more questions for you or someone else that may know;

What would you estimate the yearly costs for the first 7 unproductve years, to be? I know someone will have to keep the weeds down, fertilize, prune and work the land for all that time. I believe equipment will have to be either rented or bought, but that should be seperate, I think.

I am thinking that it might be a good opportunity for my Thai brother in-law, to earn a living. (I am sure I would not have him do the pruneing though!). If he could earn about 6-8,000 baht a month taking care of the land and trees, (while learning as well) that would be great for him and not make him so dependant on the family as it stands now. He's a great guy, just no education and no real trade.

Would that 6-8,000 baht idea be cost effective concerning the overall financial picture in your opinion?

Thanks for the helpful info before also.

hi,

the spacing is some thing that has always bugged me. we have a long way to go before tapping but this is what we have done.

on the first plot we went with what the thai people told us 3x7 and on the second 2years later i told the works to do 3x4, but in the end it is more like 4x4.

the 3x7 is alot easyer to get the tractor in and work cos it leaves loads of room between the trees.

the 3x4 (4x4) we got the tractor in the first year to turn the land, but now i choose to not to because of the root structure.

the way i see it is that you will lose trees to for any number of reasons and also some trees just dont grow that well so when you get nearer the tapping time you will be thinnning the trees out. the closer spacing that we have tryed lets us lose trees and in the end we should still have a good number to tap.

one of the only books i could find (in english) is "the tropical agriculturalist" isbn: 0 333 68355 2. in the book it refers to "village" size and "industrial" sized plantations. it says that on village size plant up to 700 trees/ha (very dense), plan to plant 500/550 trees/ha to ensure that 400 come into tapping. the book mainly refers to the GT1 clone. oh yes i bought the book in the uk.

only time will tell.

[thoongfoned]

hi mcgbilly,

only going from what i have seen read and done: one person per day will clear approx 200sq metre of ok weed growth and add vits. (seen over the years) the first 2 years are the most labour intensive. again have to look all the time to keep on top of prunning first yaer or two. up to you really when the first crown start to develop on each tree, can wait for it to happen or induce it. increase the vits every year, again up to what you think/told/read????

loss i would say from looking that termites are the worst around our area but there are diffrent pests that attack the roots and leaves. 25% loss i not sure but i had a high percentage loss in mind when i planted the second lot of our trees, hence the denser stand. good to hear from producing people. got to think too thatsome trees just dont grow thatwell and in the end you will take these out!

money i think that you could throw loads at the trees but you gotta think about how and when it gonna come back to you, like any "money making sceam" you gotta know when enough is enough.

[stoneman]

Thanks Thoongfoned, Rubberman and Stoneman,

What would you say to figure for % of loss between the initial planting and the 7th year? I have read somewhere (this forum, I thik) that you should figure about 25% loss. Seems kind of high to me. Also, what is the #1 and #2 cause for the losses? Improper planting? Lack of proper irrigation/water? Improper care?

Seems to me, that any 25% loss could be reduced with proper care and concentrateing on reducing the losses.

Some more questions for you or someone else that may know;

What would you estimate the yearly costs for the first 7 unproductve years, to be? I know someone will have to keep the weeds down, fertilize, prune and work the land for all that time. I believe equipment will have to be either rented or bought, but that should be seperate, I think.

I am thinking that it might be a good opportunity for my Thai brother in-law, to earn a living. (I am sure I would not have him do the pruneing though!). If he could earn about 6-8,000 baht a month taking care of the land and trees, (while learning as well) that would be great for him and not make him so dependant on the family as it stands now. He's a great guy, just no education and no real trade.

Would that 6-8,000 baht idea be cost effective concerning the overall financial picture in your opinion?

Thanks for the helpful info before also.

hi,

the spacing is some thing that has always bugged me. we have a long way to go before tapping but this is what we have done.

on the first plot we went with what the thai people told us 3x7 and on the second 2years later i told the works to do 3x4, but in the end it is more like 4x4.

the 3x7 is alot easyer to get the tractor in and work cos it leaves loads of room between the trees.

the 3x4 (4x4) we got the tractor in the first year to turn the land, but now i choose to not to because of the root structure.

the way i see it is that you will lose trees to for any number of reasons and also some trees just dont grow that well so when you get nearer the tapping time you will be thinnning the trees out. the closer spacing that we have tryed lets us lose trees and in the end we should still have a good number to tap.

one of the only books i could find (in english) is "the tropical agriculturalist" isbn: 0 333 68355 2. in the book it refers to "village" size and "industrial" sized plantations. it says that on village size plant up to 700 trees/ha (very dense), plan to plant 500/550 trees/ha to ensure that 400 come into tapping. the book mainly refers to the GT1 clone. oh yes i bought the book in the uk.

only time will tell.

We have one stand that are starting on their 6th year...As to the losses...never really kept track, but I imagine we lost and replaced less that 10% over the first 3 years...We have lost several more over the past few years..water buffalo walked over several...2 or 3 to termites and the wind blew over 2 of them...

We pay a man to take care of fertilizing and keeping the weeds down...It is not a full time job..we pay him 4,000 a month and he does a good job..

Stoneman

[thoongfoned]

hi stone man,

10% thats alot to loose.

now that your trees are at 6 years do you notice alot of diffrence in growth. ie the tapping area? we have some trees that are just 4 years old, the biggest around 32/33cm around and the smallest are 14/16cm. i would say that the larger trees are about 40% of said land with the rest coming above the smaller numbers ie 14/16cm.

the younger trees that we have planted (different plot) 2 years younger are alot more advanced (compared too in age) thwn the older plot. having said that we have let these tree form the first crowns around 2.5/2.8m, some later but have not gone with what i was first told by the family/farmers that the first crowns should begin around 3.5/4m.

just interested in what you have found?

[stoneman]

hi stone man,

10% thats alot to loose.

now that your trees are at 6 years do you notice alot of diffrence in growth. ie the tapping area? we have some trees that are just 4 years old, the biggest around 32/33cm around and the smallest are 14/16cm. i would say that the larger trees are about 40% of said land with the rest coming above the smaller numbers ie 14/16cm.

the younger trees that we have planted (different plot) 2 years younger are alot more advanced (compared too in age) thwn the older plot. having said that we have let these tree form the first crowns around 2.5/2.8m, some later but have not gone with what i was first told by the family/farmers that the first crowns should begin around 3.5/4m.

just interested in what you have found?

10% of this group would be less than 100 trees...at the time, trees were 13 baht each(and 40 baht to the dollar)..As to the diameter, they are all pretty much the same..all in the range of 60-70 cm.All the crowns on all of our trees are over 3 meters...The guy we have incharge takes care of that personally and they all are very identical..

Stoneman

Edited April 7, 2008 by stoneman

[thoongfoned]

hi stone man,

the trees sound good (good sizes) and to have them all around the same size is very good, your man must be good at his job!

after looking around many working plantation i have seen some really small trees being tapped i think is why when you talk with people you tend to get crazy diffrences in what people are yeildind from there trees.

thanks.

[stoneman]

hi stone man,

the trees sound good (good sizes) and to have them all around the same size is very good, your man must be good at his job!

after looking around many working plantation i have seen some really small trees being tapped i think is why when you talk with people you tend to get crazy diffrences in what people are yeildind from there trees.

thanks.

We also have a few small trees, but these were planted to replace trees that had died and in those cases, we will not tap the tree until it is at least 7 years old...

Stoneman

[Rubberman]

hi stone man,

the trees sound good (good sizes) and to have them all around the same size is very good, your man must be good at his job!

after looking around many working plantation i have seen some really small trees being tapped i think is why when you talk with people you tend to get crazy diffrences in what people are yeildind from there trees.

thanks.

We also have a few small trees, but these were planted to replace trees that had died and in those cases, we will not tap the tree until it is at least 7 years old...

Stoneman

Hi Stoneman, Thoongfoned and mcgbilly,

I missed a few days of your correspondence, now caught up. I pay my farm manager (actually my much younger brother in law) Baht 6,000 per month to look after the two plots totalling 120 rai and I also provide his house and vegetable garden. He is promised a share of profits when we start to make them. He keeps acurate accounts and calls me on the phone if I am in Bangkok about all major issues. I provide his phone and call costs too. He has staff to help as required and I do the tractor work when needed.

Tree losses have been well below 10% over the first three years and most of those were in the first few months where roots did not get established through water shortage at that vital time. We have always re-planted immediately and have now 100% of the land area fully planted. If a young tree looks unhealthy despite the care we take I replace it with a fresh sapling. I do think that the planting regime is important. Some of our neighbours plant by taking a swing or two with their "johb" and sticking the little root bundle in the hole and covering it over. Their trees grow slowly, some wither away and they all look spindly and weak!! We drill each tree pit with a tractor attached drill to 60cm deep and 50cm diameter, leave the pit to weather for a few weeks and then back fill one third depth sprinkling in a fertilizer mixed with various root protectors and other nutrients, plant the tree with the graft facing to the east and fill up with topsoil and fertilizer. This is done at the start of the wet season so the trees get at least three months of rain, mostly five months. We fertilize every three months except during the dry season for the first twelve months, then twice a year at the beginning and end of the wet season. Our trees grow fast and since 80% are RRIT251 we are confident of tapping after five years. The other 20% are RRIM600 and take seven years to reach full tapping stage. As I have said before, we plant 7m x 3m.

Since we will only start to tap next year I can't say anything about yeild and have no experience to offer! We will see.

We have kept detailed accounts of all expenses to date and if that is of real interest I am happy to share it, probably better off-line by e-mail. What I would like to know from anyone with experience is how many trees per night should I expect tappers to do. Per man hour or per man night. Also what are the key factors in tapping properly? How deep, how high on the tree to start, how long is the cut (quarter or half round) and when is best?? etc? Later this year I and my team will go to school at the RRIT station to learn the skills but I would greatly appreciate any input from you guys who do it properly!

Rubberman

[chris21]

Hi Rubberman

Great name, wish I had thought of that one, I get called lubberman at work, any way read your posting was very interesting, your name is not Mike by the way is it??

I am interested in the drill you have for you tractor where did you get it from ?? I am about to plant 4000 trees in 2 weeks time and a drill machine would be great?

Chris21

hi stone man,

the trees sound good (good sizes) and to have them all around the same size is very good, your man must be good at his job!

after looking around many working plantation i have seen some really small trees being tapped i think is why when you talk with people you tend to get crazy diffrences in what people are yeildind from there trees.

thanks.

We also have a few small trees, but these were planted to replace trees that had died and in those cases, we will not tap the tree until it is at least 7 years old...

Stoneman

Hi Stoneman, Thoongfoned and mcgbilly,

I missed a few days of your correspondence, now caught up. I pay my farm manager (actually my much younger brother in law) Baht 6,000 per month to look after the two plots totalling 120 rai and I also provide his house and vegetable garden. He is promised a share of profits when we start to make them. He keeps acurate accounts and calls me on the phone if I am in Bangkok about all major issues. I provide his phone and call costs too. He has staff to help as required and I do the tractor work when needed.

Tree losses have been well below 10% over the first three years and most of those were in the first few months where roots did not get established through water shortage at that vital time. We have always re-planted immediately and have now 100% of the land area fully planted. If a young tree looks unhealthy despite the care we take I replace it with a fresh sapling. I do think that the planting regime is important. Some of our neighbours plant by taking a swing or two with their "johb" and sticking the little root bundle in the hole and covering it over. Their trees grow slowly, some wither away and they all look spindly and weak!! We drill each tree pit with a tractor attached drill to 60cm deep and 50cm diameter, leave the pit to weather for a few weeks and then back fill one third depth sprinkling in a fertilizer mixed with various root protectors and other nutrients, plant the tree with the graft facing to the east and fill up with topsoil and fertilizer. This is done at the start of the wet season so the trees get at least three months of rain, mostly five months. We fertilize every three months except during the dry season for the first twelve months, then twice a year at the beginning and end of the wet season. Our trees grow fast and since 80% are RRIT251 we are confident of tapping after five years. The other 20% are RRIM600 and take seven years to reach full tapping stage. As I have said before, we plant 7m x 3m.

Since we will only start to tap next year I can't say anything about yeild and have no experience to offer! We will see.

We have kept detailed accounts of all expenses to date and if that is of real interest I am happy to share it, probably better off-line by e-mail. What I would like to know from anyone with experience is how many trees per night should I expect tappers to do. Per man hour or per man night. Also what are the key factors in tapping properly? How deep, how high on the tree to start, how long is the cut (quarter or half round) and when is best?? etc? Later this year I and my team will go to school at the RRIT station to learn the skills but I would greatly appreciate any input from you guys who do it properly!

Rubberman

[Khonwan]

I am interested in the drill you have for you tractor where did you get it from ?? I am about to plant 4000 trees in 2 weeks time and a drill machine would be great?

Chris21

I'm possibly too far from you (I'm in Nakhon Sawan), but I have one for sale: 19,000 baht.

Rgds

Khonwan

[chris21]

I am interested in the drill you have for you tractor where did you get it from ?? I am about to plant 4000 trees in 2 weeks time and a drill machine would be great?

Chris21

I'm possibly too far from you (I'm in Nakhon Sawan), but I have one for sale: 19,000 baht.

Rgds

Khonwan

Hi Khonwan 19,000 that sound,s ok my tractor ia a Ford 4600 do you think it would fit. have you got any pictures? Nakhon Sawan ??? I will have to kook the map for that one, I am in Khon kean.

My email is [email protected]

Chris21

[svenivan]

Hi guys,

I bought some land 2 years ago up in Chiang Rai. There were 500 rubertrees 2 years old in one part of the land when I bought the place.

So far I have lost 100 of them. We had a fire going over the place last year in February and where it was as worst I have lost most of the trees.

Some died from termites.

When it comes to pruning I would say it is OK up to max 2.5 meter. The ones that I pruned higher are not growing that thick.

When pruning, NEVER bend the tree to reach!

What I have heard is that you should put some chemicals in the bottom of the whole when planting to prevent attack from termites.

The former owner and the one that planted the trees were quite disorganized. In some places trees are 1.5 m from each other, and 3 m between the lines, in other places more like 3 m by 4 m.

The trees that are most healthy are the ones growing in a steep sloop. The ones that are small and where most have died are on flat land.