Rubber Species To Grow South West.Th

[jakfr]

g,day

anybody having informations about the best rubber species (251,24,600,235,311,...) to grow in the south west th about 3000mm of rain yearly, thanks for kind answers.....

[jamescollister]

Hi there

Don't know if I can be of much help, but here is what I know. To start with I have searhed to net to find a simpletons guide to rubber tree clones and have not found anything that explains the pros and cons of the various types. We have 600s and 251s the 600s are your basic tree grown through out the rubber areas of Thailand. They seem to be the easiest to maintain. The 251s are a better rubber producer and appear to out produce the 600s by a factor of 2. Big problem with the 251s is they fall over in wind. We had over 1000 fall in one night. Luckily I was on site the next day and got to work with ropes, tractor and men. Only lost a few trees, but if I had not been there to stake them up, all would have been lost. The trees at the time were about 3 years old and since then we have not had a problem.

Best advice is go see your local agriculture advisor ask him out for a meal and some Johnny. He will at least know which types are grow in your area and which appear to be best suited.

One other thing it is not so much about the amount of rain, but over how long a period it takes to fall. A long dry season is the problem. If the rains all come at once then nothing you will have a shorter tapping season. Jim

[tothemark]

You may wish to consider JVP80.

We have just cleared 10 rai with the aim of planting JVP80's this year in order to determine what replacements we will be planting for our Rimm 600's on the main plantation in 8-10 years time.

Although expensive, JVP80's grow faster, have a more dense canopy, better drought and disease resistant and a higher latex yield.

But and there is always a but, this strain is only a few years old and although there are some that have already planted it, no one is in a position to report on its life span or yield as yet.

Depending upon your location and your topography it may be advisable to mix your plantation, perhaps 600's on the perimeter, 251's in the center and JVP's on 40% of your remaining land, then all your eggs are not in one basket.

Here in Bueng Kan Province the local agriculture department are not intending to introduce/promote JVP for another two years and I expect ours will be watched with keen interest.

The JVP's are difficult to source in some areas, here included and if any one else has planted these or has supply sources for this seedling please let me know.

Alternatively pm me in 7 years and i'll let you know the yield