Abstract
Production of rubber from Hevea brasiliensis (Willd. ex A. Juss) Muell.-Arg. (Euphorbiaceae) is greatest in southeastern Asia where the South American leaf blight disease is absent. Except for the Pacific Piedmont of Guatemala, plantation production in the Americas is limited severely by the now widespread presence of the pathogen Microcyclus ulei (P. Henn.) Arx. Mean latex yields from trees growing on the Piedmont approximate those of Indonesia and Malaysia, with little evidence of damage from leaf blight. The scope and scale of the Guatemalan anomaly suggest that environmentally modulated escape rather than previously assumed disease resistance may be the key to successful production of natural rubber in this hemisphere. The Guatemalan industry is presently well-organized to service regional markets in Mexico and the Caribbean Basin. Given due attention to environmental analysis, it may serve also as a model for the development of regional production facilities in other parts of tropical America.
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