Optimizing Tapping-Tree Density of Rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) Plantations in South China

Abstract

Tapping-tree density in rubber plantations affects the production of dry rubber. Farmers can estimate rubber productivity when they know with certainty the number of tapping trees within a plantation and can therefore increase productivity through optimized planting schematics. Historical data on planting distance between trees and between rows, planting density (trees/ha) and tapping-tree density (number of trees under tapping for latex harvest per hectare) from 1952 to 2014 have been collected for plantations in the Hainan, Yunnan and Guangdong provinces of South China. A plantation survey was conducted to collect more detailed data on current tapping tree and planting densities in various plantations in the three provinces. Planting density and row spacing are found to have increased with rubber tree planting time and plant spacing to have declined from 1952 to 2014. Tapping-tree density of rubber plantations from 1955 to 1995 in South China ranges from 270 to 345 tree/ha, averaging 300 trees/ha. Strong typhoons and cold snaps are important drivers of fluctuations in tapping-tree density. The factors driving tapping-tree density are similar across the three provinces but the degree of change differs between provinces. Tapping panel dryness (due to tapping beyond the natural limit of the rubber tree productivity), severe wind damage and cold damage are the major factors resulting in loss of tapping trees in plantations in South China. These results suggest that a combination of environmental management for extreme weather and targeted breeding could improve tapping-tree density in rubber plantation and therefore dry rubber yield per unit area.