RUBBER

Climate and Soil

Climate

1. Rainfall of 2000 to 3000 mm evenly distributed without any marked dry season and with 125 to 150 rainy days per annum
2. Maximum temperature of about 29-34oC and minimum of about 20oC or more with a monthly mean of 25-28oC
3. High atmospheric humidity of the order of 80%
4. Bright sunshine amounting to about 2000 h per annum at the rate of 6 h per day through all the months
5. Absence of strong winds

Soil

1. Should have a minimum depth of one metre without any intervening hardpan or impenetrable layer
2. Water table should be well below one metre so that at least one metre of soil with good aeration, essential for root penetration is available
3. Soil should be well drained. In marshy areas, owing to poor physical properties and waterlogged conditions growth of rubber is always found to be very poor
4. Generally, soil in the rubber tract is highly weathered and are mostly lateritic. Sedimentary types and non-lateritic red and alluvial soils are also seen in some non-traditional areas. Red soil found in some areas is characterized by reddish to brown colour and fine loamy texture.

Last updated: 24-05-2008