MSc

Rubber is mainly grown as a rainfed crops and thus its productivity greatly depend on the climatic conditions and the nutrient status of the soil , prevailing in the area. Distinct rainy season and dry season are observed in all rubber growing tracts of India and hence drought management and water conservation practices are of great relevance for this crop. Various management practices are recommended for rubber to conserve the soil moisture and to effectively thrive over the drought conditions.
Kunnathunadu Taluk of Ernakulam District is an area recently brought under rubber cultivation . The rubber growing tracts in this area include wide and varied terrain of land . The farmers in this area are not traditionally rubber growers. The study was made to evaluate the drought management practices adopted by the rubber farmers of kunnathunadu taluk . A survey was conducted , selecting 53 rubber holdings having a sizeable area between 0.5 to 0.5 ha and located all over the Taluk . The drought management and moisture conservation practices in the locality were assessed by studying the topography of land , the depth of soil level of water table and various engineering and vegetative methods adopted for the purpose.
Only very little area (6%) in the surveyed locality had steep terrain where as the others were level or with gentle slope. The soil depth was found to be satisfactory having a depth of 1m or more in most of the cases (72%) . Rocky patches were observed in the sub soil in 23 percent of the surveyed units. Though the pitting was ideal, planting practices adopted by the farmers were found to be not in accordance with the terrain of land. Holdings having steep slope were found to adopt square system as against the recommended practice of contour planting. The farmers of kunnathunadu Taluk are to be made aware of the consequence of defective planting in sloppy areas. The engineering methods adopted for conserving the soil/soil moisture included terracing and pitting. Individual terraces ,contour terraces and continuous terraces were found formed in the locality , of which continuous terraces were more popular and were found practiced in 58 percent of the holdings. Though terracing was common the farmers were found not adhering to the scientific recommendations. It was interesting to note that 7 units with gentle terrain had practiced contour terracing while only 1/3 of the units with gentle terrain had practiced contour terracing while only 1/3 of the units having steep terrain had practiced the same. Defective terracing was observed in 20 percent of the holdings, the defects being more pronounced as inadequate width and slop besides lack of annual repair . However, it was observed that the defects were rather low in area having steep slope.

The practice of providing silt pits so as to make the running water walk was very poor in the surveyed area. Silt pits were observed only in four percent of the holdings and that too with poor maintenance . Shallow depth, improper alignment , Lack of desilting were the defects observed in the locality.
The vegetative methods adopted for drought management included establishment of legume cover and raising of intercrops. Cover crops were observed in 80 percent of the holdings at various stages of establishment . pueraria sp. Is the common cover observed in the locality . Intercrops were found established in 26 percent of the holdings with plantain being the main intercrop. Others included pineapple, ginger and sesamum.
The other drought management practices included planting of polybagged plants , Whitewashing , mulching and providing firebelts. Planting of advanced planting material raised in polybags was done in 92 percent of the holdings . Whitewashing was found adopted in 87 percent of the holdings while mulching was practiced in 58 percent . Fire belts were found provided in 21 percent of the holdings and the practice adopted in these respects were quite scientific in the surveyed area.
Based on the present study it can be concluded that the farmers are aware of the drought management/moisture conservation practices that are to be adopted in rubber. The farmers are more conscious about the fact at early periods of the growth, as evidenced from the details collected for mulching, whitewashing and cover cropping. The farmers are yet to be made more aware of the proper methods of terracing silt pits, stone wall ,etc. Poor adoption of these practices could be due to the high investment that it requires at initial stages and for its later maintenance. The Rubber Board has to seriously look in to this aspect and can take favourable steps like providing incentives or special subsidy schemes considering the terrain of land agroclimate prevailing in the locality