Performance of clone RRII 105 in kuttanaad taluk of Alleppey district

Abstract

An attempt was made to assess the performance of clone RRII 105 in Kuttanad taluk. Data were collected through personal contacts and interview with the help of a pretested interview schedule. For the study, all the units in Kuttanad were selected. The results revealed that garden lands were suitable for rubber cultivation because of the high fertility of the soil and conducive climatic features. The growers adopted a high population density per unit area. All the growers used clone RRII 105 for planting and majority used polybagged plants. The study also revealed that growth of plants were satisfactory even if the stand per hectare was high. Another interesting factor noted was that the fungal diseases were very negligible. Weed growth was found to be little due to prolonged floods (7 to 15 days) during July- August. The average yield obtained was high when compared to the national average. As the growers preferred high intensity tapping, tapping panel dryness showed an increasing trend. The study showed that the growers in this area are not strictly following the management practices recommended by the Rubber Board. The studies, thus indicated that rubber cultivation is economic and viable in garden lands of Kuttanad taluk. Field studies are to be initiated to find out the optimum population density per hectare and manorial practices for enhancing productivity in the taluk.