ISBN: - 978-93-88936-09-5 the activities in connection with the cultivation of rubber, maintenance, operation, harvesting, processing and marketing. Rubber plantation provides the principal raw material required for manufacturing of variety of rubber products ranging from toy balloons to tyres for giant earth moving equipment’s. In India commercial cultivation of rubber was started in 1902 by European plants at Thattekad near Alwaye. The plantation was popularly known as Periyar Syndicate Rubber plantation sector in India employs nearly four lakh persons directly. It is noteworthy that good numbers of women are employed in this sector. Rubber plantation also provides a variety of ancillary products like honey, seed oil, seed cake and rubber wood. Being a tree crop, it has tremendous potential for eco-restoration. 3.2 NATURAL RUBBER Natural Rubber (NR) is the unique renewable resource of nature. Though rubber has been found in the latex over 2000 species of plant, Hevea Brasiliensis is the most important commercial source of natural rubber for reasons of high yield and low impurities. It is commonly known as rubber tree. Natural rubber is a tough material which possesses properties of plasticity, resistance to electricity, adhesiveness and elasticity. NR constitutes the basic raw material for more than 50000 different articles for everyday use. This has made rubber industry the second largest in the world next to iron and steel So NR plays an important role in the industrial and economic development of the country. 3.3.CULTIVATION The cultivation of is chief means of livelihood for millions of people in many rubber growing countries of the far east, who depend directly or indirectly on wages or profits received from the production of rubber plantation . 3.4 METHODS OF CULTIVATION 3.4.1 Preparation of land: Rubber plantations in India are mostly on sloppy and undulation hilly lands. Adequate soil conversation measure is necessary when the rubbers are planted in these areas. In south India, the month of June and July are very much suitable for planting rubber, the preparation of land should be finished before that period. The clearing operations should begin early to avoid delay in planting. In slightly undulating areas square or rectangular planting can be adopted. The lines should be taken east - west to get the maximum sunlight. In hilly areas the cutting of planting terraces is advisable to aid soil conservation making continuous terraces from the best protection against erosion. Proper drainage is essential on low lying lands and sloping sides which are less collapsible than vertical sides. 3.4.2 Planting of rubber trees: 61
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