Weekly Once Tapping Should Benefit Grower & Tapper

A system under which the grower gets the benefit of reduced cost and the tapper gets engagement throughout the week without losing any income has to be evolved for the successful implementation of the Rubber Board’s weekly once tapping system

The Rubber Board has come out with a new weekly once tapping system for rubber trees. The Press Note of the Rubber Board does not specify clearly the aim of the new system. However, it is quite obvious that this is aimed at reducing the cost of production. It is claimed that by switching over to this system, the total annual yield is not reduced and, in some cases, may even increase vis-à-vis the traditional system of alternate daily or once in three-day tapping.

Needs clarity

It is also specified that the desired results can be achieved only by adhering strictly to certain prerequisites such as rain guarding of trees with required protective measures, correct system and techniques of tapping, stimulation of the trees, sticking strictly to the time schedule and so on. It is not known whether this inference is based on extensive field trials done in this regard as it is the usual accepted practice. But since the suggestion has come out from the Rubber Research Institute of India with vast experience and expertise in rubber research, let us not open up a Pandora’s Box on its scientific feasibility. On the other hand, an attempt is made here to look into the practical side of its adoption on a wider scale in the plantation industry, especially in the small holding sector.

Good proposition