Information on Rubber Tree Plants
Rubber trees, Hevea brasiliensis, grow mostly in humid, tropical countries. It is grown for the latex it produces, from which natural rubber is extracted. Tapping the rubber tree involves making small slices into the bark to allow the sap to flow. Because natural rubber is a strategic resource, many segments of the economy would experience great difficulties, according to the article, "Alternative Sources of Natural Rubber," at EPOBIO.net. Does this Spark an idea?
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About Rubber Trees
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Rubber trees are tall with straight trunks. Its bark is smooth and usually gray. The tree normally grows to only 82 feet during cultivation, but in the wild, it grows up to 130 feet. A perennial tree in nature, the rubber tree lives for up to 100 years. Perennial literally means "through the years", and it refers to plants that live past two years.
Natural Habitat
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The natural habitat of the rubber tree is located in Brazil, although it has been cultivated in mostly humid, tropical countries. Blight in the early 20th century greatly slowed down cultivation in Brazil. Blight is an endemic fungal disease that affects plants. Since the 1910s, there have been many efforts to cultivate rubber trees in South and Central America, but they have been unsuccessful. In "South American Leaf Blight of the Rubber Tree (Hevea spp.): New Steps in Plant Domestication using Physiological Features and Molecular Markers," Reinhard Lieberei notes that the uses of modern fungicides and improved application techniques have not done much to prevent dieback and major tree losses. Blight does not affect rubber trees in other areas, such as South and Southeast Asia.
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Habitat Needs
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Rubber trees grow best in climates that get regular rainfall, annually 79 to 158 inches, with temperatures ranging from 75 to 83 degrees Fahrenheit. However, with genetic engineering, rubber trees now grow in areas with rainfall of 59 inches a year. They can even survive dry seasons up to five months. The rubber tree grows best with protection from high winds.
Distribution
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Asia provides nearly 95 percent of the world's production of natural rubber, with Thailand as the first producer. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the areas that provide the best habitat for rubber tree plantations are the Amazon Basin, Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia, the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java and Kalimantan in Indonesia, West-Central Africa, and the Southwestern part of Sri Lanka.
Disease
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One of the biggest threats to the world's rubber tree population is rubber tree bark necrosis, or cell death. Small gray, round patches appear on the bark and thin cracks in the bark expose the tree. Recent studies show that this disease is the result of exogenous stresses and physiological weaknesses. Successful attempts have been made to curb the effects of tree bark necrosis on rubber tree plantations by applying a multidisciplinary method. Some of the necessary steps to prevent necrosis are using mineral-rich soil, providing adequate water, and avoiding over-tapping of trees. Researchers have realized that the grafted trees have physiological malfunctions that make them more vulnerable to necrosis. According to Science Daily's "Causes of rubber tree necrosis identified," Researchers are applying genetic approaches, with the goal of probing early signs of the disease and making field detection more reliable.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit rubber accordeon image by Michel Essiambre from Fotolia.com
