PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGI OF PERENTIAL CROPS

RUBBER: SOIL TILLAGE AND PLANTING METHODE

Name : Fajarani Ulfah

NIM : H0716050

MAJOR AGROTECHNOLOGI
FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE
SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY
SURAKARTA
 INTRODUCTION

Rubber crops have a big benefit for Indonesian economic life. A lot of citizen life
by trade on this commodity that produce a latex. Rubber not only cultivated by a big
cultivation county but also cultivated by private or smallholder. Total area of rubber
plantation in Indonesia is almost 3 million ha, the biggest rubber plantation in the
world. Nevertheless, rubber land in Indonesia are not balance with a good management.
Only a few big rubber cultivation country and a few private rubber cultivation having
a good management. The other like smallholder rubber cultivation have a minimum
management. As a result, the rubber productivity become low. The production of
rubber in Indonesia per year is under Malaysia and Thailand that has a few of land area.
Rubber crop actually is easy to cultivate. Indonesia is tropic climate so Indonesia
very suitable for a crop that come from Mainland America Tropic, around Brazil.
Almost in all Indonesia land including less healthy soil are, rubber can growth and
develop well and produce latex. Because of that, a lot citizenry compete opening their
land to become a rubber cultivation. A good comprehension about rubber planting
starting from the soil tillage until harvesting is important to be explained.
 RUBBER: SOIL TILLAGE AND PLANTING METHODE

In order to get a high quality of rubber, cultivation factor should be considered

well. A good cultivation system will produce a high yields. If the yields rubber has high
quality, the price will be high also.
A. Soil Tillage
Soil tillage begins from pruning trees that grow. Pruning is done by manual
way for small plantation and mechanic way for a large plantation. Using clearance
tree machine and tractor for large plantation is more economic than a lot of human
energy. Pruning trees begin from the small tree then big tree. After that, the trees
are dried than burned or made a firewood. If it is a replanting, rubber tree that cut
down is used for firewood and so on.
After the trees cleared and burned, the soil dismantled using hoe or tractor
until the root remnants are lifted. Clean the root remnants, rhizome, reed, branch,
and a big rock because it can block the growth of rubber plant. Reed can be
eradicated using herbicide. Eradicating root disease can use fungicide. After
cleaning the land, keep the sol until the reeds do not grow anymore.
B. Planting Method
1. Planting rubber system
There are to term about planting rubber, replanting and new planting.
Replanting is planting again rubber crop after long time is not considered
economical. New planting is planting rubber crop that not planted before.
Planting rubber crops should be prepared well. To produce a high rubber
yield required a suitable planting method. There are two planting method of
rubber such as monoculture and intercropping.
a. Monoculture
In the monoculture method, planting method is made by triangle,
squares, and irregular distance. Triangle and squares range produce a
regular range and only can be applied in a flat soil until slightly flat. For an
 irregular range can be used in a sloping soil. Planting with irregular range
make the line looking like not neat.
b. Intercropping
Planting rubber with intercropping should be prepared from the
beginning. Planting range should right or the crops will too tight. As a result,
there will be competition of nutrient uptake. There are some term of
planting range such as triangle, squares, fence, streets, and irregular. Fence
and streets planting range prepared for intercropping planting method.
If we use streets planting range, we will get a high growth and high
production of rubber crops. It is because the rubber crop will receive
maximal sun lighting. This method is planted a protective plant for example
lamtoro.

Rubber

Coffee

Lamtoro

Street range (rubber+coffee+lamtoro)

Note : Rubber crop distance 8 x 4 m
Coffee crop distance 2 x 2 m
Sum of rubber crop is 324 tree/ha
Sum of coffee crops is 864 tree/ha.
Fence planting method applied to planting with intercropping and
monoculture. If the planting method I intercropping, the planting range in
the crop line is made dense for each crop and inter range tenuous for
interline planting range. The important factor is sun lighting can shine
evenly.
 v v
Clove

v v

v v v
Rubber
v v v

Fence range (rubber+clove)

Note : Distance from border 5 m
Rubber crop distance in the line 3 m
Rubber crop distance inter line 18 m
Clove crop distance in the line 3 m
Clove crop distance inter line 5 m
Clove crop distance to rubber 6.5 m
Sum of rubber crop is 192 tree/ha
Sum of clove crop is 320 tree/ha
2. Implementation of planting rubber
a. Rubber planting
Before planting the rubber, plant hole should be ready. Plant hole
made with distance 7 x 3 m for every inter-hole. Making a hole is started by
measuring every plant hole appropriate with the plant range. Plant hole can
be made in some shape such as cube, cylinder, and squares that are sloping
downward. While digging a hole, the top soil is separated with sub soil.
After plant hole ready, the seed can be planted. While planting the seed, the
tap root should be straight into the ground because the root that is located
on it will inhibit the growth of seedlings.
b. Planting cover crop
To holding and preventing erosion, planting plant cover crop is
needed. Other than that, ground cover crop can rapid ground cover plants
can accelerate mature tapping and enhance the latex results. Type of ground
cover crop is differentiated with three class such as creeping plants, shrubs,
and tree plants.
Creeping plants consist of grass and type of Leguminosae like
Pueraria javanica, Centrosema pubescens, and Calopogium mucunoides.
Shrubs plants that can be used is Crotalaria usaramoensis, C juncea, C.
anagyroides, Tephrosia candida, and T. vogeliii. The tree plant usually used
is petai china (Leucaena glauca). The tree plant kind of this is rarely used
because rubber do not need shade plant. Nevertheless, in the area frequent
wind and pig attacks, planting petai china is needed.
 CONCLUSION

In order to get a high quality of rubber, cultivation factor should be considered

well. A good cultivation system will be produce a high yields. If the yields rubber has
high quality, the price will be high also. Soil tillage and planting method is necessary
to understand. Soil tillage begins from pruning trees that grow. Pruning is done by
manual way for small plantation and mechanic way for a large plantation. After the
trees cleared and burned, the soil dismantled using hoe or tractor until the root remnants
are lifted. There are to term about planting rubber, replanting and new planting.
Replanting is planting again rubber crop after long time is not considered economical.
New planting is planting rubber crop that not planted before. There are two planting
method of rubber, monoculture and intercropping.