Rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis) are a major source of rubber latex. Xishuangbanna is the largest rubber-cultivating region in China. Yet, Xishuangbanna’s climate is considered sub-optimal for rubber cultivation. Rubber latex yield is influenced by several factors, including temperature, disease, other biotic conditions, and plantation management. The quantification and clarification of the relationships between leaf flushing phenology, powdery mildew disease, temperature, and latex yield will inform future strategies for improving latex yield. 

In a study published in International Journal of Biometeorology, researchers from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) and Kunming Institute of Botany (KIB) investigated the effects of temperature, phenology, and powdery mildew disease on rubber latex yield in March using observational data on daily rubber latex yield combined with detailed phenology, powdery mildew, and temperature data from 2004 to 2010 in a state farm in the Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China. 

They found that the daily temperature difference from Jan to Mar was the major influencing factor for rubber latex yield, exceeding both rubber phenology and powdery mildew disease. Secondly, rubber phenology during defoliation and refoliation (November to March) proved to be critical for rubber latex yield.  

The daily temperature difference had both direct and indirect effects on rubber latex yield. Temperature indirectly influenced yield by altering the duration of leaf development to maturation and exposing it to powdery mildew disease.  

"This study is the most comprehensive quantitative assessment of the interrelationship and the potential connective networks between rubber latex yield and rubber leaf flushing phenology, powdery mildew disease, and temperature,” said ZHAI Deli of XTBG. 

The researchers recommended that both defoliation and refoliation periods should be covered in future experiments concerning studies on rubber latex yield, latex physiology, and leaf disease. 

The study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and in part by the CAS project for Young Scientists in Basic Research. 

Contact 

ZHAI Deli  Ph.D 

Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China                           

E-mail:  zhaideli@xtbg.ac.cn 

Published: 31 July 2023