The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) or the Gadgil Committee (March 2010 - August 2011) and the High Level Working Group (HLWG) or the Kasturirangan Committee (August 2012 – April 2013), both constituted by the Union government and now the Expert Committee of Kerala government (October 2013) are mandated with the responsibility to make recommendations for protecting and rejuvenating the ecology of the Western Ghats (WG). Each committee was constituted to look into the report of the previous one. Some of the best minds in the country served on these committees, but there was no balanced representation of the various sectors and stakeholders of WG. Ecological degradation of WG is mostly due to anthropogenic activities and cultivation of spices and plantation crops constitutes the most significant such activity in the region. Yet, this important sector’s concerns were not addressed in the reports submitted by these committees. WG ecology is too important to be delegated to one ministry or department or those who work on forests and ecology alone. Reports of both WGEEP and HLWG contain sweeping and impractical recommendations that take care of only the ecological concerns of the region and not the genuine socio-economic apprehensions of the two million plus farmers who call WG their home. While WGEEP report put more than 278000 ha of rubber plantations under ecologically sensitive zones (EZS), the HLWG report put about 74000 ha in ecologically sensitive areas (ESA) in the WG. Another 213000 ha of rubber plantations exist in the 10 km buffer zone outside the ESA. The case with other crops such as coffee, tea, cardamom etc. must be even worse. According to the HLWG report, as much as 76 per cent of the geographical area of Kerala falls in the WG region and nearly 44 per cent of the WG region falls into ESA. In other words, nearly 34 per cent of the geographic area of Kerala will be under ESA. Classifying one-third of the state as ESA goes against common sense and practical wisdom and this will lead to serious social unrest in a small and populous state like Kerala. While making recommendations on ecological protection, agriculture should not be treated on par with industries or activities such as mining or quarrying. Ecological sustainability should not be an end in itself, but this should lead to social and economic security of the people living in the region. Nature and mankind have to coexist, not one at the cost of the other. Hope the latest committee constituted by the Kerala government will come up with pragmatic and realistic recommendations that are in the best interest of ecology and agriculture in the WG region of Kerala.

Different aspects of root trainer planting technique such as root trainer containers, potting medium, filling of root trainers, in situ budding on stocks raised in root trainers, stump planting in root trainers, irrigation, fertilizer application, shading, disease control, hardening, transplanting etc. standardized for Hevea are discussed. In addition to improving the quality of planting materials, root trainer planting technique is labor-friendly and environment-friendly. Production of advanced planting materials of natural rubber in root trainers is cost effective also. The savings towards planting operations using root trainer plants add up to two third of the entire cost of polybag planting. This novel technique developed for natural rubber by the Rubber Research Institute of India is revolutionising rubber nursery industry in many countries.

Yield of rubber tree varies over the years depending on many biological, environmental and management factors. In an experiment, the latex yield of 12 Hevea clones was monitored for 16 years under S/2 d2 6 d/7 system of tapping. The yield increased gradually in initial years of tapping and maintained a higher yield output from 3rd to 15th year. Yielding pattern of rubber trees varied among the clones. Clone PB 235 and RRII 118 showed a long duration of higher yield output for 15 years. Clones RRII 300, RRII 105, RRIM 501 and PR 107 exhibited higher yield output for 8 to 10 years. After a specific period of vigorous latex output, the yield started declining in all clones. The onset of yield decline was different among the clones and it varied from 11th to 16th year of tapping. In clones RRII 105 and RRIM 703, the yield decline commenced from 12th year of tapping, whereas this was between 15th to 16th year of tapping in clones PB 235, RRII 118, RRIM 600, GT1 and Gl 1. Generally, a drastic reduction in yield was observed after 16 years of tapping when the trees were 23 years old. Clones RRIM 703 and RRIM 501 showed the highest decline (40%) from peak yield at 16th year of tapping. The popular clone RRII 105 recorded around 20 per cent decline. This was almost negligible in clones RRII 118 and Gl 1. The decline in yield of rubber trees could be attributed to ageing, soil fertility, environmental and agromanagement factors that might reduce the tree growth and shorten the economic life span of trees.

An experiment investigating the comparative field performance of polybag and root trainer rubber plants was initiated at the Central Experiment Station, Chethackal of the Rubber Research Institute of India representing the traditional rubber growing region in India during 2008 with clone RRII 105. The treatments comprised of combinations of two types of planting material viz., direct-seeded green- budded polybag plants and root trainer plants (raised by planting budded stumps) at three growth stages viz., one- whorl, two -whorl and threewhorl. Observations on growth were recorded for a period of four years. Success in establishment was hundred per cent in the field irrespective of the planting material and its growth stages. The variability in girth quantified using CV for polybag one-whorl, two-whorl, three-whorl and root trainer one-whorl, two-whorl and three-whorl plants was 12.7, 12.8, 12.4, 12.4, 12.7 and 11.1 per cent respectively. The significant difference observed in the girth of the plants among the types of planting material and its stages during the initial years progressively became less apparent and by two and a half years, only three- whorled polybag plants were significantly superior to others. The same trend continued in the four years also. The performance of all other planting materials viz., polybag - one- whorl, two-whorl and root trainer - one-whorl, two-whorl and threewhorl was comparable. However, among these, considering the practical convenience and cost involved, root trainer one- whorl plants appeared to be the ideal planting material for commercial planting of Hevea. The constraints and advantages of different planting materials are also discussed.

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of sequential reduction of fertilizer doses for banana when grown as an intercrop with rubber in Assam. Rubber was manured as per the standard recommendation for the region throughout the experiment period. All banana plants received uniform recommended dose of fertilizers during first year. From second year onwards, different doses of fertilizers i.e. 0, 25, 50 and 100 per cent were applied to banana. Observations on growth of rubber, yield of banana, soil and leaf nutrient status were recorded. Intercropping with banana, irrespective of its fertilizer doses significantly improved the growth of rubber. Yield of banana was comparable in the treatments which received 100 per cent fertilizers throughout, 100 per cent fertilizer during first year, 50 per cent during second and third year and 100 per cent during first year, 50 per cent during second year and 25 per cent during third year. There were no significant differences in organic matter content and pH of soil, however, significant reduction in available phosphorus and potassium contents were observed in treatments which received lower dose of fertilizers. The study shows that the fertilizer dose for the second crop of banana can be reduced when cultivated as an intercrop in young rubber plantation, without adversely affecting the growth of rubber.

A cropping system with altered spatial arrangement of planting that permits extended intercropping, reduced gestation period and enhanced yield of rubber was developed for smallholdings. Rubber was planted in paired rows of 9.0 m apart, at a spacing of 5.1 m between the rows within the paired row and 3.4 m between two plants within a row. The total number of rubber plants per hectare was 406 in the cropping system whereas it was 445 in the control. Diverse annual, short-term and perennial crops (banana, pineapple, Amorphophallus, Dioscorea, Colocasia and arrow root, coffee and pepper) were planted sequentially in the wider inter-row spaces, selecting the intercrops judiciously based on the light availability and shade tolerance. Legume cover crop, Pueraria phaseoloides, was established in the narrow inter-row spaces of rubber in the intercropped area and interspaces of rubber in the control plot. Intercrops were cultivated during the entire gestation period of rubber. Fodder grass (guinea grass) and teak were planted along the boundaries. In the cropping system, the soil nutrient status was maintained and soil moisture status was significantly higher during January. Altered spatial arrangement of planting and extended intercropping reduced the gestation period of rubber and enhanced yield by 25.6 per cent during the initial years of tapping compared to control plants under normal system of planting without intercropping.