The rubber plant, which is of great economic value and is widely grown in South Asian countries, originated in the Amazon rainforest of South America. That is, in Brazil. Various products are made through rubber latex, and in addition to milk, the rubber plant is used as wood for various designs such as furniture and as fuel. The rubber plant of such value was first introduced to Sri Lanka by Sir Henri Wickham. That was in 1876. Most of the rubber cultivation in Sri Lanka is done by small scale rubber estate owners. It is about 70% of the total rubber content. Apart from Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, China, Papua, and New Guinea are some of the South Asian rubber growing countries.
The rubber plant belonging to the genus Euphorbiaceae, genus Hevea and genus Hevea Brasiliensis usually lives for about 100 years. But even after living this long, the economic harvest is only about 30 years. Harvesting usually starts within 5 years after planting. This can take up to 6 years in the dry zone. The southwestern part of the wet zone is the largest rubber growing area in Sri Lanka. There are currently about 40 recommended clones that introduce new varieties to increase the annual rubber yield to between 3000 Kg and 4000 Kg per hectare through clone improvement over more than 10 decades. New clones or new varieties are used for grafting. These clones are classified into 3 categories.
Rubber products are widely available throughout the market. There are two parts to rubber, crepe rubber, and smoked sheet rubber. Crepe rubber is the purest type of natural rubber currently on the market. The crepe rubber is used as a raw material in the manufacture of dry rubber products, hygienic shale medical equipment, rubber products in contact with food and gum. Sheet rubber is the oldest traditional and oldest type of rubber produced in Sri Lanka. More than half of the local small rubber production is produced as sheet rubber. Small and medium scale rubber estate owners are at the forefront of sheet rubber production. This sheet rubber is used as a raw material in every product. That is, it is used in sandals, from bicycle tires to aircraft wheels. Especially as an additional income, income can be obtained during the immature stage of rubber cultivation and at the mature stage of the rubber plant, additional income can be obtained from the intercropping with the rubber income.
