Maintenance of Soil Fertility in the Permanent Cultivation of Hevea Brasiliensis in Malaya

Abstract

In rubber cultivation the clearing of original jungle, and of old rubber at replanting, exposes the soil surface with resultant loss of plant foods through erosion and leaching. During the life of a plantation the use of acidifying fertilizers may cause similar losses, while the trees will immobilize large quantities of nutrients. For typically poor Malayan soils, cultural techniques must be adopted that will maintain rather than deplete soil fertility.