COLLECTING CEARA RUBBER (MANIHOT CLAZIOVII Muell) Arg. GERMPLASM
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Abstract
The restricted cultivation of Hevea brasiliensis in the tropical zones due to its
agroclimatic preference, necessitates an alternative source of natural rubber for
the semi-arid marginal lands. Preliminary studies showed that Manihot glaziovii
known as ceara rubber, is a potential plant for such semi-arid marginal lands.
The plant was introduced to India in 1902 during the regime of the British. it
is well adapted to the dry granitic highlands with scanty rainfall. Under such
stress affected conditions, the unselected wild plants yield an appreciable quantity
of latex containing more than 80% rubber. Since there is no organised cultivation
of M. glaziovii in India, genetic materials are not commonly available. An
exploration to the semi-arid hill tracts of Tamil Nadu resulted in the collection
of a large semi-wild seedling population. Mature trees were tapped at random
and on the basis of the preliminary observations on the bark characteristics,
Latex flow pattern and morphological variation in germplasm were also observed.