Question

What are plantation crops? Briefly explain the process of rubber cultivation?

Answer 1

Crops are the plants that farmers grow. Agriculture is extremely significant in India's economy. It is the foundation of our country. In rural places, it is the most common occupation. Crop cultivation is primarily influenced by weather and soil conditions. India's crops are split into four groups. Cash Crops, Plantation Crops, Food Crops, and Horticulture are the four categories.

Complete answer:
Plantation crops are those that are grown on a large scale in a contiguous region and are owned and managed by an individual or a company. Tea, coffee, rubber, cocoa, coconut, arecanut, oil palm, palmyrah, and cashew are among the crops grown. These are high-value commercial crops with more economic significance, and they play an important role in boosting the Indian economy, notably in terms of export potential, job creation, and poverty alleviation, particularly in the rural sector.
Rubber plantation farming is a type of systematic agriculture in which the first seeds are grown in a nursery. Buds from high producing clones are grafted on to the rubber seedlings when they reach a diameter of around 5 cm. The primary component of the tree is made up of grafted sections. The trees are arranged in regular rows at a distance of $3.5 - 6$ metres. It has a $5 - 7$ year gestation period. The fully grown rubber tree is a huge, smooth-barked tree with branches that sprout from the ground at a reasonable height.
When the tree's bark is cut, latex - a white milky liquid - is released. Tapping is the process of delicately removing the bark away from the tree to release the latex. The latex drips into little cups affixed to the tree, which the tappers collect. By adding formic acid or acetic acid to the collected latex, it is first coagulated into soft, spongy blocks. This makes it solid and allows it to be cut into standard-size sheets. There are a variety of additional techniques to process rubber.

Note:
Rubber tapping is the method of collecting latex from a rubber tree. The latex is extracted by slicing a quarter-inch groove into the tree's bark with a hooked knife and then peeling back the bark. To be tapped for latex, trees must be at least six years old and six inches in diameter. Older trees are heavily tapped in their final years before being taken down. It entails tapping frequently, making duplicate cuts, utilising yield simulants, and other methods to gather as much latex as possible.