Rubber Board has released the small packs of rubber spray oil weighing 26 kg, made by the Indian Oil Corporation Limited, in a meeting held at Rubber Research Institute of India, Kottayam.
The copper oxychloride, used to control abnormal leaf fall disease of rubber trees, is mixed with spray oil and sprayed in the estates. Until now, spray oil was available in large barrels of 210 kg. The small farmers demanded to get the spray oil in small quantities. Large barrels are difficult to handle, and the marginal growers do not require large quantities of spray oil for their small holdings.
KN Raghavan, Executive Director, Rubber Board said that abnormal leaf fall is a disease widely seen in the rubber estates of Kerala and causes significant production losses to rubber trees. Taking preventive measures are better than treating rubber trees after they become infected by the diseases. If the trees are disease-free, the loss of production can be avoided and the farmer would be able to get the maximum benefit when the price goes high.
Sanjeev Kumar Behra, Chief General Manager & Kerala Head of IOC, said efforts would be made to provide spray oil at an affordable price to the farmers and to spend CSR funds in the rubber sector.