Innovative technology key to higher rubber yield
AT the launching of the 2018 Ninth International Rubber Glove Conference and Exhibition, Malaysia’s Premier, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, famously quipped that rubber had contributed tremendously to humanity as it helps control the world’s population.
Besides being the world’s largest rubber glove manufacturer, Malaysia also produces other rubber products such as tires, houseware and earthquake dampers. By-products of the rubber industry include rubberwood that is often used to make furniture and building and interior decoration materials.
Malaysia has become a big corporation that encourages the government and private sector to collaborate to enhance the competitiveness and profitability of its rubber industry.
Natural rubber plays a crucial role in the socioeconomic development of Malaysia as it significantly contributes to its gross domestic product, export earnings and smallholder employment. Nevertheless, the export value for Malaysian rubber products has declined because smallholders dominating the local natural rubber industry continue to fall behind their competitors in terms of productivity and quality of raw rubber.
Greater emphasis is also given to palm oil nowadays. Further, natural rubber is often regarded as a sunset industry, a perception that is worsened by low prices. In contrast, natural rubber production in Thailand and Vietnam is on the increase, showing great economic potential. Additionally, India and Sri Lanka now view it as an important economic driver, especially in terms of the upstream sector and downstream manufacturing.
Alan Chong, CEO of GroYield, asserted that revitalisation of the natural rubber industry using innovative technology would help reduce Malaysia’s importation of latex concentrate from Thailand.
“The government should encourage the use of innovative technology to promote dynamic and sustainable development of rubber; it should strive to increase yield and commercialise new rubber products to rejuvenate a sector that currently faces fierce competition from Vietnam and Indonesia.
“With innovative technology such as the full nutritional technique, the glory of natural rubber will return to Malaysia since it still commands a major share of the global elastomer market and the future will experience an even higher share of the world rubber market,” said Chong.
“The outlook for natural rubber is increasingly positive and world demand for it will increase due to climate change and growing preference for renewable materials. Moreover, natural rubber outbids the demand for synthetic rubber, which is petroleum-based. Petroleum is not only a robber industry, but it also contributes to climate change,” he stressed.
Full nutritional technique
“In this era of globalisation, competitiveness is the essence, while high productivity and efficiency are the key. An important vehicle towards competitiveness is the application of a full nutritional technique that aims to increase yield and sustainability in agriculture. GroYield offers a full nutritional product that is designed to nourish trees and shrubs so that they can thrive; it also helps them resist devastating diseases without polluting the land. Although the process is simple, it requires specialized chemicals, an injector system and adequate knowledge of application techniques,” elaborated Chong.
“Our latest latex diagnosis report positively distinguishes GroYield from all the stimulant products in the market, especially those that claim to have a similar function as GroYield. In terms of rubber yield, our product is basically three things in one. It speeds up latex formation, while acting as an antioxidant that enhances tree health and latex dryness rate,” he explained. “Our product acts as an indicator for metabolism in trees by controlling and stimulating their metabolism rate. Trees do have their own mechanisms for metabolism; however, they still need support in term of supplements that improve tree performance. Compared to other products, GroYield is more effective in supplying supplements for the trees,” he remarked.
“Plantations in Malaysia should utilise the full nutritional technique for trees since it saves up to 95 percent fertilisers and maintains a clean environment. This method enhances the health of trees, leading to optimal yielding and a longer production lifespan. The latest latex diagnosis report indicated that GroYield’s full nutritional technique is the ideal food for plants as it functions as more than just a fertiliser,” he said.
“Nitrogen fertiliser is traditionally used in Malaysia, but it has several disadvantages. Besides increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, nitrogen emissions contribute to acid rain leading to respiratory problems and certain types of cancer. Further, nitrogenous gases contribute to global climate change and nitrous oxide is a particularly potent greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere,” Chong justified.
“The traditional way to fertilise trees is by applying nutrients on top of the soil and then watering them in. However, the fertiliser can badly burn the flora and fauna across the entire application site. Moreover, granular fertiliser applied throughout a field may not necessarily be uniform,” he stated.
“In contrast, our full nutritional technique enables liquid fertilisers to spread more uniformly so that all trees receive the same nutrients regardless of location. The full nutritional technique ensures that trees are given faster access to the nutrients.
Besides rubber trees, the product can also be applied to fruit trees to increase production. This is the first rubber plant product that can be absorbed by other kinds of plants,” he concluded. About the author Fung Lan Yong holds a PhD in Special Education (Gifted and Talented Education) from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. She teaches Academic English and Mass Communication subjects at Jesselton College Sabah that has obtained 5-star MyQuest ratings in various courses.