‘Super Rubber Tree’ Yields Over 1 Kg Per Tapping Day

In October of 2022, a few days after I was released from the hospital, a scientific team of Rubber Tree experts came to my farm to check on a tree which was producing over 1 kilo of latex every tapping day.
The genetic study by government scientists on a Rubber Tree (sn: Hevea brasiliensis) I planted 16 years ago in my farm aimed to validate the extra-ordinary latex yield of over 1 kilo every tapping day compared to just about 100 to 200 grams from ordinary trees.
Scientists from the Philippine Rubber Research Institute led by Dr. Jill D. Villanueva, Dr.Romulo L. Cena, Jess Bryan M. Alvariño, Ariel O. Vilar and Jose M. Remollo III represented the government team while I have designated my brother, North Cotabato Vice Governor Efren Piñol, and my daughter, Dr. Ma. Krista Piñol-Solis, to represent the family in the “Super Rubber Clone” Scientific Study team.
The subject of the scientific study is a 16-year-old Rubber Tree and at least two other trees in my farm and six more in the farms of my brothers, Patricio, Efre and Bernardo, Jr. which were producing latex beyond normal quantities.
While common Rubber Clones produce only from 100 grams to 200 grams per tapping day which is every other day or 15 days per month, the ‘Super Rubber Clones” produced from 400 grams to a record 1.4-kilos.
All of these trees came from the rubber nursery which I established in 2003 using clonal materials provided by my Malaysian friends when I was Governor of Cotabato.
Among the clonal materials which I used were the fast-growing MP Series 2000 classified as latex to timber clones which I shared with my brothers and other farmers.
I kept a few hundred seedlings and planted these in the periphery and steep areas of my farm.
When I broke my shoulder in a freak bike accident, I took time to make rounds of my rubber trees and asked my rubber tapper, Jun Canon, which of the trees were outstanding.
That was when he led me to the three prolific trees which we now call the ‘Super Rubber Clones.’
The decision by my family to engage government through the PRRI of the Dept. of Agriculture in conducting a genetic study of these “Super Rubber Clones” is borne out of our desire to help other rubber farmers.
When scientifically validated as prolific latex producers in a defined ecosystem, these “Super Rubber Clones” could lift the rubber industry in the country which had faced low farm gate prices.
This could also bring back the interest of farmers to planting Rubber Trees in the mountainous areas of Mindanao and contribute to the greening program of government.
Since the clonal materials are available in my farm, it will be easy for me to lead the revival of the Rubber Industry of North Cotabato by sharing these with other farmers in th province.
This is shooting two targets with one bullet: Boosting the Provincial Economy and Greening the Province.
#SharingGodsBlessings!
(These photos were taken in October 2022 with the PRRI scientific team.)