Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • European Rubber Journal
  • Plastics News
  • Tire Business
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Automotive
    • Tire
    • Non-Tire
    • Suppliers
    • ITEC
    • Silicone
    • Online Exclusive
    • Latex
    • Technical Notebooks
    • Executive Action
    • Government/Legal
    • Opinion
    • Rubber Division IEC
    • Blogs
    • Sustainability
    • Products
    • Wacky World of Rubber
  • War in Ukraine
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
  • Resources
    • Directory
    • Classifieds & Mold Mart
  • Data
  • Events
    • RN Events
    • RN Livestreams/Webinars
    • Industry Events
    • Past Events
    • Rubber News M&A Live
    • 2022 Hose & Belt Manufacturers Conference
    • 2022 International Silicone Conference
    • 2022 International Tire Exhibition & Conference (ITEC)
    • 2022 Women Breaking the Mold
  • Advertise
  • DIGITAL EDITION
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Latex
August 08, 2019 02:01 PM

Disease threatens natural rubber production

Miles Moore
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    WASHINGTON—Neofusicoccum ribis, one of more than 90 fungi in the genus Fusicoccum, is causing leaf fall disease among Hevea brasiliensis trees in Indonesia.

    How much of a problem this is creating, however, depends on whom you ask.

    "The future of the Indonesian Hevea remains at risk," said Kavickumar s/o Muruganathan, vice president, environment, health & safety at Halcyon Agri Corp. Ltd., in an October 2018 article titled, "The Sorry State of the Indonesian Hevea."

    "Vast swathes of rubber trees have already been lost to the Fusicoccum pathogen, and more losses are due until a concrete solution is found to combat this dilapidating disease," Muruganathan wrote.

    The March 2019 issue of Natural Rubber Trends & Statistics, the monthly publication of the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries, suggested the Fusicoccum fungus was a problem affecting NR supplies in Indonesia.

    In that issue, ANRPC Secretary General Nguyen Ngoc Bich noted that world NR production fell 5.2 percent in the first quarter of 2019, with sagging prices and a long wintering season partly to blame.

    "The new leaf fall disease in South Sumatra might also have contributed to the drop," Nguyen wrote.

    But other sources within the NR industry said they doubted that the Fusicoccum fungus was spreading quickly or having much of an effect.

    "Yes, there is a leaf blight in Indonesia, but it's been contained in the area where it is," said one industry source who asked to remain anonymous.

    The information available on Indonesian leaf fall disease in the West is fragmentary and often contradictory, according to Alan L. Grant Polymer.

    According to the estimate now circulating, about 100,000 hectares (slightly less than 250,000 acres) of NR-growing land in Indonesia has been affected by the fungus, said the Norfolk, Va.-based rubber supplier.

    "This represents 3 percent of Indonesia's mature growing area, meaning impact on Indonesian production is only 3 percent," the company said. "(But) other sources are claiming Indonesian production is down 10-30 percent."

    Related Article
    Continental pleased with dandelion rubber lab

    Neofusicoccum ribis is not related to the Microcyclus ulei ascomycete that caused leaf blight in Brazil, effectively ending that country's NR producing industry.

    It is a member of the Botryosphaeriaceae family of sac fungi, which are common parasites on a large variety of plants.

    Fusicoccum species were isolated from infected leaves collected from rubber plantations in three widely separated locations in Malaysia in 2010, according to a paper published in The Plant Pathology Journal in 2013. The fungus was in Malaysia as early as 1987, according to various reports.

    Leaf fall disease first occurred in North Sumatra in 2016 and had spread to South Sumatra by the following year, according to Muruganathan.

    It then spread to areas in South Kalimantan, Java, Lampung and Central Sulawesi, he said.

    "Fusicoccum leaf fall disease usually attacks young leaves," he wrote. "The first symptom is brown spots on the leaves. The small spots will change from light to dark brown."

    Severely infected leaves will dry and fall or become abnormal on the branches of the tree, according to Muruganathan. Infected leaves fall about four months after infection, he said.

    "The occurrence of Fusicoccum leaf fall disease can also have far-reaching effects as a result of international trade, as they may be spread undetected from one area to another, causing potentially serious damage to hosts that might have no co-evolved resistance," Muruganathan wrote.

    As of October 2018, research into Fusicoccum was limited, and there were no studies considering its potential economic impact, according to Muruganathan.

    Applying fertilizer to Hevea trees to balance their nutrients is generally the best way to prevent leaf fall disease, according to various sources. However, the current low prices for NR have discouraged careful upkeep of rubber trees.

    "People aren't fertilizing the trees enough to fight the disease," the anonymous source said.

    Halcyon Agri did not respond to an email requesting further information on leaf blight disease.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Rubber News wants to hear from its readers. If you want to express your opinion on a story or issue, email your letter to Editor Bruce Meyer at [email protected].

    Most Popular
    1
    Continental changing Conti, General brands' taglines
    2
    Auto suppliers are asking for contract relief
    3
    Trelleborg to add biopharma capacity in Massachusetts
    4
    Bridgestone to invest nearly $27 million in NR sustainability
    5
    EVs not far from achieving cost parity
    SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Rubber News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe Today

    Subscribe to Rubber News to get the best coverage and leading insights in the industry.

    SUBSCRIBE
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    MISSION

    To serve companies in the global rubber product industry by delivering news, industry insights, opinions and technical information.

    Contact Us

    2291 Riverfront Pkwy, Suite 1000
    Cuyahoga Falls,
    OH 44221

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1726

    Resources
    • About Us
    • Digital Edition
    • Staff
    • Advertise
    • Order Reprints
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    • Terms of Service
    • Careers
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Partner Sites
    • Tire Business
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Plastics News
    • Plastics News China
    • Urethanes Technology
    • Automotive News
    • Crain Brands
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Automotive
      • Tire
      • Non-Tire
      • Suppliers
      • ITEC
      • Silicone
      • Online Exclusive
      • Latex
      • Technical Notebooks
      • Executive Action
      • Government/Legal
      • Opinion
      • Rubber Division IEC
      • Blogs
        • Products
        • Wacky World of Rubber
      • Sustainability
    • War in Ukraine
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
    • Resources
      • Directory
      • Classifieds & Mold Mart
    • Data
    • Events
      • RN Events
        • 2022 Hose & Belt Manufacturers Conference
        • 2022 International Silicone Conference
        • 2022 International Tire Exhibition & Conference (ITEC)
        • 2022 Women Breaking the Mold
      • RN Livestreams/Webinars
      • Industry Events
      • Past Events
      • Rubber News M&A Live
    • Advertise
    • DIGITAL EDITION