Natural rubber is a vital strategic resource for the nation. For over 20 consecutive years, my country has remained the world's largest consumer and importer of natural rubber, but the domestic rubber plantation faces challenges such as declining production capacity. In recent years, with the support of relevant research institutions, Yunnan, Hainan, Guangdong, and other domestic natural rubber producing areas have achieved new breakthroughs in improved varieties and cultivation methods, technological innovation, and talent training. The natural rubber industry is gradually transforming from "low-yield and low-efficiency" to "high-quality and high-efficiency," entering a period of rapid high-quality development.
Self-propelled intelligent rubber tapping robots precisely navigate through rubber plantations. Utilizing sensor technology and automated control algorithms, they move precisely along tracks, their blades slicing through the rubber tree trunks, and latex slowly flowing into collection cups… In the human-machine collaborative intelligent demonstration rubber plantation of Guangdong State Farms Shuguang Farm Co., Ltd., located in Dianbai District, Maoming City, Guangdong Province, rubber tapping robots are bringing about a revolution in production methods. "According to our calculations and those of our technical partners, the robots can operate continuously for 6 to 8 hours during the peak production period in the early morning, tapping a single rubber tree in just 47 seconds, achieving a comprehensive efficiency of 70 to 90 trees per hour!" said an excited representative from Shuguang Farm.
In Danzhou City, Hainan Province, the Hongling area of the Bayi Branch of Hainan Natural Rubber Industry Group is also seeing a string of good news. Walking into the rubber plantation, rubber seedlings and carefully intercropped pineapples create a picturesque scene of "two harvests from one plot" in ecological agriculture. "Pineapples are herbaceous crops that help conserve water and soil. This model not only alleviates the management pressure on enterprises but also provides additional income for employees, achieving 'using short-term gains to support long-term growth'," said Li Zhuotao, the area manager.
These vivid scenes outline the transformation path of my country's natural rubber industry under the guidance of policy and empowered by technology. Natural rubber is an important national strategic resource, playing a vital role in the national economy and defense industry. For more than 20 consecutive years, my country has remained the world's largest consumer and importer of natural rubber, but the domestic planting industry faces challenges such as declining production capacity. In recent years, with the support of relevant research institutes, Yunnan, Hainan, Guangdong, and other domestic natural rubber producing areas have achieved new breakthroughs in improved varieties and cultivation methods, technological innovation, and talent training.
The "15th Five-Year Plan" proposal states that agricultural and rural modernization is crucial to the overall quality and effectiveness of China's modernization. "Standing at a new historical starting point, the natural rubber industry will focus on greening, intelligentization, and high-end development, ensuring a safe supply of special natural rubber for important equipment and high-end civilian applications, and comprehensively enhancing the sustainable development capacity of my country's natural rubber industry," said Zou Kui, Party Secretary of the Rubber Institute of the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences. Recently, reporters interviewed several experts from the Rubber Institute of the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences to explore how the natural rubber industry can transform from "low-yield and low-efficiency" to "high-quality and high-efficiency," entering a "fast track" of high-quality development.