Highlights of the research findings in this issue are:

• Long term yielding pattern of indigenous hybrid clones and exotic clones imported from Malaysia in 1993 are compared and reported
• Integrating FYM along with reduced doses of chemical fertilisers could reduce gestation period of rubber grown in the residual hills of Tripura
• A full length genomic DNA encoding the light harvesting chlorophyll a/b binding protein (CAB) gene, the expression of which is directly related to the juvenility of the plant tissue has been cloned and characterized from Hevea
• Promising ortets identified from the traditional region of rubber cultivation were tested in a non-traditional region and ortets with superior growth and yield characteristics are identified and reported
• Soil urease and acid phosphatase activities in the rubber soil ecosystem influenced by litter addition from cover crops and rubber leaves
• Analysis of long term trends in the seasonality of natural rubber production in major producing countries viz. Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and India in the context of fall in production and productivity
• SERK gene expression observed only in embryogenic callus, and not expressed in either somatic callus or leaf or non-embryogenic callus and thus SERK is a suitable marker for embryogenic competence of cells
• The role of dry rubber content and the size of rubber particles on the adhesive properties of ammonia preserved natural rubber field latex as contact adhesives are explored. The adhesive strength of field latex increased with dry rubber content and small sized particles offered better adhesive properties