Highlights of the research findings in this issue are:

• Riding on the last planting boom (2005 - 2015), rubber production capacity is currently on the rise. As of 2020-21, nearly 41 percent of the mature rubber holdings are over 25 years old. Share of old/senile holdings will further increase and rubber production capacity is destined to decline from the middle of the current decade
• Rubber growing soils of South India are deficient in zinc warranting application of zinc fertilizer
• Incidence of tapping panel dryness (TPD) seems to be less in regions receiving relatively less rainfall and propensity for TPD is twice high in BO-2 than in BO-1 panel
• Anatomical traits of petiole are reliable features for identification of RRII 400 series clones
• Low Frequency Controlled Upward Tapping is feasible and profitable
• Rubber plantations are excellent repositories of soil organic carbon. In South India, this ranged from 36.5 to 61.4 tonnes ha^-1 in the top 0-30 cm of the soil
• Vertical tapping can be adopted as a crop harvesting method of natural rubber
• Girth potential of clones in monoclonal blocks is influenced by assorted rootstocks
• ITS-RFLP based molecular characterization of isolates of Phytophthora spp causing abnormal leaf fall in natural rubber confirmed the species as Phytophthora meadii
• The effect of radiation induced peroxide vulcanization on the mechanical properties of NR latex evaluated with addition of n-butylhydroperoxide
• Tapping mature holdings is still a profitable option provided low frequency tapping is followed, tapping is limited to peak yielding season and self-tapping is adopted. Leaving mature rubber holdings untapped is a lost economic opportunity for the grower