02348nam a2200109Ia 4500008004100000100001300041245007000054260028100124520180000405650001702205650001602222220216s9999    xx            000 0 und d  aThomas V 2aA quick and easy method for producing superior RSSIX sheet rubber  bPLACROSYM XXII. 22nd Biennial Symposium on Plantation Crops: Leveraging Innovation System in Plantation Sector Through Value Addition, 15-17 December 2016, Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod, India. Abstracts. p.234.  aIn India more than 80;of the rubber producers prefer to market natural rubber latex as sheet rubber. The price of sheet rubber fluctuates quite often, and therefore, the farmers are prompted to store the sheets for a short period of time to sell at the right time. The steps involved in sheeting of the latex coagulum and smoke drying is important for producing quality sheet rubber. Majority of small growers usually produce RSS4 grade sheets. However, group processing centres (GPCs) attached to RPS (Rubber Producers Society) which is a joint venture of Rubber Board and rubber farmers produce RSS1 grade sheet with a better market price. The water content retained in the wet sheet is a crucial factor in sheet drying. In conventional method, passing the sheets through rollers enable to increase the surface area for quick evaporation but still the water content is reduced to only 50;of its total weight which affects the quality. Hence, an experiment for further reduction in water content of the wet sheet was attempted by providing an additional pass through a specifically fabricated twin roller comprising a pair of plain (upper) and grooved (lower) rollers before smoke drying and the results were encouraging. About 35;of the water content in the sheet could be further squeezed out. Hunidity related problems in the smoke house could also be reduced to a considerable extent. Better dimensional retention of dry sheet, attractive colour, 25;saving in fuel, saving in drying time and thereby increasing the sheet loading capacity of the smoke house are the added advantages. Fetching higher price by improving the quality of the sheet rubber at a reduced cost is the most viable approach to thrive over the current unprofitable situations existing in the rubber plantation industry.  aSheet rubber  aTwin roller