000			01591nam a2200157Ia 4500
008			220216s9999 xx 000 0 und d
100			_aSamarappuli I N
245		0	_aEconomic assessment of soil and foliar based fertilizer application for mature rubber: the case of estate sector in Kegalle district
260			_bJournal of the Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka _c1997
300			_a21-Nov
520			_aFertilization of rubber accounts for a considerable portion of recurrent expenditure. This study attempts to compare the cost of two alternative recommended methods of fertilizer application for mature rubber viz. the readily available conventional premixed fertilizers against the site specific soil and foliar survey based fertilization. The sample consisted of 669 mature rubber fields selected from 12 estates in the Kegalle district. The results clearly suggest that soil and foliar survey based method of fertilizer application is economical than the use of conventional pre-mixed fertilizers inspite of the additional sampling and analytical costs involved in the former method. The estimated difference in cost between the two fertilizer schemes is nearly Rs. 1150 ha/year during the initial 13 years of tapping. The behaviour of cost curves under the soil and foliar approach varied by clone type. The high yielding clone of RRIC 100 consumed more nutrients compared to the low yielding clone of PB 86. The study also suggests some insight into policy implications.
700			_aSamarappuli L
700			_aWickramaratne C S
700			_aYogaratnam N
942			_cJS
999			_c57577 _d57577