WP3

The objective: Classes the rubber clones according to the agronomic and physiologic capacities in order to facilitate the selection of material for further on-farm large-scale trials. The traits will be selected for matching with the cropping systems identified by stakeholders (WP1) and with a possible tolerance to predicted environmental constraints (WP2).

The aim of conventional rubber breeding program is to obtain the new superior clones which have high latex yielding and good agronomic characters (robust and fast growth, tolerant to biotic and abiotic stress, good quality of wood) for monospecific plantations. However, to produce new superior clones, there are several technical problems faced. Technical constraints for the breeding program are the low fruit set by hand-pollination, long-term breeding due to Hevea biology and cultivation, complex agronomical traits involving numerous alleles, incompatibility between scion and rootstock in grafting process, and ageing over the propagation of clones.

Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Hevea conventional breeding takes a long time to reach more than 30 years. This SOP starts from providing germplasm, recombination, SET, SSCT, LSCT, adaptation, and we found new clones to be recommended. Therefore, it is necessary to implement a strategy using a modern approach to the breeding program by WP 3 Activity of RUBIS.

Currently, IRRI (Indonesian Rubber Research Institute) has several germplasm types, namely 8,000 genotypes of rubber germplasm in Budwood garden, 4,000 progenies F1 SET, 201 progenies in SSCT, and 30 clones in LSCT / Adaptation. IRRI recommendations for the rubber clones are latex clones: IRR 104, IRR 112, IRR 118, IRR 220, BPM 24, PB 260, PB 330, PB 340, and Latex Timber Clones: IRR 5, IRR 39, IRR 42, IRR 219, IRR 230, RRIC 100.

IRRI and CIRAD have started to conduct several studies related to Genetic Analysis of Tapping Panel Dryness in the GA-TPD Project program. This activity began in the 2012-2013 with the activity of Crossing of PB 260 ♀ x SP 217 clone ♂ to obtain segregation population. Then in 2013: Establishment of a Seedling garden. Continued on November 2016: Planting of the population in controlled conditions of SSCT1 in 5 ha area, 2016 – 2020: maintenance and phenotyping during the immature period (growth, leaf diseases, Drought Factor Index), June-September 2018: 1) Analysis of the legitimacy of the population (PB 260 x SP 217), 2) Analysis of the conformity of plant material in the trials, 3) Genetic map with 229 SSR markers, and the period January 4, 2021: Start to open tapping.