Factors affecting the quality of natural rubber latex

Manufacturer:We are natural rubber latex concentrate producer. We heard that the DRC (Dry Rubber Content)is influenced by the density of tapping, age of rubber trees and that the quality of the latex varies from the height of tapping. How true is this?
John Woon (Senior Latex Consultant): You heard right. When a rubber tree is first tapped, the DRC is usually very high. This yield would slowly drop until a stability is reached. The greater the density of tapping the faster is the drop in DRC. If the planter does his job properly, the latex yield should be quite constant in the first 5 years of tapping.

As regards the effect of height of tapping on latex composition and hence the quality, early research works have proved that the higher a rubber tree is tapped, the higher would be the quantity of non-rubbers which sometimes lead to poorer latex stability. However I do not think that such difference has any significant impact on the latex technology especially that for dipping - if the latices collected from different sources are well blended.

Having said that, I must stress that latex with higher level of non-rubbers, especially the ash content could lead to early clogging of your centrifuges resulting in lower efficiency.