Rubber
Also called: Natural rubber · Topic: Major Crops of India: Distribution and Conditions · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 4 "Agriculture"
Meaning
Rubber is an equatorial crop. This means it is native to the hot, wet lands near the Equator. In India it is also grown under special conditions in tropical and subtropical areas. It needs a moist, humid climate, more than 200 cm of rain a year and temperatures above 25°C. Rubber is an important raw material for industry, and most of it goes into making tyres.
Example
Kerala is the largest producer of rubber. It is grown on the wet slopes of the Western Ghats. Rubber is also grown in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Garo hills of Meghalaya. Tripura is a rising producer (verify current).
Don't confuse with
- Tea: tea also grows in humid hill areas. But tea needs warm, frost-free weather with evenly spread showers, not the very heavy equatorial rain that rubber needs.