ABSTRACT
Increasing latex production of Hevea—Physiology has always been a major objective for planters. A review of plant hormones and their application to rubber trees was published in 1939 by Baptist, but this did not examine yield stimulation. From an historical point of view, it must be kept in mind that the first experiments using the first plant hormone to be discovered, indole acetic acid, were carried out before the World War II by Baptist with the aim of improving bark regeneration after tapping and to stimulate rooting of rubber trees. The primary objective of research using hormonal-type molecules in rubber growing to improve bark regeneration was thus not attained. The tendency to reduce operating costs, take into account the weight of rubber collected per tapper per day set against the weight of rubber produced per hectare per year, developed considerably in African countries in which labor is scarce and expensive and is now spreading in Malaysia.
