ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the influence of plant material, environment, and tapping intensity on response to stimulation before describing latex and tapping panel features which characterize overstimulation. In Indonesia, E. C. Paardekooper showed in 1975 that response to stimulation with Ethrel varied from negative for tapping intensities greater than 200% to a threefold increase in yield for lower intensities. From the physiological point of view, stimulation is an excellent means of removing certain factors which limit flow and/or regeneration. Stimulation treatments must therefore be applied with caution and be suited to the potential of a given type of plant material in a given environment and for a given intensity of tapping. In 1967, Abraham and Tayler reported the importance of the effect of the climate on the response to stimulation. In 1953, Compagnon and Tixier, using the stimulation method of injection of copper sulfate, observed overproduction varying from 6 to 65% in 10 different clones.
