POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT OF SHEET RUBBER AS AN ECONOMIC COMMODITY IN CENTRAL KALIMANTAN

This paper aims to identify the potential of rubber as a natural material for economic commodities for Central Kalimantan in particular. Rubber was introduced since the Dutch colonial period, planted in the Bogor Botanical Gardens as a collection and became a plantation crop in 1864. The first types of rubber planted were Ficus elastica and Havea brazilliensis rubbers which were spread on the islands of Java and Sumatra. Indonesia is one of the rubber producing countries in Southeast Asia, where in 1956 it was able to reach the peak of the glory of rubber plantations as a mainstay of economic support. The required studies include the history of rubber plantations in Indonesia, natural rubber species, cultivation techniques, their use as industrial raw materials, and the results of previous studies.