Intercrops do not only compete with rubber for light
but also for water and nutrients. Rubber, although
forming a remarkable taproot, is considered a socalled
surface feeder, which establishes a dense root
mat in the uppermost 30 cm of the soil (George et al.
2009; Newman 1985). The roots of neighboring
rubber rows meet quite early in plantation life, and
while this is usually reported for the age of canopy
closure, there is also a record mentioning this as