Winter tapping of cold-tolerant rubber clone Yunyan 77-4: a viable strategy to reschedule the production season and capture potential market premiums in China

Natural rubber production in China is constrained by a relatively cold climate, a short tapping season, and concentrated rainfall, leading to lower yields than that in tropical nations. To strengthen the domestic rubber supply and enhance international competitiveness, novel cultivation and tapping approaches must be explored to expand planting areas and unlock yield potential. This study employed the cold-tolerant clone Yunyan 77–4 in winter tapping trials to establish a theoretical and practical basis for optimizing the tapping season and expanding winter tapping areas. The results demonstrated that: 1) Winter tapping effectively avoids interference from the rainy season, with rainfall during this period being 65.07% lower and rainy days being 51.61% fewer compared to the traditional tapping season, thereby lowering labor intensity and improving operational efficiency. 2) Under the same operational duration, winter tapping showed no significant differences in fresh latex yield, theoretical dry rubber yield, or yield per unit area compared to the traditional tapping. 3) The tapping technique used in winter tapping was largely consistent with that of traditional tapping, with no significant differences in incidence rate of tapping panel dryness (TPD), incidence index of TPD, tapping depth, and bark consumption. Additionally, no significant difference in tree circumference was observed between the two tapping seasons, indicating that no unreasonably tapping practices were employed to enhance rubber yield. 4) The implementation of winter tapping aligns production with periods of historically higher futures prices, suggesting a potential for capturing market premiums of 8.86–20.81% under normal seasonal conditions. In conclusion, winter tapping is technically feasible and economically advantageous.