Saving Sri Lanka’s rubber: Why CLSD must be tackled by RRISL without delay

Sri Lanka's rubber industry, once a proud pillar of the national economy, is today facing one of the gravest threats in its history.

- BY DAMMIKE KOBBEKADUWE -

The culprit is Circular Leaf Spot Disease (CLSD), a fungal pathogen that eats away at the very foundation of rubber cultivation—the leaves. Without healthy leaves, the latex yield falls, plantations weaken, and livelihoods collapse. This is not just a biological problem; it is a national economic and social challenge.

Yet despite the seriousness of the disease, the approach to managing CLSD has often been fragmented, with research scattered and sometimes resting on the shoulders of individual scientists. While the dedication of pathologists is never in doubt, the truth is simple: no single pathologist can carry a pandemic-scale plant disease programme. What is required is the full institutional power of the Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka (RRISL), supported by the Ministry of Plantation Industries, the Rubber Development Department, and the Rubber Research Board.

Why RRISL Must Lead the Fight Against CLSD

Globally, the management of major plant diseases—whether in bananas, coffee, or rice—has always been led by national crop research institutes, not individual experts. This ensures continuity, accountability, and the ability to mobilise multidisciplinary teams. RRISL, as the national institute dedicated to rubber, has laboratories, field stations, and trained staff. It is the only body capable of running large-scale surveillance, field trials, and grower outreach programs.

If CLSD research continues to rest on isolated expertise, Sri Lanka risks duplication of work, loss of institutional memory, and weak international credibility. By contrast, if RRISL leads, it can establish diagnostic protocols, surveillance systems, and integrated disease management packages that are nationally recognized, reported to international bodies like the IPPC, and trusted by global trade partners.

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