Anatomical Variation in the Wall Thickness of Wood Fibres of Rubber (Hevea Brasiliensis (Kunth) Muel Arg) Grown in South Eastern Nigeria

The wall thickness of wood fibres of rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) grown and tapped for latex in south eastern Nigeria were investigated to determine anatomical variation. The rubber trees which were overmature for tapping and keeping were sampled in hierarchical order of plantations, bud classes, trees, discs, cardinal directions and radii, based on the fixed effects model of a nested design. Wood samples obtained at different positions to the grain were macerated in equal volumes of hydrogen peroxide and glacial acetic acid and investigated on visopan microscope. The wall thickness of the fibres was not significant (p>0.05) in all the main effects. The mean wall thickness of the fibres was 6.42mu which may be due to tapping intensity of the trees.