The Rubber Development Department issues permits for Private Rubber Plant Nursery holders who need to produce planting materials for commercial purposes. This application should be submitted for January/ February and August/September every year. A paper advertisement is published annually, regarding this process.
Young budded poly bag plants can be produced from PB 86, RRIC 100, and RRIC 102 clones and permission will be granted to sell rubber plants by the Rubber Development Department on the recommendation of the Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka. Permits are issued after the inspections for the suitability of land on which the nursery is proposed to be established, and it is compulsory that the applicant should own a bud wood nursery which is less than 10 years old by the current year, for the bud wood requirement of the proposed nursery.
Due to the fact that rubber plants have to be obtained either from a department-owned nursery or from a commercial nursery approved by the Department for rubber replanting/ new planting, all state plantation companies and private rubber plant nurseries expected to be established should obtain a permit. Nurseries that obtain permits for January/ February of the relevant year must start nursery operations by 31st January of that year, and nurseries that obtain permits for August/ September must start nursery operations by 31st August of the relevant year. Applications should be submitted to the Regional Office relevant to the District where the nursery is situated.