The alternation of dry and wet seasons had important consequences. First, mosquitoes bred during both seasons, but were more numerous during the change in seasons. Second, the extended dry season limited the attack of parasites and fungi on hevea. Europeans were initially worried that the extended dry season would not allow the maximum growth of hevea. But, French planters argued, unlike the ever-wet Brazilian rainforests, Cochinchina’s dry season eliminated many of the pests of hevea.52
