Photosynthesis Rate, Sugar and Starch Content of Sago Leaves (Metroxylon sp.) at Different Preparation Methods of Sago Seedlings

Photosynthesis rate plays a significant role in plant growth and development. A study was conducted to determine the best methods to grow sago planting materials from sago suckers. Photosynthesis rate, stomatal density, intercellular CO2 concentration, stomatal conductance, transpiration, sugar and starch content of the sago leaves from different methods of planting was determined. The field experiment was carried out at the Cikabayan Experimental Station from January 2020 to February 2021; the leaf morphology was conducted at the Microtechnical Laboratory and Testing Laboratory of the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia. The treatments for the sago seedlings were immersion of the bare-rooted seedlings in water, immersion in water with media mix in polybags, transplanted to media mix in polybags, and immersion of bare-rooted seedlings for 4 weeks in water followed by transplanting to media mix in polybags. The study was arranged using a single factor a completely randomized block design, and quantitative data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2013 and the SAS. Stomatal density and photosynthetic rate were not significantly different between treatments. In contrast, the sugar content of immersed seedling without polybags for one month followed by transplanting to polybag had the best growth compared to those from other treatments, both at the nursery phase and post-transplanting phase. All planting methods resulted in good quality planting materials. At the nursery phase, sago seedlings immersed in water method grew the best; at the post-transplanting phases seedlings immersed bare-rooted for one month followed by transplanting to polybags grew better than those with other treatment

Vegetative Morphology and Starch Production Among Sago Plants (Metroxylon spp.) in Kepulauan Meranti District, Riau, Indonesia

Sago (Metroxylon spp.) is the world’s highest starch producer that have high productivity. Sago starch, however, is still underutilized compared to other starch. Sago can produce dry starch of 20-40 ton per ha per year. Indonesia has the largest sago area in the world with more than 90% of the world’s total sago area. Sago have high species diversity and not all of them have the same starch-producing capability. This research was conducted to gather information on the morphological characters and starch production potentials of several types of sago in Meranti Islands Regency, Riau Province, Indonesia, especially in Bandul, Mengkirau, Tanjung Peranap, and Bagan Melibur. Three different types of sago in Kepulauan Meranti Regency, Riau, has been identified, namely Beremban, Meranti and Sangka. The morphology and starch production of different types of sago vary depending on environmental conditions, including soil types. Beremban Sago collected from Bandul Village were found to have the highest starch content, therefore it has potentials to be developed for starch production in Indonesia