Evaluation of land suitability for the development of Hiyung cayenne pepper in Hiyung Village, Tapin Tengah District, South Kalimantan

Hiyung Village is one of the centers of agricultural production, especially cayenne pepper.  The advantage of Hiyung cayenne pepper is its spiciness which has capcaisin compound of 94.5 thousand ppm. It is 17 times spicier than cayenne pepper in general.  The success of agricultural cultivation is greatly influenced by the land suitability. Furthermore, soil and environmental conditions affect plant growth and development.  This study aims to analyze the soil properties and land characteristics to evaluate their suitability for the development of Hiyung cayenne pepper. This study is a descriptive research, carried out using a land suitability evaluation survey method to obtain data on land characteristics and current land management. Soil samples were taken from five locations, each about 1 km apart. Three sample points were taken at a depth of 0 cm to 20 cm in each location. Observation were made on effective depth, slope, surface rocks, rock outcrops, flood hazard, coarse material in soil cross section, erosion hazard, temperature, mean annual precipitation, length of the dry season, and current land management. The results showed that the actual land suitability is included in the S3 (marginally suitable) with limiting factors of temperature, water availability (rainfall), and nutrient retention (pH and base saturation). Potential land suitability is still included in S3 class (marginally suitable) because the only limiting factors that may be improved are soil pH and base saturation

Characteristics of Soils Developing from Gabbro, Phyllite and Chert Parent Rock in Karangsambung District

Understanding the nature of the soil is very important to know the potential and the proper management of the soil. This study aimed to determine the differences in morphological, physical, and chemical properties of the soils developing from gabbro, phylitte and chert parent materials. The soil profile was made to represent each parent rock of gabbro, phyllite and chert located on the upper and middle slopes with pine-dominated vegetation and mixed gardens. Observation in the field is a professional description to observe soil morphology. Soil samples were taken at each horizon to analyze soil physical properties (bulk density, particle density, and texture), soil chemical properties (pH, exchanged cations, cation exchange capacity, available P, organic C, and total N). Texture analysis results showed that clay content of the soil developing from parent rock of Gabro 1 is the highest, followed by the soil clay content from  Chert 1, Phyllite 1, Chert 2, Phyllite 2, and Gabbro 2, respectively. The order of soil acidity level (pH) is Gabbro 2 > Gabbro 1> Chert 1 ~ Chert 2 > Phyllite 1 ~ Phyllite 2. Meanwhile, the order of the cation exchange capacity is Gabbro 1> Gabbro 2> Phyllite 1> Chert 1> Phyllite 2> Chert 2, and the order of the base saturation is Chert 2> Gabbro 2> Chert 1> Phyllite 2 > Phyllite1> Gabbro 1