Pemberdayaan Masyarakat pada Budi Daya dan Pengembangan Produk Pohon Gaharu (Aquilaria sp.) di Kabupaten Tolitoli, Sulawesi Tengah

Tolitoli District has a potential for agarwood trees in the forests, but it has not been optimally utilized and preserved by the local communities. Therefore, efforts are needed to increase understanding and community involvement in cultivation and product development of agarwood trees. The objectives of this activity are: to explore agarwood tree species in the forest and sources of local inoculums using a purposive sampling method for agarwood production, to assess the suitability of agro-climates for agarwood tree cultivation, to conduct face-to-face training and practice for agarwood tree breeding and bio-induction by injection, and to identify socio-economic conditions to support agarwood tree cultivation for community empowerment through product development and cultivation in Kabupaten Tolitoli. The project was implementated by exploring and identifying the existence of natural agarwood trees and agarwood farmers, training, and mentoring. The results of exploration and identification showed that Kabupaten Tolitoli has natural resources of agarwood trees in the forest and local inoculums for the bio-induction of agarwood formation. Also, the local community, including the local government, practitioners, farmers, and educational institutions, have great interest and desire for product development and cultivation of agarwood trees. Thus, it can be concluded that community empowerment through product development and cultivation of agarwood trees in Kabupaten Tolitoli can be implemented.Tolitoli District has a potential for agarwood trees in the forests, but it has not been optimally utilized and preserved by the local communities. Therefore, efforts are needed to increase understanding and community involvement in cultivation and product development of agarwood trees. The objectives of this activity are: to explore agarwood tree species in the forest and sources of local inoculums using a purposive sampling method for agarwood production, to assess the suitability of agro-climates for agarwood tree cultivation, to conduct face-to-face training and practice for agarwood tree breeding and bio-induction by injection, and to identify socio-economic conditions to support agarwood tree cultivation for community empowerment through product development and cultivation in Kabupaten Tolitoli. The project was implementated by exploring and identifying the existence of natural agarwood trees and agarwood farmers, training, and mentoring. The results of exploration and identification showed that Kabupaten Tolitoli has natural resources of agarwood trees in the forest and local inoculums for the bio-induction of agarwood formation. Also, the local community, including the local government, practitioners, farmers, and educational institutions, have great interest and desire for product development and cultivation of agarwood trees. Thus, it can be concluded that community empowerment through product development and cultivation of agarwood trees in Kabupaten Tolitoli can be implemented

Determining Phytocomponent of Vetiver Grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides) Under Drought Stress

Vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides, Poaceae) is the leading commodity in Garut Regency, Indonesia, the second-largest producer in the world of vetiver oils. The content of vetiver oils is strongly influenced by the environment, for example, drought stress. Drought stress causes plants to adapt by producing secondary metabolites such as essential oils. This experiment aimed to analyze growth, phytocomponents and obtaining the best quality of vetiver grass accessions under drought stress. The results showed that root and shoot dry biomass were significantly affected by the interaction between drought stress duration and vetiver grass accession. The root dry biomass of Kamojang accession decreased by 25.4%, while Cilawu increased by 5% for 4 days of drought stress. The root length and shoot length were not significantly affected by the treatment. The highest root/shoot length ratio was Verina, and the lowest one was Cisarua. The highest increase in proline occurred in Cilawu accession (85.7%), while the lowest was Verina (6.67%). Essential root oils contain 53 types of phytocomponents, dominated by sesquiterpenes, being khusimol, the highest type. The Cilawu is the best accession based on growth and content rendement

Fine Root Production and Decomposition in Lowland Rainforest and Oil Palm Plantations in Sumatra, Indonesia

Transformation of tropical rainforest into oil palm plantation not only has impacts on biodiversity but also affects ecosystem functions such as production and decomposition of fine roots as a nutrient source for plant. The objective of the research was to evaluate the production and decomposition rate of fine roots in natural forest (NF) at Bukit 12 National Park and oil palm plantation (OP) in Jambi, Sumatra. The soil core and litter bag methods were used to obtain fine root production and decomposition data. The results showed that generally, there was the same pattern in fine root production between NF and OP. The annual fine root productivity was found to be higher in NF than that of OP. Rainfall in NF and air temperature in NF and OP were the most significant climate factors affecting fine root production. The remaining fine root biomass decreased as the incubation time increased. The decomposition rate constant (k value) was significantly higher in NF than in OP. Our data showed that the nutrient turn-over of NF fine roots was faster than of OP fine roots. Nitrogen, carbon content, and C/N ratio were the main factors that influenced fine root decomposition

Physiological Character of Merremia peltata (L.) Merrill from Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park Lampung

Merremia peltata invaded the vegetation of Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (BBSNP) in Lampung Province, Indonesia. In this site, the invasion has reached more than 7000 hectares. Therefore, it is necessary to asses the physiological characters of M. peltata as an invasive plant species under different shading level in BBSNP. The experiment design of this study was split block design with factorial. The first factor (main plot) was shading treatment that consisted of 0, 55, and 90% shades. The second factor (sub plot) was 3 species of plant that consisted of M. peltata, Mikania micrantha, and Ipomoea batatas. Each experimental unit was replicated 3 times. The result showed that the physiological characters such as carbon fixation rate (CFR), relative growth rate (RGR), leaf area ratio (LAR), photosynthetics nitrogen use efficiency (PNUE) of M. peltata higher than the other two species and interconnected. Physiological characters associated with RGR can be supporting the invasiveness of M. peltata, especially in BBSNP.  Supporting invasiveness with resources allocation to leaves biosynthesis and relatively efficient nitrogen were used for photosynthesis

Androgynomonoecious Jatropha curcas: Chromosomes, Isozymes, and Flowers Gender

Jatropha curcas (J. curcas) is usually monoecious plants, which have male and female flowers on the same inflorescence. However, J. curcas can be found as an androgynomonoecious plant (have male, female, and hermaphrodite flowers), even though very rare. Androgynomonoecious J. curcas can be identified after six months of planting when it had started flowering. Therefore, it is important to identify the characteristics of androgynomonoecious J. curcas that can differentiate between androgynomonoecious and monoecious plants in earlier stages of growth. The objectives of the research were to observe isozymes, chromosome and flowers gender of androgynomonoecious and monoecious J. curcas Banten and Lampung accessions. Seeds from five genotypes of J. curcas were used in the research. The observation was carried out on the chromosome and isozymes (Peroxidase and Esterase isozymes) could be used as markers to differentiate androgynomonoecious and monoecious plants. Observations about the flower gender from offsprings derived from different seeds were important to know the inheritance of flower gender. The androgynomonoecious and monoecious J. curcas were diploid with number of chromosomes 2n=2x=22. The chromosomes of androgynomonoecious have longer than that of monoecious J. curcas. The isozymes of androgynomonoecious J. curcas had four alleles and monoecious J. curcas (Banten female monoecious) had three alleles. The flower inflorescence and gender derived from androgynomonoecious plants were unstable, due to androgynomonoecious is intermediate state

The Physiological Responses of Zea Mays L. and Cucumis Sativus L. on Drought Stress and Re-Watering

Drought leads to deficit water availability and its detrimental effects seriously threaten plant growth. This study assessed the physiological, biochemical, and antioxidant adjustments in different types of photosynthetic plants between Zea mays L. (C4) and Cucumis sativus L. (C3 plant) under response to short-term drought stress. Analyses of relative water content (RWC), proline, and ascorbic acid (AsA) were performed to explore how these plants react to drought. Fifteen-day-old plants were subjected to full irrigation or gradual drought periods for 2-d, 4-d, 6-d, and 8-d following by recovery for 7-d. The results revealed that drought significantly reduces leaf RCW in both plants. Re-watered Z. mays after 8-d drought was higher than C. sativus and reestablished RCW by 23% of stressed plant although remained lower by 9% of the well-watered plant. While, proline and AsA contents in Z. mays were higher than those in C. sativus in drought treatment at 8-d (2.05 µmol/g FW) and 6-d (3174.60 AsA/100 g FW), respectively, that could demonstrate osmotic adjustment ability in this C4 species. The increased proline in both plants also indicates a good strategy for plants to recover. Rewatering gave a decrease AsA and could be expected that plants restore cellular activity after oxidative injury. Based on our study, proline is the most informative biochemical marker to differentiate plant response to drought and Z. mays adjusted defense mechanism to drought rather than C. sativus due to higher accumulation of proline, better antioxidant activity, and improved RCW after recovery

Analisis Morfofisiologi, Anatomi, dan Histokimia pada Lima Spesies Tanaman Gulma sebagai Respons terhadap Merkuri dan Timbal

Plants can be used as phytoremediation agents to improve critical land due to gold mining activities. This experiment aimed to analyze the morphophysiological, anatomical, and histochemical responses of Brachiaria mutica, Cyperus kyllingia, Ipomea aquatica, Mikania micrantha, and Paspalum conjugatum in response to the application of heavy metals mercury and lead in the forms of Hg(NO3)2 and Pb(NO3)2 in hydroponic experiments and to determine the ability of these plants to accumulate both metals. Morphological responses were observed by measuring number of leaves and plant dry weight, and physiological responses were observed by analyzing photosynthetic pigments, while anatomical and histochemical responses were analyzed by microscopic observation to tranversal slice of roots and leaves. The results showed that the applications of Hg(NO3)2 and Pb(NO3)2 treatments caused decreases in number of leaves, plant dry weights, and photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoid). The treatments also decreased leaf thickness due to the decrease in the epidermis, but they caused the increases in exodermis and endodermis of the roots. Mercury and lead were accumulated in large amounts in the roots, but accumulation in the shoot was less. Histochemical observation showed that lead was found in the roots of all the plants, especially in endodermic tissue and the vessel, whereas in the leaves the two metals were detected in the upper and lower epidermis, mesophyll, and vessel. Among the five species tested, C. kyllingia and P. conjugatum were the most tolerant to Pb and Hg

Respon Pertumbunan Tanaman Kedelai terhadap Bradyrhizobium Japonicum Toleran Masam dan Pemberian Pupuk di Tanah Masam

The use of acid tolerant rhizobacteria such as Bradyrhizobium japonicum is one effort for increasing soybeanproductivity in acid soil. B. japonicum is a N-fixing bacteria that can promote soybean growth through symbiosis with thehost plants. The objective of this study was to investigate the growth and production of soybean var. Wilis inoculated by B.japonicum and NPK inorganic fertilizer application in acid soil. Two isolates of B. japonicum that were BJ 11(19) and BJ11(wt) were used as inoculant for soybean. BJ 11(19) was resulted by transposons mutagenesis, whereas BJ 11(wt) is a wild type of bacteria. Both isolates of B. japonicum were acid tolerant. Soybean was inoculated with BJ 11(19) and BJ 11(wt)combined with compost and nitrogen fertilizer (with two rates). The field experiment was conducted at Cikabayan, Darmaga,in a randomized complete block design with 12 treatments and 3 replicates. The results showed that application of the acidtolerant B. japonicum BJ 11(wt), compost, and nitrogen fertilizer (10 g m-2) increased the plant height, dry weight of shootsand roots, nodule number, dry weight of nodules, nitrogenase activity, number of pod and seed, seed weight, and nitrogencontent of seeds in acid soil

Induction of Agarwood in Aquilaria Malaccensis Using Nitrogen Fertilizer and Fusarium Solani

Aquilaria malaccensis is agarwood producing species in Indonesia. Agarwood compounds are formed as a chemical response of Aquliaria malaccensis tree to various physical damages, phatogen infection, or chemical treatment. Factors influencing agarwood formation are age of the tree, season, geographical location, environment, and treatment period. Agarwood induction may be done in tree or sapling. Agarwood induction in saplings need more effort than in trees. Combination of fungi (Fusarium solani) and nutrient (Nitrogen fertilizer) treatment may be one way to induce agarwood in A. malaccensis saplings. This study aims to produce A. malaccensis agarwood (aromatic compounds and colour) by induction of F. solani and nitrogen fertilizer, and analyse the agarwood chemical content. The agarwood chemical content was investigated by Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) analysis. Results indicated that agarwood had a different colour for every treatment. The darkest brown and most fragrant agarwood were produced by A. malaccensis treated by a combination of nitrogen fertilizer (4 gr/sapling) and F. solani inoculation. Three chemical compounds were identified i.e. silanediol dimethyl, 4-ethyl benzoic acid and 1,4,7,10,13,16- hexaoxacyclooctadecane with percentages of 25.7, 17.62, and 3.56 respectively. A. malaccensis treated by nitrogen fertilizer and F. solani for 3 months is able to induce aromatic compounds formation, but the colour still dark brown. Biosynthesis of aromatic compounds in agarwood occurs first before changes in the colour of the wood

Xylem Vessels Traits of Oil Palm Roots Influenced by Root Diameter and Soil Hydrological Regime

Oil palm has been widely studied regarding growth and development, water use, productivity, and other economically relevant functions. However, not much is known about the hydraulic conductivity of oil palm root systems and how xylem vessels perform their function to transport water from roots to shoots so far. This information is needed to describe oil palm strategies to maintain water status, especially in oil palms that grow under various soil hydrological regimes. To investigate the root hydraulic performance, we measured mean xylem vessel diameter (D), vessel density (VD), vessel lumen area (Alumen), and potential hydraulic conductivity (Kp) for oil palm root samples in seasonally flooded riparian and well-drained sites at Harapan Jambi Forest. The result showed that D, Alumen, and Kp increased with increasing root diameter at both plantation types. On the contrary, VD significantly decreased with increasing root diameter. Potential hydraulic conductivity (Kp) in riparian sites was smaller than in well-drained sites and significantly different in root diameter >2-5 and >5-10 mm and related to both plantation types. The low potential hydraulic conductivity of root xylem vessels and the narrowing of xylem vessel lumen that occurs in oil palm roots in the seasonally flooded riparian sites were presumed as adaptation mechanisms to maintain water supply from the roots to the shoot in oil palm plants in these sites