Vol 9, No 2 (2022): December

The study aimed to compare several production parameters of Panicum sarmentosum at different defoliation intervals whose its benefit can add knowledge about the favorable defoliation interval of grasses as a feed forage source.  The agronomic study was done in plot experiments comparing parameters such as number of tillers, percentage of flowering clumps, forage dry-matter (DM) content, forage DM production, and leaf:stem ratio as an effect of 3 defoliation interval treatments, namely; 4, 5, and 6 weeks with 3 repetitions.  The effect of treatment on parameters was determined by the analysis of variance. Significant parameters affected by treatment were then further tested to determine the best defoliation interval between treatments by using the least significancy difference test.  The results showed that the number of tillers, the percentage of forage DM content, the production of stem DM (kg/ha) and the leaves stems ratio were not affected by the defoliation interval.  Defoliation interval significantly (P<0.05) affected the number (%) of flowering clumps, the production of forage biomass (kgDM/ha), and the production of leaf  DM (kgDM/ha) of Panicum sarmentosum Roxb. grass. The one-year observation obtained on the productivity of Panicum sarmentosum Roxb. has not reflected the survivability and productivity of this type of superior local forage yet. 

Efforts to use land through cropping patterns or crop rotation, better known as farm diversification can be an alternative for farmers to maintain their farming during the COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic affected commodity changes or changes in cropping patterns on farms cultivated by farmer. This study aims to analyze and describe the pattern of horticultural farming and the level of farmers’ incomes. The research was conducted in three villages in Sigi Biromaru District, namely Jono Oge Village, Lolu Village, and Sidera Village. The results show that there are no differences in the cropping patterns carried out by farmers in the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods. The cropping patterns include intercropping, multiple cropping, and relay cropping. The highest income per year is obtained by Jono Oge Village at IDR 12,054,600.00, followed by Lolu Village at IDR 8,099,262.40 and Sidera Village was IDR 4.416.600.00.

Local commodity-based farming needs to be developed by improving activities upstream to downstream of agricultural industries. Turmeric is one of the local commodities in Ngepung Village, Kedamean District, Gresik Regency. This commodity, which is widely used in food and beverage, and has health benefits, has not been cultivated intensively by some farmers in the area, mainly as a secondary commodity. The lack of access to information received caused the low willingness of the farmers to develop a turmeric business. However, some farmers have worked in small to medium-scale businesses because they can produce high production. This study analyzes the factors influencing farmers' decisions to sell turmeric. The analytical method used is binary logistic regression analysis. The results indicate that the price and production have a significant effect on farmers' decisions in selling turmeric. In contrast, the variables of distance to the market, age, education, and experience in turmeric farming have no significant effect.

The relationship between several characters of yields is very important for developing effective selection criteria. The total correlation between the result character and the result component may be misleading as a result of its relationship with other characters. Separating the total correlation into direct and indirect effects provides a more significant explanation of the cause of the relationship between dependent variables such as yield and independent variables such as yield components. This study aims to determine several traits that can be used to make selections indirectly and directly to increase the yield of upland rice. This research has been carried out on agricultural land in the village of Tamarenja (Kalama), Sindue District, Donggala Regency. Starting from August to December 2019, using a Randomized Block Design (RBD) with seven genotypic cultivars and three groups of cultivars so that there were twenty one experimental plots. The results showed that the number of leaves, leaf length, number of tillers, number of productive tillers, flowering age, thickness of seeds and weight of 1000 grains had a positive and significant correlation to yield. Flowering age, 1000 grain weight, and number of tillers are some of the characteristics that have a high direct effect and significant correlation to upland rice yield.

The aims of this study are to develop interpretation of structural geology in lithosequent using DEM and finite elemen method based on VES data. This research was conducted on June 2021 untill January 2022 at Pasang District, North Toraja. Four main point location were selected and recorded in google earth. Those points were processed using software QGIS for developing 3D model, Saga-GIS for interpolated DEM and VES for generating 1D and 2D geoelectrical modelling. Data were interpolated using Universal Kriging method and analysed using IP2WIN software. The results of these research shows that Geostatistical Universal Kriging can be used for interpolating DEM in lithosequent Pasang Village, by using  as the variogram equation and yield 95,12% determinations; VES method in geoelectrical resistivity can be configure into 2D and produce clearer modeling of pseudo-section; The synthetics data can be generated from field measurement data and interpretation of 2D VES; Result of synthetic block on geoelectrical data can be inverted using Finite Element Method and generated clearer data; By using these methods, the thickness of weathering layer in lithosequent Pasang Village can be estimated and modelling.

Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill is a fungus that infecting the insect Leptocorisa oratorius F. naturally in ricefields. This study aimed to obtain isolates of the entomopathogenic fungus B. bassiana from the insects body of infected L. oratorius, which would later be used as biological agents in controlling rice pests. The exploratory research was carried out at rice production centers in Sidera Village, Sigi Regency and in Dolago Village, Parigi-Moutong Regency, Central Sulawesi. The laboratory tests were carried out at the Plant Disease Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Tadulako University. Research methods include exploring L. oratorius insects infected by B. bassiana in the field, and then the specimens were brought to the laboratory for isolation and identification, calculation of conidia density, colony relative growth rate, and determination of viability. The results showed that L. oratorius was infected with the fungus B. bassiana in Sidera and in Dolago. Isolates from both regions had the same macroscopic and microscopic morphological characteristics, but had different characteristics of conidia density, colony relative growth rate, and viability.

Pepper is the main commodity South Sulawesi and is the main source of income for farmers. Potential that is owned, has the opportunity to increase product competitiveness in obtaining added value. The method used is a case study on the pepper business in South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. Data were analyzed using value-added analysis using Hayami's value-added method. The results of the analysis show that the value added generated by processing pepper seeds into powdered white pepper is IDR 197,218/kg, which means that for every 1 kg of raw material for white pepper seeds will be added IDR 197,218/kg, while the value added of ground black pepper is IDR 202,474/kg, which means that for every 1 kg of black pepper seed raw material, an value added of Rp.202,474/kg will be generated. The resulting profitability for white pepper is 56.35 percent and for black pepper is 57.85 percent. This shows that the processing of peppercorns into powdered pepper can generate profits of 56.35 percent white pepper and 57.85 percent black pepper respectively. The policy to increase ground pepper production has contributed positively to improving the regional economy, with the value added of black pepper and white pepper above 55 percent.

South Banawa District is one of the areas in Donggala Regency which has the best prospects in the pond aquaculture sector because this area has the potential to produce milkfish and shrimp. The earthquake and tsunami of 28 September 2018 damaged most of the ponds in South Banawa District. This study aimed to analyze the composition, diversity, and dominance of plankton in fish and shrimp farming ponds in Lalombi and Tolongano Village. The diversity index (H ́) of plankton in the two villages, namely Lalombi, ranges from 0.3040-1.0769 (phytoplankton), 0.4385-0.4610 (zooplankton) and Tolongano, it ranges from 0.2219-1.2318 (phytoplankton), 0-1.3297 (zooplankton). The results of this diversity are included in the low community category, which means that the condition of the plankton community is unstable, so the condition of the community is experiencing environmental disturbances, caused by changes in the structure of the soil texture due to the earthquake and tsunami. The dominance index values ranged from 0.4227-0.9033 for and from 0-0.2778 for Dominance index values close to one mean that under current conditions there is a dominant type of but for the value was close to zero, which means that there was no species dominating the structure of the community. uniformity index values ranged from 0.1562-0.4957 and those for ranged from 0-0.9592.