International Journal of Agriculture System

103-111

Authors: Ifayanti Ridwan; Phil H. Brown; Shaun N. Lisson; Cri Wahyuni

A study was conducted to examine sprouting on potato seed tuber over a range of different temperature and moisture conditions. The Experiment was conducted under controlled environment conditions using a Terratec thermo-gradient table at the School of Agricultural Science, University of Tasmania. The trial involved exposing seed tubers cv. Russet Burbank (grade 40-60 g) sourced from one seed lot to three water potentials (-0.6 MPa, -0.02 MPa and -0.01 MPa) at each of four different temperatures (10, 15, 20 and 25 °C). The growth medium used in the trial was vermiculite (Grade 2, Australian vermiculite and Perlite Co-P/L). The water potential treatments were prepared based on the relationship of water content and water potential by Whalley et al. (2001). Four seed tubers were planted in each container filled with growth medium at a 10 cm depth and covered by the growth medium before the containers were resealed. Using a pseudo replication design with temperature as the block, the moisture treatments were randomized within each temperature treatment with two replicate containers for each treatment combination. The design therefore provided a total of 8 tubers for each temperature and water potential combination, and a total of 24 treatment combinations overall. An analysis of variance and least significant difference (LSD) procedure using SPSS for windows version 14.0 was performed to determine the response of the tuber seeds to temperature and moisture. Temperature and moisture significantly affected sprout growth rate, assessed as the sprouting capacity of the tubers (FW sprouts per FW tubers). Sprouting capacity of seed tubers increased with increasing temperature and water potential. There was a significant interaction between temperature and moisture treatments on the sprouting capacity (p<0.05). The differences between water potential treatments were greater at higher temperature, with differences between sprouting capacity of tubers exposed to dry and wet conditions particularly evident at temperatures of 20 and 25 ºC. Relation between the result and risk in plant response to warmer climate as an impact of global warming is discussed.

119-131

Authors: Muhammad Arsyad; Andi Nuddin; Muhammad Yusri Zamhuri; Syarifuddin Yusuf

This paper examines rural coastal-agricultural poverty by extracting and comparing poverty causal of seaweed farmer and cocoa smallholder households as a long standing issue in developing countries. The research employed (1) Foster-Greer-Torbecke (FGT) poverty indices for describing poverty situation, (2) Regression Analysis for extracting effects of explanatory variables on Poverty, and (3) Paired-Samples T Test to evaluate income differences. Some important findings are; (1) the degree of poverty between Seaweed Farmers and Cocoa Smallholders is significantly different, meaning they have a differentiation in income structure indicating the causes of poverty are different. FGT indices reveal that the depth of poverty in seaweed farmers household is, however, severer than cocoa smallholders. In broad sense, this leads to argue that rural coastal poverty is truly severer than rural agriculture poverty; (2) the orientation of coffee, cashew-nut and livestock productions in agricultural economic activity is strong and directly associated with the poverty of cocoa smallholders. Meanwhile, the orientation of seaweed production in economic activity is strong and directly associated with the poverty of seaweed farmers. These imply that, encouraging coffee, cashew-nut and livestock productions for cocoa smallholders and seaweed production for seaweed farmers by improving access to primary input/seeds in particular (for local government policy), can be strongly expected to reduce poverty directly; (3) there are also common factors responsible for the poverty that requiring general policy options (national government). The options are expanding cultivated land area for cocoa smallholders and stretching length area for seaweed farmers, providing transfer-source income, and stepping up agriculture/aquaculture & nonagriculture extensions (technology, market and input information) can also help poverty reduction efforts.

141-151

Authors: Nurdiah Husnah; M. Saleh S. Ali; Darmawan Salman; Pawennari Hijjang; Fadjry Djufry; A. Amidah Amrawaty

This paper highlights the importance of merging indigenous with modern knowledge in agricultural development. Development of indigenous knowledge within the farming community, as a primary livelihood is now quite urgent. Development of technological-based local knowledge by the general public farmers seemed to be much easier for adoption because the technology actually originated from the local community, customs and local culture. Several studies have emphasized the importance of merging together the available indigenous and modern knowledge. It can be concluded that the rapid development of agriculture in remote rural areas in South Sulawesi, Indonesia requires significant merger of both the indigenous knowledge and modern agricultural systems. However, in order to ensure that the farmers can produce suitable and more effective modern adopted technologies, it has to be based on local wisdom. This adoption of modern technological knowledge ranges from the acquisition, dissemination and utilization of such beneficial knowledge in the Indonesian agricultural system. It is expected that such hybrids of local knowledge and modern technological know-how will help to create a mutual cooperation and knowledge contribution that encourages the development of strategic innovations and appropriate policies in the current local agricultural systems.

163-168

Authors: Akbar Tahir; Chelsea M. Rochman

Plastics represent the latest contaminant in the marine environment. Although plastics without doubt represent a uniquely valuable material particularly in construction, packaging and fishing gear applications. Current research on plastic debris in digestive tract content of pelagic fish is part of ongoing collaboration between University of Hasanuddin and University of California at Davis. Locally caught and consumed Silverside (Stolephorusheterolobus) or widely known as anchovies has been the subject on this studies. Freshly landed fish were collected from Paotere fish market, which is also the biggest fish wholesale location at Makassar City, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. At laboratory fish digestive tracts were removed and digested in 10% KOH at 60o C overnight, followed with plastic particles observation using binocular microscope. Four out of 10 fish investigated were found to contained plastic particles in their digestive tract. This is the first work on plastic debris in fish gut ever conducted in the region, which is in accordance to previous works on plastics debris elsewhere and will be further discussed for their possible effects, both on food safety and human toxicology.

183-188

Authors: Baharuddin; Tutik Kuswinanti; Ach Syaifuddin

Ralstonia solanacearum is not only a soil-borne pathogen but also a seedborne bacterial pathogen. National Seed Agency require that seed-source (G0) must free from bacterial wilt infection (0%) in potato seed certification process. This study aimed to determine an early and accurately detection of Ralstonia solanacearum in potato seedsource production (G0) on aeroponics cultivation system, which previously treated with microbial antagonists and artificialy infected with Ralstonia solanacearum. Seed potatoes were obtained from the previous study. Antagonist isolates NS01, S04, G06, and NG02 were applied separately in aeroponic system in nutrient solution, then artificially infected with R. solanacearum. These four isolates is quite effective inhibite R. solanacearum infection in potato aeroponic system with the intensity attach of 5, 7, 9 and 21% respectively, compared to 100% in control. Although the symptoms of wilt disease were appeared in plants, but the seeds did not show typical symptoms. In the positive control that inoculated with R. solanacearum without antagonists, revealing immediately wilt and death of plants, 14 days after inoculation. The result of polymerace chain reaction (PCR) using OLI1 and Y2 primers on tubers without antagonist with 100% disease incidence showed, that all of the tuber have positive results indicated by the appearance of DNA bands in the size of 287 bp. From visually healthy seeds sample resulted from antagonist treatment, only few of them have positive result and mostly other tubers showed negative result. This means that the role of antagonists on suppression of wilt disease, cannot totally guarantee the tubers free from latent infection of R. solanacearum.