Studies on Growth Characteristics and Starch Productivity of the Sago Palm (Metroxylon Sagu Rottb.) Folk Varieties in Seram and Ambon Islands, Maluku, Indonesia
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Trop. Agr. Develop. 64（3）： 125 － 134，2020 Studies on Growth Characteristics and Starch Productivity of the Sago Palm (Metroxylon sagu Rottb.) Folk Varieties in Seram and Ambon Islands, Maluku, Indonesia Yoshinori YAMAMOTO 1, *, Tetsushi YOSHIDA 1, Isamu YANAGIDATE 1, Febby Jeanry POLONAYA 2, Willem Anthon SIAHAYA 2, Foh Shoon JONG 3, Yulius Barra PASOLON 4, Akira MIYAZAKI 1, Tomoko HAMANISHI 5, and Kazuko HIRAO 6 1 Faculty of Agriculture, Kochi University, Nankoku, Kochi 783-8502, Japan 2 Faculty of Agriculture, Pattimura University, Ambon, Maluku 97233, Indonesia 3 PT. National Timber and Forest Products, Selatpanjang, Riau 28753, Indonesia 4 Faculty of Agriculture, Haluoleo University, Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi 93232, Indonesia 5 Faculty of Home Economics, Kyoritsu Women’s University, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-8437, Japan 6 Aikoku Gakuen Junior College, Edogawa-ku, Tokyo 133-8585, Japan Abstract The growth characteristics and starch productivities of four major sago palm folk varieties (spiny types: Ihur, Tuni, Makanaru; non-spiny type: Molat) were compared on Seram and Ambon Islands, Maluku, Indonesia. These folk varieties were recognized there by spiny or non-spiny; length and density of the spine; the angle of leaf crown; the attaching features of leaflets to the rachis (horizontal or V-shaped); drooping of the leaflet tip; starch productivity; starch color, etc. There were no significant differences in growth characteristics, leaf and leaflet characteristics, starch content, and characteristics related to starch content among the four major folk varieties on Seram Island. The trunk growth characteristics and starch content of the Ihur and Tuni on Ambon Island were comparable to those of Seram Island. In addition, the starch productivities of the four major folk varieties, 500–600 kg plant-1, were superior to those of sago palms in Malaysia and in western areas of Indonesia. The starch contents were as high as those of the late-flowering folk varieties of the Indonesian territory on New Guinea. Key words: Folk variety, Growth characteristics, Leaf characteristics, Macronutrients, Maluku Islands, Starch productivity ha, respectively. Rasyad and Wasito (1986) reported Introduction the sago palm forest area on the Maluku Islands was Sago palm is estimated to have originated in New 30,000 ha and that on Seram Island was considered to Guinea (Barrau, 1959; Flach and Schuiling, 1989; occupy 11,000 ha. Regarding the folk varieties of sago Takamura, 1990; Flach, 1997), and in particular, in palms grown in the Maluku Islands, Sastrapradja and Irian Jaya, Indonesia. The morphological and growth Mogea (1977) and Flach (1980) reported five sago palm characteristics and the starch productivity there were folk varieties (Sagu Mulat, Sagu Makanaro, Sagu Ihor, highly diverse (Widjono et al., 2000; Matanubun and Sagu Tuni, Sagu Ikau) on Ambon Island (Although Maturbongs, 2006; Matanubun, 2015; Yamamoto et al., the spelling of name for the same folk variety differs 2020). It was estimated that sago palms were transmit- depending on the reporters, such as “Mulat” and ted from the origin to western areas such as Indonesia, “Molat”, “Ihor” and “Ihur”, “Makanaro” and “Makanaru”, Malaysia, and Thailand and to northern area such as the the authors followed the description by Louhenapessy Philippines (Ehara, 2015). (1992) and the latter spelling of each variety was used On the other hand, Beccari (1918) set the center of in this report). Yamamoto (1999) confirmed these diversity for sago palm on the Maluku Islands, and the five folk varieties on Ambon Island and also identified sago starch has been utilized as a staple food there for four of the five on Seram Island, with the exception of long time (Sastrapradja and Mogea, 1977). Flach (1977) Ikau. Among these folk varieties, Tuni, Molat, Ihur and estimated the wild and semi-/cultivated sago palm Makanaru were presumed to be major folk varieties on areas of the Maluku Islands to be 50,000 and 10,000 Ambon and Seram Islands (Sastrapradja and Mogea, 1977; Yamamoto, 1999). Molat is a non-spiny type, Communicated by H. Ehara while the other varieties are spiny types. In addition, Received Jan. 10, 2020 Louhenapessy (1992) recognized nine sago palm folk Accepted Apr. 16, 2020 varieties (Tuni, Molat, Ihur, Makanaru, Duri Rotan, * Corresponding author [email protected] Molat Berduri, Molat Merah, Molat Berduri Merah, Sagu 126 Trop. Agr. Develop. 64（3）2020 Swanggi) in the Maluku Islands. In addition to the four after varieties) in Seram and Ambon Islands, Maluku, major folk varieties, among the fi ve folk varieties listed Indonesia and to compare them with those of the sago by him, three folk varieties are considered to be variants palms we have already investigated in Malaysia and of Molat: Molat Berduri (it has spines when young, but Indonesia. In addition, we interviewed the sago growers they disappear with growth), Molat Merah (the leaf axis on Seram and Ambon Islands about the characteristics is red when young), and Molat Berduri Merah (with the of the four major varieties. combined characteristics of Molat Berduri and Molat Materials and Methods Merah). Of the other two folk varieties, Duri Rotan is a spiny type with short spines, high density, and low Sampling investigation starch productivity, and Sagu Swanggi (Swanggi means We selected Kairatu Village on Seram Island in “ghost”) accumulates starch immediately after trunk 2007 and Rutong Village on Ambon Island in 2008 as formation. Moreover, Schuiling (2009) reported six sago research sites based on the interview surveys of Prof. J. palm folk varieties as well as their characteristics, Ihur, E. Louhenapessy and Prof. E. T. H. Maris of Pattimura Tuni, Molat Licin, Molat Duri Putih, Molat Duri Merah, University in Ambon (Fig. 1). Makanaru Duri Hitam, and Makanaru Duri Putih, on Seram Island based on the interview with the most Kairatu Village on Seram Island in 2007 experienced sago processor. In his report, Molat Licin The research was conducted in September 2007. and Makanaru Duri Hitam or Makanaru Duri Putih Three plants each of four major sago palm varieties, Ihur, may correspond to Molat and Makanaru in the other Tuni, and Makanaru (spiny types), and Molat (non-spiny reports (Sastrapradja and Mogea, 1977; Flach, 1980; type) at harvest stage (fl ower bud formation to fl owering Louhenapessy, 1992; Yamamoto, 1999). stage), which are considered to be suitable for harvest- As described above, several reports on the folk ing, were sampled in a small-scale sago palm garden in varieties and their characteristics of the sago palms on Kairatu Village. However, two plants were sampled for Maluku Islands are available, but some characteristics Molat due to diffi culty in fi nding out the plant at harvest for each variety were not necessarily consistent among stage. In addition, one sampled plant of Tuni was in the the reports. Moreover, the growth characteristics and young fruit stage, and it was slightly over the appropri- starch productivities of these sago palm folk varieties ate harvest time, so the plant was excluded from the grown in the Maluku Islands have not been adequately calculation of mean values of all characteristics. The soil clarifi ed. types of the surveyed gardens were loam to silt loam. Clarifi cation of the differences in the growth char- The leaf and growth characteristics were examined for acteristics and starch productivities of sago palm folk sampled sago palms. varieties is important for the selection of the best variety Regarding the leaf characteristics, three leaves in line with the production target, and it is a problem were samples from the basal, middle and top positions that must be solved before promoting the development of a plant, and the leaf length (the length from the base of sago palm plantations that have been developing in of the leaf sheath to the tip of the uppermost leafl et) and Indonesia and Malaysia in recent years. number of leafl ets were measured. The longest leafl ets Based on this background, the purpose of this from the left and right sides of the sampled leaves were study is to clarify the growth characteristics and starch collected, and the length, maximum width, and SPAD productivities of four major sago palm varieties (here- value (SPAD-502, Minolta Co.) were measured. The Seram 1. Kairatu Masohi Liang Ambon 1. Rutong 100 km Ambon Fig. 1. Map of Ambon and Seram Islands, Maluku, Indonesia Yamamoto et al.: Starch productivity of sago palm in Seram and Ambon Islands 127 SPAD values were measured at the central parts of the Methods of analyzing inorganic and organic com- longest leaflets. The leaf area was determined accord- ponents ing to the method of Omori (2001). The leaf area was Analysis of macronutrients calculated as follows: the length of the longest leaflet × The dried materials of the pith samples in Kairatu its maximum width × the number of leaflets per leaf × Village on Seram Island were ground through 100 mesh 0.54. The mean leaflet area was calculated by dividing or less and 0.5 g of the ground material was decomposed the leaf area by the number of leaflets per leaf, and the with sulfuric acid-hydrogen peroxide solution; nitrogen leaf area per plant was calculated by the leaf area × the (N) and phosphorous (P) were analyzed using the semi- number of leaves per plant. In this research, since the micro Kjeldahl method and Murphy and Riley’s method individual plants were from flower bud formation to the (1962), respectively. Potassium (K), calcium (Ca) flowering stage, the leaf length and leaflet characteris- and magnesium (Mg) were analyzed using an atomic tics were shorter and smaller from base to top (Table 3) absorption spectrophotometer (AA-6800, Autosampler, (Yamamoto et al., 2014), the values of the basal leaves ASC-6100, Shimadzu Co.). The content of each nutrient were used for the leaf and leaflet characteristics.