Caraka Tani: Journal of Sustainable Agriculture
Not a member yet
437 research outputs found
Sort by
Improving the Management of Parthenium hysterophorus to Enhance Okra Production through the Application of Chemicals, Adjuvants and Plant Extract Blends in Pakistan
Get PDFVegetables are consequently experiencing great yield losses due to weed infestation. Weed management is extremely important for sustainable crop production in all cropping systems. This review paper aimed to provide general information and alternative recommendations for the management of Parthenium hysterophorus weed by chemicals, adjuvants and plant extracts in okra. Different strategies have been used to control parthenium, but no single management solution is sufficient to handle parthenium; hence, different management options need to be combined. Only an integrated approach will achieve effective control over this weed. In areas where parthenium natural enemies are absent, chemical control is an important method of managing this weed. In the control of this plant, the use of chemical herbicides such as chlorimuron ethyl, glyphosate, atrazine, ametryn, bromoxynil and metsulfuron are considered to be efficient. Moreover, various plants have allelopathic potential and attempts have been made to use them in parthenium control. Three allelopathic grasses, namely, Achyranthes aspera, Syzygium cumini and Acacia nilotica are able to minimize the plant growth and inhibit early seedling growth of exotic weed P. hysterophorus. The results recommend that the control of parthenium in okra and other summer vegetables using chemical herbicides with single and combination mode of action is still effective compared to the use of plant extracts. The use of herbicides by adding adjuvants has the potential to minimize the use of excessive herbicides
Urban Expansion and Its Effect on Agricultural Technology Adoption of Smallholder Peri-Urban Farmers in Tigray Region, Ethiopia
Get PDFIn the rapidly growing world, where farming land is shrinking due to horizontal urban expansion and development-induced projects, agricultural productivity should grow by 70% to meet food needs. Spatial urban expansion in developing countries, not exceptional to Ethiopia, puts immense pressure by taking peri-urban fertile agricultural land for the purpose of development. This paper examines whether urban expansion increases or decreases the agricultural technology adoption capacity of smallholder peri-urban farmers. Households were clustered into displaced and non-displaced, and data were collected from 341 households, 101 of whom were displaced and 240 households were non-displaced. Descriptive statistics and econometric model were employed to explore the role of urban expansion in technology adoption of smallholder peri-urban farmers. The multivariate probit result shows that urban expansion decreases the tendency of displaced smallholder peri-urban farmers to participate in irrigation and adoption of a generator but urban expansion does not increase or decrease displaced households’ tendency to adopt beehive and practice row sawing. Generally, urban expansion decreases the affinity of smallholder peri-urban farmers to adopt agricultural technologies. Therefore, policymakers, particularly the Bureau of Agriculture should intensively work and train displaced smallholder peri-urban farmers on the benefit of agricultural technologies to improve agricultural productivity and use the remaining plot of farmland sustainably. Besides strong monitoring and follow-up are required to avert the negative ramifications of development-induced displacement
Determinants of Production and Income Risks of Rainfed Lowland Farming: A Case Study in Maros Regency, Indonesia
Get PDFRainfed lowland farming production is generally lower than irrigated lowland rice due to area differentiation regional features. Rainfed lowland rice farming can only produce rice during the rainy season because lowland rice cannot be planted in the dry season. The purposes of this study are (1) to analyze the risk of production and income of rice farming in rainfed lowland farming and (2) to investigate the factors influencing the risk of rice farming in rainfed lowland farming. Data were collected from 100 respondents of rice farmers in four sub-districts in Maros Regency using the multi-stage cluster random sampling technique. The analysis of production and income risks were performed using multiple linear regression with the heteroscedastic method. The results have shown that rice farming in rainfed lowland farming poses a risk to production and income. The variables that significantly influence the rainfed lowland rice farming are land area, the number of seeds, the amount of urea fertilizer and the amount of pesticide. Farmers are required to manage risk by prioritizing the effectiveness and efficiency production factors as needed. Similarly the government is expected to assist farmers in maintaining the level of rice selling prices
Soil Quality at Rice Fields with Organic, Semi-organic and Inorganic Management in Wonogiri Regency, Indonesia
Get PDFThe high demand of rice is fulfilled by intensification, particularly with the use of chemical fertilizer that allegedly causes land and environmental problems in a long term. As public awareness of environmental health rises, more rice fields are managed organically and semi-organically, but there are still many that manage rice fields inorganically. Assessment of soil quality of the three types of rice field management is important to prove that organic rice fields have better soil quality than semi-organic and inorganic rice fields, as well as to evaluate soil conditions on the location. This research was conducted in Girimarto, Wonogiri, Indonesia, using a descriptive explorative method with a survey approach on three points of each management system of rice fields, which are organic, semi-organic and inorganic rice fields. Statistical analysis was performed by Pearson correlation analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) to determine the indicators affecting soil quality, which are called the minimum data set (MDS). There were selected indicators in this research, including total microbes, base saturation, cation exchangeable capacity and organic carbon. Based on the results of the study, organic rice fields have the best soil quality with a score of soil quality index (SQI) of 2.3, compared to semi-organic rice field SQI (2.2) and inorganic rice field SQI (1.7). The results indicate that organic management contributes to better soil quality and environment
Physicochemical Properties of Jelly Candy Made with Pectin from Red Dragon Fruit Peel in Combination with Carrageenan
Get PDFJelly candy is a product with a soft and chewy texture due to a gelling agent such as pectin and carrageenan. Red dragon fruit peel widely uses as natural pectin in various products, one of which is jelly candy. However, the resulting product has a less chewy texture. Thus, combining the natural pectin and carrageenan is expected to improve jelly candy’s physicochemical characteristics. Moreover, in jelly candy products, the combination of carrageenan with red dragon fruit peel pectin have not been applied. The methods in this research consisted of extraction of red dragon fruit peel and jelly candy making. This study uses completely randomized design with two factors: the concentration (3.5%, 4%, 4.5%) and ratio (2:1, 1:1 and 1:2) of red dragon fruit pectin and carrageenan. The jelly candy obtained were observed for its texture, color and moisture content. Hardness, cohesiveness, gumminess and chewiness were analyzed to determine the texture of jelly candy. The result showed a combination of red dragon fruit peel pectin and carrageenan within a ratio of 2:1 at 4.5%, selected as the best ratio and concentration in making jelly candy. The jelly candy had a hardness value of 421.59±7.94 g, cohesiveness 0.39±0.01, gumminess 122.22±2.77, chewiness 117.54±2.61, lightness 32.39±0.16 and moisture content 45.83±2.68%. This study provides new insight into gelling agents used to produce jelly candy and the effect on the physicochemical characteristics of jelly candy product
Innovation Characteristics and Adoption Opportunity of Bujangseta Technology for Tangerine Farming
Get PDFIndonesian Citrus and Subtropical Fruits Research Institute (ICSFRI) has generated a technology of Bujangseta (bearing fruits throughout the year) to increase citrus plant productivity and to support the sustainable availability of citrus fruits in the market. This study aims to identify the characteristics of Bujangseta technological innovation that might influence the adoption of the technology by farmers. The study was conducted in Banyuwangi Regency in November 2019 by using a census method to all 16 cooperator farmers of Bujangseta technology. This present study applied a descriptive analysis method based on the scoring and category of technological innovation characteristics. The results showed that the innovation characteristics of Bujangseta technology were: 1) it was very profitable since tangerine farming with the application of Bujangseta technology generated higher income than that without the application, 2) it was greatly appropriate with the local conditions as all production supplies were locally available, 3) it was easy to be applied because farmers did not suffer any complication to employ Bujangseta practice, 4) it was easily observed since the results of Bujangseta implementation were easy to be observed visually by farmers and 5) it was easily trial-tested as the method of Bujangseta was easy to try and apply. Therefore, this new technology had a very high adoption opportunity rate, showing that the technology had a great chance of being adopted by farmers
Fruit Morphology, Antioxidant Activity, Total Phenolic and Flavonoid Contents of Salacca zalacca (Gaertner) Voss by Applications of Goat Manures and Bacillus velezensis B-27
Get PDFSnake fruit (Salacca zalacca (Gaertner) Voss) is one of indigenous fruits from Southeast Asia that has been consumed for its antioxidant contents. Improving the fruit quality might increase its benefits for human health. This study aims to analyze fruit morphology, antioxidant activity, total phenolic and flavonoid contents of the fruit applied with goat manures and Bacillus velezensis B-27. The research used two-factor Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three blocks as replications. The first factor is the level of goat manure application i.e. 0 kg plant-1, 5 kg plant-1 and 10 kg plant-1, while the second factor is the bacteria application i.e. applied with Bacillus velezensis B-27 and without Bacillus velezensis B-27. The research was conducted in June until December 2019 at Turi, Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Fruit length, diameter and shape were measured as morphology parameters. Antioxidant activities were measured using 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, whereas flavonoid and phenolic contents were determined by the aluminium-chloride colorimetric and Folin-Ciocalteu methods, respectively. Means of each parameter were analyzed using ANOVA, continued with the Tukey’s HSD test at a 5% significance level. The result showed that the application of 10 kg goat manure per plant with bacteria increased the fruit length (76.78 mm) and the diameter (62.72 mm). Addition of 10 kg goat manure per-plant combined with Bacillus velezensis B-27 gave the highest antioxidant (IC50 of 37.83 µg.mL-1), flavonoid (5.35 mgGAE.100 g-1) and total phenolic contents (44 mgQE.100 g-1)
Screening of Hybrid Jatropha curcas L. Genotypes for Drought Tolerant Abilities as a Source of Superior Variety Characteristics
Get PDFThe scarcity of fuel oil in the future needs to be anticipated by preparing alternative energy. One of the alternative energy sources developed is Jatropha. However, the development of Jatropha should use marginal land as a cultivation area, like a dry land, because the food crops and horticulture use productive land for cultivation. Furthermore, Jatropha development through breeding is an effort to obtain superior varieties as biodiesel producers. This study aimed to determine the best phenotype characteristics of hybrid Jatropha plants as superior candidate trees. This research applied a descriptive qualitative method to determine the characteristics of Jatropha crossing results. The Jatropha characterization was conducted at the experimental garden of Kedung Pengaron Village, Kejayan Sub-district, Pasuruan Regency. The experimental garden was included dry land for Jatropha cultivation. The result showed ten selected genotypes of hybrid Jatropha were found, including 05.01.01, 05.01.02, 05.02.02, 05.02.09, 05.03.17, 05.03.16, 05.04.16, 05.04.15, 06.01.02, 06.01.15. These were based on the two-phase observations, consisting of vegetative and generative observations. The plants’ morphological characters were observed, comprising the stems, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds. In the vegetative phase, diversity was found in the number of leaves, leaf length and age of flowering, while in the qualitative phase, the shoot colors were more diverse. Moreover, less variations were figured out in the color character of the petiole and the number of shoots. These ten genotypes of hybrid Jatropha are the best genotypes that are resistant to drought with selected agronomic characters
Factors Affecting the Participation of Sugarcane and Tobacco Farmers in Farmer Groups, Associations and Cooperatives in Indonesia
Get PDFThe revitalization of farmer organizations has become the central paradigm in agricultural development. In Indonesia, increasing farmer participation in farmer groups, associations and cooperatives is the strategy to revitalize farmer organizations. This study aimed to determine the factors influencing farmers' participation in farmer groups, associations and cooperatives. This study employed data from the Sugarcane and Tobacco Plantation Farm Household Survey in 2014, consisting of 8,831 (70.73%) sugarcane farmers and 3,645 (29.27%) tobacco farmers. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the factors contributing to farmers' participation in each organization. The results showed that harvest area, access to extension and contract farming positively affect farmers’ participation in organizations. Farmers' age and education positively affect their participation in associations and cooperatives but do not significantly affect their group participation. Land tenure has an ununiform effect on farmer participation in each organization. Tenant farmers are less likely to participate in farmer groups and cooperatives, but they tend to participate in associations. Meanwhile, the owner farmers are less likely to join cooperatives. Government support positively influences farmer group participation, shows a negative effect on participation in associations and has a non-significant effect on participation in cooperatives. Finally, farmers' wealth gives a positive effect on their participation in cooperatives, a negative effect on their participation in associations and a non-significant effect on farmer groups. These results depict that farmer groups are more inclusive than cooperatives and associations
An Analysis of Factors Influencing Indonesia’s Leading Agricultural Commodities Export to India
Get PDFIndonesia's trade balance to India had been decreasing since 2013. That has been affected by the downward trend in agricultural export value of Indonesia. This problem has raised Government’s attention to increase the export performance. This research aimed to analyze the determinants of Indonesia’s leading agricultural commodities export to India. Panel data regression model was explored to analyze secondary data of the range year 2001 to 2017. The factors examined in this study were India’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, Rupiah exchange rate, export price of Indonesia agricultural commodities and India’s import tariff. Model testing used the Chow, Hausman and Lagrange tests to compare and select the best model. The determinant of the variables testing used statistical and classical assumption tests. The results showed that India’s real GDP per capita has positive influence to the export value which means an increase in the purchasing power of trading partners would increase the value of exports. The Rupiah exchange rate has negative influence to the export value which means that the depreciation of rupiah to dollar causes a decrease in the export value. The export price of Indonesia’s agricultural commodities have positive influence on the export value, however the tariff has no effect. The policy that can be suggested to the government is to provide support and encourage domestic producers to increase exports to India