THE POTENTIAL OF CITRONELLA GRASS (CYMBOPOGON NARDUS L.) IN AGROFORESTRY SYSTEM BASED ON VARIOUS TREES AND ITS IMPLICATION ON ESSENTIAL OIL PRODUCTIVITY Muhammad Idham Cholid (a), Dyah Weny Respatie (b), Budiastuti Kurniasih (b)
(a) Mahasiswa Program Studi Magister Agronomi, Fakultas Pertanian, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jl. Bulaksumur, Sleman, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, Indonesia 55281
(b) Program Studi Magister Agronomi, Fakultas Pertanian, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jl. Bulaksumur, Sleman, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, Indonesia 55281
Abstract
Citronella grass (Cymbopogon nardus L.) is an important aromatic plant dominated by its medicinal, food preservative, and cosmetic demands. In Indonesia, it is generally cultivated in village home gardens. Farmers conducted very simple cultivation methods of citronella grass, without specific maintenance and below various trees. The experiment was conducted by cultivating citronella grass below various trees as in agroforestry system. The experiment was arranged split-plot design, the first factor was four levels of irradiation (citronella grass monoculture/full irradiation, citronella grass below silk tree, below banana tree and mahogany tree). The second factor was fertilizer with two levels of recommended fertilization doses (50% and 100% of recommendation). Cultivation of citronella with an agroforestry system based on silk trees and banana trees, application of 50% of the recommended fertilizer is quite effective in getting essential oil productivity in tree stand conditions. The yield of citronella grass aged 6 months reached 8,1 kg per plant (without root fresh weight). The essential oil obtained from the yield of citronella grass monoculture was 1,1%, which is 4 times the yield of the agroforestry system (0,21%).
