Effect of Harvest Interval on the Productivity of Three Varieties of Citronela Grass Planted on Ultisol Soil

Abstract

Indonesia has produced various types of essential oils, one being citronella oil. This essential oil is multi-beneficial not only from its contribution to agricultural development, but is also plays a role in the development of the community’s economy. A large area of agricultural lands of ultisol soil types have not been utilized, therefore a study was conducted on the effect of harvest interval on the productivity of three varieties of citronela grass planted on ultisol soil. This study was conducted from January 2019 to January 2021, with a randomized block design in factorial using two factors. The first factor is harvest interval, with three levels consisting of P1 = a harvest interval of once in 4 months, P2 = a harvest interval of once in 3 months, and P3 = a harvest interval of once in 2 months. While the second factor is variety, with three levels consisting of V1 = Citrona 1 variety, V2 = Citrona 2 variety, and V3 = Serai wangi 1 variety, repeated three times. Each treatment consisted of 24 clumps. The parameters observed were vegetative growth, terna production, oil production, intensity of spot disease attack, and quality analysis R/C ratio. The results of the research on harvest intervals and the three types of varieties used on ultisol soil showed that the best harvest interval was of once every 3 months; while the Serai wangi 1 variety showed good results of vegetative development, had the lowest intensity spot disease attack (24.75 and 19.60%), terna production (68.76 and 59.78 ton –ha-th), and oil production (481.42 and 418.08 kg –ha-th). On another note, oil quality such as Citronella and Graniol content was not affected by harvest interval and the variety used. For the R/C Ratio in the second year of planting, it was revealed that business feasibility was at harvest intervals of once every 3 months with an R/C Ratio of (1.28) on the Serai wangi 1.