Study of Agronomic Characteristics of Citronella Plants (Cymbopogon nardus L.) Cultivated Agroforestry in Gayo Lues Regency, Aceh Province

Abstract

Citronella plants can grow on marginal lands. Cultivation of citronella by farmers in Gayo Lues Regency is carried out under pine stands and in open fields. This study aims to examine the agronomic characteristics of citronella cultivated agroforestry that was carried out in citronella gardens owned by farmers in all sub-districts in Gayo Lues Regency. This study used a field survey method and quantitative descriptive analysis. The citronella gardens observed were citronella orchards under pine stands and in open land on different soil types, altitudes and slopes, which were designated as homogeneous land units (SLH) of the observation site. Variables observed were variety, number of tillers, quantity, length and width of leaves, weight of wet herb, dry weight of herb and oil yield. The results showed that the agroforestry cultivation pattern of citronella plants under pine stands showed very good growth, which was indicated by the agronomic characteristics of citronella, namely the number of leaves; the leaves were longer and wider than when planted in open land. The agroforestry system of citronella cultivated in open land has agronomic characteristics of citronella, namely the number of tillers, the weight of the wet herb and the dry herb weight is higher than when cultivated under pine stands in Gayo Lues Regency. Citronella plants should be cultivated in open land (without shade) with Red-Yellow Podzolic soil type at an altitude of 1,000 – 2,000 m above sea level so that the best oil yield is obtained, namely SLH AAS44, without pine stands.