Rendahnya produktivitas padi di Kecamatan Pontang Kabupaten Serang Provinsi Banten disebabkan belum optimalnya penerapan Pengendalian Hama Terpadu (PHT) dalam budidaya padi. Teknologi pemanfaatan refugia bagian dari strategi dalam menerapkan salah satu prinsip PHT. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui respon petani terhadap pemanfaatan refugia sebagai pengendalian hama tanaman padi yang ramah lingkungan, dan menganalisis fakor-faktor berhubungan terhadap respon dan minat petani dalam pemanfaatan refugia sebagai alternatif pengendalian hama yang ramah lingkungan. Lokasi penelitian di Desa Pulo Kencana Kecamatan Pontang Kabupaten Serang dimulai dari bulan Januari hingga Desember 2018. Jumlah sampel sebanyak 40 orang dengan teknik purposive sampling. Analisis data yang digunakan adalah analisis deskriptif dan korelasi sperman rank. Hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa sebagian besar petani berumur dewasa dengan tingkat pendidikan mayoritas SMP. memiliki lahan garapan sempit, serta pengalaman berusahatani kategori sedang. Kemudahan refugia untuk diaplikasikan merupakan indikator yang paling tinggi direspon oleh petani (92%). Faktor yang berhubungan terhadap respon petani dalam pemanfaatan refugia sebagai pengendalian hama tanaman padi adalah pengalaman berusatani, sedangkan faktor yang mempengaruhi minat petani dalam pemanfaatan refugia yaitu tingkat pendidikan.

The problem of loss of rice production due to brown planthopper (BP) attacks every year always appears and is felt to be completely unresolved. Many factors cause the lack of success of BP control, one of which is the understanding of farmers on the characteristics of BP, monitoring and control technology is still lacking and the existing farmer group institutions are not yet well established. The purpose of this study is to build a model/pilot of institutional arrangement for farmer groups in solving the problem of yield loss caused by brown planthoppers. The methodology used begins with extracting information on existing technology through focus group discussions, implementing a pilot BP control technology in the form of a 5 ha field laboratory, implementing a field school for 6 meetings, empowering farmer institutions through the formation of pest observer teams and advocacy for pesticide store. The study was conducted in Pamarayan Village, Suka Tani IV Farmer Group, Pamarayan Village, Pamarayan District, Serang Regency, Banten Province in January-December 2019. Data collection was carried out through field observations and filling out questionnaires in the form of pre/post test. The data obtained were analyzed descriptively. The results of the study showed that there was an increase in the knowledge and skills of cooperative farmers in rice cultivation and WBC control technology by 26.53-70.71% and an increase in knowledge and skills of the pest observer team by 79.49-96.77%. The technological and institutional performance of farmer groups succeeded in increasing rice production by 55.63% in MK I and 97.5% in MK II compared to before the program was implemented. It is hoped that this WBC control model can be replicated in other WBC endemic areas.

Preference information on New Superior Varieties (NSV) characteristics such as grain, rice and rice is needed for NSV development in an area. The purpose of this study was to determine the preferences of farmers and consumers towards grain, rice and rice from 10 NSV in Serang Regency, Banten Province. The varieties tested were Inpari 32, Inpari 42, Inpari 43, Inpari 45, Inpago 8, Inpari IR Nutri Zinc, Mantap, Padjajaran, Siliwangi and Tarabas. The method of data collection was carried out using a questionnaire to 36 respondents who were selected intentionally (purposive sampling). The questionnaire was made with an ordinal scale, respondents chose the answers strongly dislike, dislike, somewhat like, like and really like the characteristics of grain, rice and cooked rice. Furthermore, the data is processed and analyzed by Friedman Test. The results showed that there were 4 most preferred varieties based on the characteristics of grain, rice and cooked rice, namely Inpari 45, Tarabas, Inpari 32 and Mantap. The results of this study are expected to be used as a basis for selecting varieties for seed development in Serang Regency, Banten.