Abstract. Siregar LAM, Angkat NU, Damanik RI. 2021. Characterization and evaluation of the variability of dragon fruit accessions in Dairi District, North Sumatra Province, Indonesia. Nusantara Bioscience 13: 138-145. Many types of dragon fruits were planted in Dairi District of North Sumatra Province without much information of their importance in economic values. Therefore, this study was carried out to evaluate the variability of the dragon fruit population in this region to assist the local farmers in selecting the best species for planting. This study used a morphological observation method based on dragon fruit descriptor employing a purposive sampling technique. A total of 56 dragon fruit accessions collected from Sidikalang, Sitinjo, and Siempat Nempuhulu Sub-districts were studied and characterized based on the morphological characteristics of stems, flowers, and fruit. The results showed some variations in the stem, flower, and fruit morphology among the studied population. The dragon fruit plant that is widely cultivated by farmers in three sub-districts of Dairi District is a species of Hylocereus polyrhizus. Phenotypic diversity analysis showed seven quantitative characters with broad criteria of eighteen characters observed, namely stem length, pericarpel length, number of lobes, flower shoot length, number of bractea, bractea peak length, and fruit weight. However, phenotypic diversity analysis indicates they are closely related to each other except for accession D17 the red dragon fruit or red pitaya (Hylocereus spp.), and it could be the exotic species for nation-wide planting in Indonesia.

Abstract. Angkat NU, Siregar LAM, Basyuni M, Afandi D, Syahputra I. 2021. DNA intensity and genetic diversity of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) to determine an elite low lipase line. Biodiversitas 22: 900-905. The acidification of palm oil due to lipase activity in the mesocarp is assessed under genetic control. Three molecular markers have been established to gauge the lipase gene in oil palm. Lower lipase activity is desired for good quality edible oil. This study aims to identify the genetic diversity by screening groups/families to determine an elite low lipase genotype of oil palm. Genetic diversity and population structure of 15 groups of oil palm were investigated by using three specific markers with GenAlex 6.502 software. Results show that the Polymorphic Informative Content (PIC) value of markers was around 0,985-0,993, which indicates that these markers are effective in determining the diversity of lipase activity in oil palm. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that genetic diversity varies within individuals (54%), among individuals (31%), and among population (15%). The value of number of alleles (Na), number of effective alleles (Ne), observed heterozygosity (Ho), expected heterozygosity (He), and number of allele migration (Nm) indicate that the genetic diversity in this population is relatively low. Phylogenetic analysis identified two main groups as high lipase and low lipase activity groups based on DNA intensity.

Tomato is one of the favorite fruits consumed by the Indonesian people either consumed directly, as a salad or juiced and an additional ingredient in cooking ingredients. One type of tomato that is often consumed by the public is cherry tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes ( Solanum Lycopersicum var.. Cerasiforme) For this reason it is very important in improving production and high quality. This study used Organic ZPT and Different Seedling Ages.  The design used by the Randomized Group Design (RAK) consisted of Seed Age Factors U1(15 days), U2(20 days) and U3 (25 days) and Dose Factors ZPTZ0 (without ZPT), Z1 (ZPT 50%), Z2 (ZPT 75%) and U3 (100%). The results of the Seed Age Research had a very noticeable effect on the Number of Branches at the age of 40 HST. Meanwhile, the results of ZPT have a very noticeable effect on Plant Height of 20 HST and Number of Branches of 40 HST.  Meanwhile, the results of ZPT have a very noticeable effect on Plant Height of 20 HST and Number of Branches of 40 HST. And the interaction of the two had a noticeable effect on the number of branches ,the weight of the best crop fruit obtained at the U2Z1 treatment (20 days + 50% ZPT) which was 167.53 g.

Pendahuluan: Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk pengaruh masa penyimpanan mesocarp terhadap kualitas asam lemak bebas pada minyak kelapa sawit hasil persilangan Metode Penelitian: Penelitian’ ini ‘dilaksanakan pada bulan Desember 2019-Februari 2020 di Kebun Aek Loba Asahan Sumatera Utara. Pengumpulan data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini menggunakan metode Eksplorasi’(explorational Research Method)’dan sampel yang dipilih adalah material genetik hasil persilangan yang menghasilkan 15 famili kelapa sawit diduga mampu menghasilkan minyak kelapa sawit rendah asam lemak bebas. Hasil Penelitian: Terdapat 15 Family kelapa sawit yang menunjukkan perubahan kadar asam lemak bebas dengan pola yang berbeda. Tiga famili kelapa sawit FL 1181, FL043 dan FL133 memiliki kemampuan masa simpan yang lama dengan kadar asam lemak bebas cenderung rendah selama16 hari masa simpan setelah panen.

Oil palms are one of the most increased expansion commercial crops in the tropics area other than the other plantation .As a leading of producers palm oil in the world, Indonesia produce 40.5 metric million tons of oil palm in 2018 and the most problem in CPO quality is free fatty acid content. The quality of palm oil is strongly influenced by the level of fruit maturity and free fatty acid content. Incomplete hydrolysis of lipases is in the release of monoacylglycerols (MAG) and diacylglycerols (DAG) in addition to free fatty acids (FFA). This study aimed to determine the genetic diversity and molecular performance of 15 Elaeis guineensis origin were analyzed using microsatellite marker. Results showed that mEgCIR_LIP03 was the informative marker based on polymorphic informative content (PIC) value is 1,00 and supported by electroporegram depicted 15 Elaeis guineensis origin were amplified with low lipase specific marker (190 bp-253 bp). The observed heterozigosity (Ho) 0,00 was lower than expected heterozigosity (He) 0,916, indicating this population had high similarity.Relationship between genotype was exhibited by dendogram, it was divided in to 2 clusters in 0,54 similarity coefficient.