Prof. Dr. Satriyas Ilyas: Use of Certified Rice and Soybean Seed Still Limited Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Professor of the Faculty of Agriculture, Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), Prof. Dr Satriyas Ilyas said the use of certified rice seeds and soybeans is still minimal. In the scientific speech delivered on Wednesday (13/5) tomorrow on the topic "Quality Enhancement Technology to Improve Seed Production for Support to Self-Sufficiency in Food". According to him, the domestic need for soybean seed in 2014 reached 22 485 tons, but only 6,282 tonnes of certified seeds were used by farmers, or 27.94 percent.
The same thing is with paddy. In 2014 with an area of 14,028,741 hectares of rice planting, the seed need reached 350 719 tons. However, the use of certified seed only accounted for 111 020 tons or 31.66 percent of the total need.
In an effort to increase production, the use of superior quality seed is one key to successful farming. High quality seed is reached at the physiological maturity because at that time the dry weight and vigor of seed are at the maximum Seeds with degraded quality can be improved by invigoration.
Seed invigoration is a technology that uses biological agents as bioprotectant, and mycorrhiza or other microbes as biofertilizer, which is generally referred to as biological seed treatments. Bioprotectant can replace synthetic pesticides in suppressing attacks, primarily seed-borne diseases. Biofertilizer can reduce the use of synthetic fertilizers. In addition, this technology also can save production costs,making it more profitable for farmers.
"Invigoration technology plus bioprotectant has proved to be able to control seed-borne pathogens and to improve seed quality and production. One of chili seed-borne fungus is Colletotrichum capsici, the cause of anthracnose, the major disease on chili in Indonesia. Yield loss could reach 60 percent. Invigoration on chili seed with the biological agents (biomatriconditioning) lowers the incidence of anthracnose diseases from 81 percent to 9 percent, and increases fruit production and quality of seed crops," said Prof Satriyas at the pre-oration press conference in the Ex Lounge of Baranangsiang Campus of IPB, Monday (11 / 5).
On rice, the decreased yield due to bacterial leaf blight varies between 15-80 percent. With this technology, the disease can be controlled, reducing the use of fertilizers Phosphorus (P) up to 50 kilograms per hectare with higher plant growth and production.
"The rice production increase by 14 percent with the production of 6.577 tons per hectare, as the a result of biomatriconditioning treatment is expected to contribute to improving rice productivity nationally in support of food self-sufficiency in Indonesia," he said.
As for soybeans, there is a significantly increased production of soybean as a result of seed coating treatment with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi along (AMF) with phosphate fertilizer SP 18 of 100 kilograms per hectare which is 1.5 times more compared with the seed without AMF, and an improved efficiency of fertilizer P by 75 percent or saving SP 18 of 300 kilograms per hectare.
"If the soybean seed is treated with biomatriconditioning using Bradyrhizobium japonicum and Azospirillum lipoferum, it can save the use of fertilizer N, i.e. only 12.5 kilograms of N per hectare, and increase production 1.3- fold compared with the control," he said. (Mtd)
