RESPONS DUA VARIETAS NILAM ACEH (Pogostemon cablin Benth) PADA BEBERAPA TINGKAT NAUNGAN BUATAN

Abstract

Aceh patchouli is one of the superior commodities originating from Aceh Province. Aceh Province has several superior patchouli varieties, including the Tapak Tuan and Sidikalang varieties. Patchouli is a plant that can grow in shaded or unshaded environmental conditions. Shade is a material or plant that blocks sunlight and functions to reduce the intensity of sunlight. This research aims to determine the effect of shade level and variety on the growth and yield of Aceh patchouli plants. The research was carried out at Experience Garden 1, Faculty of Agriculture, Syiah Kuala University, Darussalam Banda Aceh, with an altitude of 5 meters above sea level and coordinates of 5º 33' 59.02” N and 95º 22' 24.04” E, from June to October 2022. This experiment used a completely randomized design with step factorial nested design (two-stage nested design) with 10 repetitions. The first factor is the level of shade (N) with 3 levels: no shade (N₀), 30% shade level (N₁), and 60% shade level (N₂), while the second factor is variety (V) as a nested factor with 2 levels: variety Tapak Tuan (V₁) and Sidikalang (V₂) varieties. The results of this research show that patchouli plants planted at a 60% shade level tend to grow better based on stem diameter and number of branches. A shade level of 60% is the best shade level for patchouli plant production based on plant wet weight of patchouli. The Tapak Tuan variety is the best variety for patchouli growth in conditions without shade and a shade level of 30%, while the Sidikalang variety is the variety with the best growth when cultivated under 60% shade.