This Plant Is Suitable Accompanying Vetiver (Fragrant Roots) in Preventing Landslides
The occurrence of landslides in Sukaraja District, Bogor Regency in early 2020 gave rise to a discourse for planting vetiver or fragrant roots in landslide prone areas for disaster mitigation. However, according to IPB University lecturer from the Faculty of Forestry, Dr. Irdika Mansur, vetiver planting needs to be done with agroforestry techniques. Namely a land use system (farming) that combines trees with agricultural crops to increase profits, both economically and environmentally.
According to the Director of Seameo Biotrop, the selection of appropriate types of plants and cultivation techniques can reduce the risk of erosion, landslides, and floods. There are some essential plants that can be planted in agroforestry and combined with fragrant roots, namely eucalyptus, ylang, nutmeg and citronella. This combination can reduce erosion significantly so as to prevent the danger of floods and landslides.
Eucalyptus leaves can be harvested four years after planting and then distilled to produce eucalyptus oil. Cananga trees start flowering two to four years after planting. Flowers harvested for distillation produce cananga oil (an expensive perfume ingredient). Nutmeg tree is very well known by the people of Bogor. The seeds can be sold directly or taken oil, fruit flesh for drinks or sweets. Nutmeg trees need five years to start bearing fruit.
"Fragrant lemongrass is harvested leaves starting six months after planting, next harvest three months. Fragrant lemongrass leaves are distilled to produce fragrant lemongrass oil, while the distillation waste leaves can be used for food mushroom production media, such as oyster mushrooms and straw mushrooms. Waste lemongrass leaves can also be used as animal feed. Lemongrass does not have deep roots, so to strengthen the slope it needs to be planted vertiver path (fragrant root) parallel to the contour. Lush, deep-rooted vertiver grass. Fragrant lemongrass is planted between the vertiver lines. In the path of vertiver can also be planted calliandra, the wood is harvested to distill volatile plants, the leaves are for animal feed and calliandra flowers to support the cultivation of honey bees, "he explained.
These plants do not require intensive tillage. While the price of essential oils produced is very expensive and is an export commodity. Therefore, planting volatile plants can develop areas after floods and landslides into aromatic tourism destinations or atsiri tourism.
"Tourists can take pictures, harvest leaves or flowers, refine the oil or mix perfume from some of these natural essential oils. The cultivation of volatile plants with agroforestry patterns will make nature calmer because in the rainy season, rain water seeps into the soil naturally and in the dry season the wells and rivers remain runny. The cultivation of volatile plants also gives high income to farmers. Nature is calm, farmers are happy, "he said. (IAAS/NAS)
