PKHT IPB Introduces Orange Revolution to Train Garut Farmers
Since the launching of Orange Revolution by IPB in 2013, the rise of local fruits have brought benefits for farmers and consumers. The demand of local fruits seeds kept rising the past few years. In line with that, the demand from consumers for various local fruits such as durians, oranges, papayas, and avocados are also rising.
To support the cause and utilize the momentum, Tropical Horticulture Research Center (PKHT) IPB University (IPB) held Superior Local Fruits Cultivation Training which was attended by 150 farmers and young entrepreneurs in agriculture sector from Garut Regency, West Java (7/2). This training is held with the support from Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education (Kemenristekdikti) through the program “Local Fruits Seeds Startup”.
Dr. Awang Maharijaya as the Head of PKHT IPB said that the improvement of local fruits quality is one part of Orange Revolution program.
“One of the main factors in quality and productivity improvement is superior and precise variant, because it will respond well to given inputs and can grow according to environmental conditions,” he said.
After the delivery of the materials, the participants who mostly are fruit farmers seemed enthusiast to ask during the discussion session. One the farmers asked about how to prevent durian flowers to fall out. According to Dr. Awang, naturally there will only be a few percent of durian flowers that survive.
“If there are too many fruits, they will be undersized and can cause the branch to break if they become too heavy. Besides that, to reduce the probability of flowers falling out, we can use P, K, and Boron fertilizers,” he added.
Orange Revolution is a program launched by IPB to improve the competitiveness of local fruits with the vision to attempt fruit consumption independence, which means not depending on imports and to make Indonesia one of the biggest exporters of tropical fruits in Southeast Asia by 2025, and in the world by 2045. Orange Revolution now becomes one of the national programs which are supported by Ministry of Agriculture, Kemenristekdikti and Ministry of State-owned Enterprises.
PKHT is a research center under the Institute of Research and Community Service (LPPM) IPB. PKHT is the Superior Science and Technology Center (PUI) in tropical horticulture according to Kemenristekdikti. Since its establishment in 1996, PKHT has produced many innovations, including superior variants or technology in tropical horticulture. Several innovations include callina papaya (california), bogor crowned pineapple, wanayasa mangosteen and other varieties of vegetables, fruits, and decorative plants. (Ard
