Kejadian dan Tingkat Serangan Penyakit Busuk Buah Pala pada Sistem Agroforestri Dusung Pulau Ai, Kecamatan Banda, Indonesia

Abstract

Nutmeg is an economically important plantation crop in Indonesia, although its productivity is threatened by fruit rot diseases. This study assessed the incidence and severity of wet and dry fruit rot in traditional dusung agroforestry systems on Ai Island, Banda District, Indonesia. Field surveys were conducted between September and October 2024. Five nutmeg farmers with relatively large cultivated populations were purposively selected, and 10% of nutmeg plants within their holdings were sampled using simple random sampling. Disease symptoms were examined in the field, and associated fungal pathogens were identified based on morphological characteristics. Wet fruit rot was associated with Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, whereas dry fruit rot was associated with Stigmina myristicae. The recorded disease severity was 0.52% for wet fruit rot and 1.23% for dry fruit rot, both representing mild damage. Corresponding disease incidence values were 4.78% and 7.77%, respectively. These findings indicate that dry fruit rot was more prevalent and caused greater damage than wet fruit rot within the surveyed agroforestry holdings. The results provide preliminary evidence of disease occurrence under traditional dusung management and establish baseline information for developing targeted disease surveillance and integrated nutmeg health management strategies in small-island agroforestry landscapes.