Kajian Potensi Cordyceps Sebagai Agen Hayati Untuk Mengendalikan Ulat Api (Lepidoptera; Limacodidae) Di Unit Kebun Pangkatan Pt. Rantau Sinar Karsa, Asian Agri Group

Abstract

Kelapa sawit (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) merupakan komoditas perkebunan strategis di Indonesia, khususnya di Sumatera Utara, yang berkontribusi besar terhadap perekonomian nasional melalui produksi CPO dan penyerapan tenaga kerja. Namun, produksi sering terganggu oleh hama ulat api (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae) seperti Setothosea asigna, Setora nitens, Darna trima, dan Parasa lepida, yang menyebabkan defoliasi berat hingga 50-90%, menurunkan produksi TBS hingga 25-75% pada tahun-tahun berikutnya. Pengendalian kimiawi konvensional menimbulkan resistensi hama, residu berbahaya, dan gangguan ekosistem, sehingga diperlukan agen hayati ramah lingkungan seperti cendawan entomopatogen Cordyceps militaris yang telah terbukti menginfeksi larva dan pupa ulat api dengan tingkat kematian >80% di laboratorium. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji potensi Cordyceps sp. sebagai agen hayati untuk pengendali ulat api (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae) di Unit Kebun Pangkatan PT. Rantau Sinar Karsa, Asian Agri Group. Selain itu, mendeskripsikan karakteristik morfologi secara makroskopis dan mikroskopis Cordyceps sp. untuk mengetahui Cordyceps yang berpotensi dalam pengendalian hayati pada perkebunan kelapa sawit. Metode penelitian menggunakan teknik eksploratif dengan pengambilan sampel pupa ulat api dari 4 afdeling (total 130 blok dengan jumlah populasi kelapa sawit 595.913 pokok), masing-masing afdeling diambil 1 blok dengan sampel populasi 80 pokok mewakilan 1 afdeling untuk survei infeksi. Sampel pupa yang menampakkan tanda infeksi Cordyceps yaitu adanya stromata jamur di pupa, kemudian diamati morfologi makroskopis dan mikroskopis serta diinokulasi pada media SDA. Persentase infeksi dihitung dari perbandingan pupa terinfeksi terhadap total pupa yang ditemukan di tiap blok-afdeling. Hasil penelitian 79 pupa ditemukan dengan total 9 pupa terinfeksi Cordyceps militaris, persentase infeksi tertinggi 17,2% terdapat di Afdeling 4. Afdeling 1, 2, dan 3 menunjukkan persentase infeksi lebih rendah, yaitu 11,1%, 7,7%, dan 6,7% secara berturut-turut. Morfologi makroskopis jamur berupa stroma silindris memanjang, bercabang, berwarna oranye-kuning hingga oranye-merah; mikroskopis menunjukkan hifa panjang bercabang acak dengan dinding tipis transparan. Data ini menegaskan bahwa Cordyceps yang ditemukan pada lokasi penelitian sesuai dengan karakteristik morfologi cendawan Cordyceps militaris. Hal ini menjadi masukan penting untuk mengembangkan teknologi pengendalian hama berbasis biokontrol secara efektif sesuai karakteristik agroekosistem. Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is a strategic plantation commodity in Indonesia, especially in North Sumatra, which contributes significantly to the national economy through CPO production and employment. However, production is often disrupted by fireworm pests (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae) such as Setothosea asigna, Setora nitens, Darna trima, and Parasa lepida, which cause severe defoliation of up to 50-90%, reducing FFB production by 25-75% in subsequent years. Conventional chemical control causes pest resistance, hazardous residues, and ecosystem disruption, so that environmentally friendly biological agents such as the entomopathogenic fungus Cordyceps militaris are needed, which has been proven to infect fireworm larvae and pupae with a mortality rate of >80% in the laboratory. This study aims to assess the potential of Cordyceps sp. as a biological agent for controlling fireworms (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae) in the Pangkatan Plantation Unit of PT. Rantau Sinar Karsa, Asian Agri Group. In addition, describing the macroscopic and microscopic morphological characteristics of Cordyceps sp. to determine Cordyceps that have the potential for biological control in oil palm plantations. The research method used exploratory techniques by sampling fire caterpillar pupae from 4 divisions (a total of 130 blocks with a population of 595,913), each division was taken 1 block with a population sample of 80 trees representing 1 division for infection surveys. Pupa samples that showed signs of Cordyceps infection, namely the presence of fungal stromata in the pupae, were then observed for macroscopic and microscopic morphology and inoculated on SDA media. The percentage of infection was calculated from the ratio of infected pupae to the total pupae found in each block-division. The results of the study there are 79 pupae were found with a total of 9 pupae infected with Cordyceps militaris, the highest infection percentage of 17.2% was found in Afdeling 4. Afdeling 1, 2, and 3 showed lower infection percentages, namely 11.1%, 7.7%, and 6.7% respectively. The macroscopic morphology of the fungus is in the form of elongated cylindrical stroma, branched, orange-yellow to orange-red in color; microscopically it shows long, randomly branched hyphae with thin, transparent walls. These data confirm that the Cordyceps found at the research location is the morphological characteristics of the fungus Cordyceps militaris. This is an important input for developing effective biocontrol-based pest control technology according to the characteristics of the agroecosystem