Abstracts of 28th Annual Meeting of Sago Palm Studies

17

silicon Uptake and phytolith Formation in sago palm (Metroxylon sagu rottb.)(Advance report)
Masanori Okazaki1, Keiji Nakaie1, Ryosuke Fujinuma2,
Mitsuhisa Baba3 and Toshihiko Momose4

1

Japan Soil Research Institute, Inc., 3-26-4, Yatocho, Nishitokyo, Tokyo 188-0001 Japan
2

3

4

International Christian University, 3-10-2, Oosawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8585 Japan

Kitasato University, 35-1, Higashinijusanbanncho, Towada, Aomori 034-8628 Japan

Ishikawa Prefectural University, 1-308, Suematsu, Nonoichi, Ishikawa 921-8836 Japan

Silicon (Si) is a beneficial element for plants and present in soil solution as Si(OH)4 (Currie and Perry, 2007) andalleviates the toxic effects caused by the stresses of heavy metals (for example manganese), salts and drought.
Plants can take up Si with a radial and passive transport from the external solution (Mitani and Ma, 2005). Si
dissolved from rocks and minerals in soil is transported to rice root surface by mass flow and reach the xylem

through two kinds of transporters of Si (Ma and Yamaji, 2006). The complex of Si and protein might be moved

to organs to form phytolith (biogenic silica plant microfossil, plant opal). There are few reports of phytolith
formation in sago palm.

Keywords: excess, globular echinate, phytolith, silicon, toxic

Materials and Methods

Soil: Soil samples were taken from the sago experimental field of Pangasugan, Leyte, Philippines in 2000, air-dried and sieved by the 2 mm mesh sieve for chemical analysis. Total Si was determined by an X-ray
fluorescence analyzer.

Sago palm leaf and seed: Sago leaf and seed samples of the third leaf from the apical were collected from thesago experimental field of Pangasugan, Leyte, Philippines in 2000, air-dried. Sago palm leaf and seed samples

were oxidized with 30 % hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) at 80 ° C, sieved with a 0.045 mm sieve and washed with tap
water three times. The phytoliths from sago palm leaf and seed on a slide glass were observed under amicroscope. The presence of phytolith was recorded according to International Code for Phytolith Nomenclature
1.0.

18
Results and Discussion

Abstracts of 28th Annual Meeting of Sago Palm Studies

Phytoliths in sago palm leaf and seed: Silicon uptake resulted in the formation of phytoliths. Globular echinate
phytoliths (Madella et al., 2005) in leaf and seed of sago palm were observed under a microscope (Fig. 1).

0

Fig. 1. Phytolith of sago palm under a microscope

ʅ
10ʅm

Silicon uptake by sago palm resulted in the accumulation and formation of phytolith in leaf and seed of sago palm.

 







 



Bowdery (2014) reported the glolular echinate form of phytolith from Metroxylon sagu to compare and classify thevegetation in the remote southern oceanic island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and concluded that Metroxylon sagu

was present from 1425 to 1634. The presence of phytoliths in sago palm leaves indicate the potential alleviation ofsalinity and heavy metal stresses such as manganese. The effects of Si in leaves on salinity tolerance and inhibiting
Mn uptake have been reported in rice (Ma et al. 2001). Thus, the further investigation of Si dynamics in sago palm
could elucidate the underlying mechanism of high tolerance to abiotic stresses.
References

Bowdery, D. 2014 An enigma revisited: identification of palm phytoliths extracted from the 1983 Rapa Nui,
Aano Kao2 core. Veget Hist Archaeobot, DOI 10.1007/s00334-014-0503-x

Currie, H. A. and C. C. Perry, 2007 Silica in plants: Biological, biochemical and chemical studies. Annals of
Botany 100: 1383–1389

Guerriero, G., J-F. Hausman and S. Legay 2016 Silicon and the plant exteracellular matrix. Frontiers in Plant
Science 7: 1-8

Ma, J. F., Y. Miyake and E. Takahashi 2001 Silicon as a beneficial element for crop plants. In Silicon in
Agriculture, Ed. Datnoff, L.E., G.H. Snyder, and G.H. Korndorfer. P.17-39. Elsevier Science, Amsterdam.

Ma, J. F. and N. Yamaji 2006 Silicon uptake and accumulation in higher plants. Trends in Plant Science 11: 392397

Madella, M., A. Alexandre and T. Ball 2005 International Code for Phytolith Nomenclature 1.0. Annals of
Botany 96: 253–260

Mitani, N. and J. F. Ma 2005 Uptake system of silicon in different plant species. Journal of Experimental Botany
56: 1255–1261

Abstracts of 28th Annual Meeting of Sago Palm Studies

19

Germination of sago palm seeds treated with Different preparation Methods
Mai Takagi 1, Hitoshi Naito 2, Yulius B. Pasolon 3 and Hiroshi Ehara 1
1

Nagoya University, 2 Kurashiki University of Science and The Arts, 3 Halu Oleo University

Introduction

Sago palm (Metroxylon sagu Rottb.) can be propagated from both off shoots (suckers) and seeds. The

germination rate of sago palm seed can be changed by the preparation before seeding. In this study, the effects offruit size and physical treatment on germination were investigated in the sago pilot farm in Kendari, Indonesia.
Materials and Methods

The experiments are conducted at the sago plot farm in the campus of Halu Oleo University in Kendari,

Indonesia. The fruits of sago palm were collected from 3 trees in Abelisawah, South Konawe. Hundred fruits
were washed with tap water and dried for one night.

Expt.1 Sixty fruits were divided into three plots as 20 fruits in each plot. The fruits were put individually in asmall plastic pot filled with soil. The seeding conditions were as follows, plot A: whole fruit without any
treatment, plot B: top of fruit [a portion of seed coat tissues (sarcotesta and pericarp above embryo)corresponded to 1/3 in surface area of fruit] was cut, and C: seed without sarcotesta and pericarp (clean seed).
Germination count was made for 50days after seeding.

Expt.2. Three sago palm trees (No.1, No.2, No.3) were selected, and 40 fruits were collected from tree No.2

tree, and 20 fruits were collected from tree No.1 and No.3. The tree No.2 had comparatively larger fruits rather

than tree No. 1 and No. 3. The fruits from tree No. 2 were divided into two groups, which are large plot andmiddle plots by the size. The fruits from tree No.1 and No.3 were named small plot. The size (major and minor

diameter with height) and weight of fruits were measured, and their pericarp and sarcotesta were removed. The

clean seed without seed coat tissues were sown after measuring the size and weight of seed. Germination count
was made every two days.
Results and Discussion

Expt. 1. During the experiment for 50 days, 20% of whole fruits (A), 45% of cut fruits (B) and 55% of clean

seeds (C) germinated (Fig.1, 2, 3). Although first germination was observed at day 17, it was in plot C.
Germination rate of the cut fruits (B) was higher than that of the whole fruits (A). The reason was considered toattributed smooth water absorption in the cut fruits. The difference in germination rate of the cut fruits and clean

seeds was small after day 30.

Expt. 2. The weight of fruit in large plot, middle plot, and small plot was 48.9 g, 35.4 g, and 25.1 g,

respectively (Table 1). The descending order in size of the seed weight was same as that of the fruits. At day 20,

germination rate in the small plot was 35% while that of the large plot and middle plot was 10% and 15%(Fig.4). The smaller seeds tended to germinate comparatively early rather than the larger and middle size ofAbstracts of 28th Annual Meeting of Sago Palm Studies

20

seeds. However, at 50 day, there was no relationship between the seed size and germination rate.

As described above, it was found that physical treatment to fruits will have influence on seed germination.

However, the relationship between fruit or seed size and germinability was not clear.

Table 1. Fruit and weight of seeds used in experiment 2
Item

Large plot

Middle plot

Small plot

Fruit weight (g)48.9 ± 4.2

35.4 ± 3.9

25.1 ± 3.5

Seed weight (g)11.6 ± 1.1

10.5 ± 1.2

7.9 ± 0.6

Mean ± S.D. (n=20)

(A)

(C)

(B)

Fig.1. Germinated plants(B) cut fruit,(C) clean seed

50
Germination rate (%)(A) whole fruit,

40
30
20
10
0
0

10
Whole fruit

20
30
Days after seeding40

Cut fruit

50
Seed

Fig. 3. Change in germination with different preparations

Fig.2. Sago palm seedlingat the 2nd-leaf stage.

Germination rate (%)

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0

10

(This study was supported by JSPS
KAKENHI Grant Numbers
JP15H05245, 18KT0041.)

Large

20
30
40
Days after seeding
Middle50

SmallFig. 4. Change in germination of seeds from different sizeof fruitsAbstracts of 28th Annual Meeting of Sago Palm Studies

21

comparison of seedling Growth of sago palm underDifferent Fertilizer Application
Koki Asano 1*, Aidil Azhar 1, 2, Mai Takagi 1, Fitri Audia 1, Hirotatsu Murano 3,
Toshiyuki Isoi 3, Hitoshi Naito 4, Daigo Makihara 1 and Hiroshi Ehara 1

1

Nagoya University, 2 Bogor Agricultural University, 3 Meijyo University, 4 Kurashiki University of Science and The Arts

Introduction Sago palm (Metroxylon sagu) is the most promising species in the family Arecaceae ascarbohydrate resource. In the former study, it was reported that the application of fertilizer accelerated theaccumulation of dry matter in suckers rather than in mother palm in peat land. However, information about thegrowth and physiological response to chemical fertilizer is still limited because sago palm will be harvested fromsemi-cultivated stands or natural stands in many cases. In this study, the fundamentals of growth characteristics
and its related nutrient acqisition under different fertilizer application were examined.

Materials and Methods The experiment was conducted in Nagoya University, Japan for 4 months from June to

October 2018. Two-year-old seedlings grown individually in a pot (8L) were used. Four different plots are set as
follows, Z plot: no fertilizer applied, NPK plot: 8.8g N, 8.8g P2O5, 5.9g K2O per m2 in each month NK plot: 8.8

g N, 5.9 g K2O per m2 in each month, and PK plot: 8.8 g P2O5, 5.9 g K2O per m2 in each month. Plant growth

were measured every week such as, plant length, number of leaves per plant, number of leaflets per leaf, numberof dead leaves and newly emerged leaves. Total leaflet area per plant was measured eighteen weeks after

treatment using the portable leaf area meter, Li-3000C (LiCor Inc., USA). SPAD-502Plus (KONICAMINOLTA, Japan) was used to measure SPAD value. The chlorophyll content of the leaflets was determined byusing the spectrophotometer. Photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and transpiration rate were measured

from 10:00 - 11:00 after the 9th week of the beginning of treatment using the portable photosynthesis system, Li-

6400XT (LiCor Inc., USA). The dry matter of leaf, petiole (from the top to 5th leaf) and the 3 types of roots(main, secondary and fine roots) were weighed and digested by Kjeldahl digestion method using H2SO4 andH2O2. Nitrogen content was analyzed by Kjeldahl distillation method, and phosphate content was analyzed byammonium molybdate method. Potassium content in same part of the plants was analyzed by the method of ion

chromatography with a conductivity detector (CDD-6A, SHIMADZU, Japan). Statistical differences among themean values of NPK, NK, and PK treatments were determined by Tukey’s studentized range test (HSD).

Results and Discussion The increment of plant length was less than 20 cm for 18 weeks during the treatment inall of the plots, and there was no significant difference also in the relative plant-length increase increment among
the three plots, NPK, NK and KP. Leaflet number per leaf and relative leaf-number increase were same level inthe three fertilization plots, however, the number of emerged leaves was high in the NPK and NK plots
compared with the PK plot. There was no distinct difference in dry matter weight of most part except for petiole

among the NPK, NK and PK plots. Specific leaf area (SLA) that is ratio of area to dry matter weight of leaflet

Abstracts of 28th Annual Meeting of Sago Palm Studies22

was significantly higher in NPK and NK plots than PK plot. These results showed that the leaf morphogenesis insago palm seedlings was influenced by the application of nitrogen fertilizer. Significant improvement of SPAD
value, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoids were observed in the NPK and NK plots, and photosynthetic
rate, stomatal conductance and transpiration rate were also improved with the application of nitrogen fertilizer.

Nitrogen content in each part of the plant was tended to be high in the NPK and NK plots and the difference inphosphate content in plant parts was similar with that in nitrogen content except for the root. Although there wasno distinctive difference in the leaf, it tended to be high with fertilization in the petiole and root compared with
the Z plot.

In this experiment, it was revealed that sago palm seedlings started to respond to the nitrogen fertilizer withinI

2 to 3 months, and improved chlorophyll content in the leaflet and leaflet morphogenesis greatly. Furthermore, itenhanced the traits related to the photosynthetic activity. However, the effects of phosphate fertilizer werelimited, which suggested that phosphate uptake would be influenced by the nitrogen content in the plant. The
effect of potassium application on sago palm growth and related physiological features was still unclear, andclarification of the influence of potassium on palm growth and physiology is further subject.

N (mg 䞉gí䠍)

25

Z

20

NPK

NK

P (mg䞉gí䠍)

10

15

8

15
10
5

5

0

0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

Ave.

1
0.5
0

6

10

1.5

K (µmol䞉gí䠍)

12

20

PK

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

Ave.

4
2
1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

Ave.

0

2.5

1

2

0.8

1.5

0.6

1

0.4

0.5

0.2

0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

Ave.

0

600

600

600

500

500

500

400

400

400

300

300

300

200

200

200

100

100

100

0

0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th Ave.

Fine

Main

Secondary

Ave.

Fine

Main

Secondary

Ave.

Fine

Main

Secondary

Ave.

0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

PetioleLeaf

5th Ave.

Root

Fig.1. N, P and K concentrations in the leaf, petiole at different leaf positions and different type of roots. The

Fvertical lines indicate the SD (n=3 in NPK, NK, PK)(This study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 18KT0041.)

Abstracts of 28th Annual Meeting of Sago Palm Studies

23

Metroxylon palms in Guadalcanal, solomon Islands
Hitoshi Naito 1*, Yukio Toyoda 2, Takashi Mishima 3, Takuto Miyazaki 3,
Myknee Sirikolo 4, Keith Moueni 4 and Hiroshi Ehara 5
1

Kurashiki University of Science and The Arts, 2 Rikkyo University,
3

Mie University, 4 Honiara Botanic Gardens, 5 Nagoya University

Introduction

The genus Metroxylon is divided into two sections, Metroxylon (Eumetroxylon) and Coelococcus. Metroxylon

sagu Rottb. (sago palm) is the only species in the section Metroxylon. There are four species in the section

Coelococcus. M. salomonense (Warb.) Becc. (Solomon sago palm) is distributed in the Solomon Islands, Papua
New Guinea (PNG) and Vanuatu, and its habitat is geographycally near to that of sago palm in comparison withthe other Coelococcus spp. Starch yield of Solomon sago palm is comparatively high next to sago palm. In
Solomon Islands, both of Solomon sago palm and sago palm exist, the study on their distribution andcharacteristics relating to starch production will be valuable for inventory study of sago resources. We report
here on the summary of our field research conducted on the Island of Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands last year.
Research Sites and Plant Materials

A field survey was made at two sites, east and west of Honiara on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands on 18 and 19

September 2018. M. sagu was harvested in inland swamp of Malango area (9° 29 ′ 3 ″ S, 160° 4 ′ 58 ″ E), and M.

salomonense was harvested in Kakambona area close to north coast (9° 25 ′ 23 ″ S, 159° 54 ′ 11 ″ E). One palm

each of two species were used to measure plant length, trunk length, diameter of trunk and some otheragronomic parameters. Three part of trunk (top, middle and bottom parts) in M. sagu and two parts (middle andbottom) in M. salomonense were cut into a disk. The disk sample was cut into a triangular-prism-shape pith ofwhich the apex was the center of the disk after removing the bark. The pith sample was used for determining
bulk density, pith dry-matter yield, starch yield with sugar content.
Results and Discussion

Morphological characteristics of palm samples are shown in Table 1. The harvested M. sagu had an

inflorescence with immature fruits (2 to 3cm diameter) and its size in trunk diameter and trunk length was 45cm

and 11.4m. This tree was considered to be moderate size as adult sago palm at bearing stage. On the other hand,
the harvested M. solomonense that was 44cm in diameter was considered to be small considering our former

experience in Vanuatu and PNG. Although plant length of the M. salomonense harvested in this survey was

14.3m, its trunk was short with 3.8m in length. Regardless of its short trunk, this M. salomonense tree was atflowering stage and ready to be harvested. Considering the number of leaf scars as 19 and green leaves as 14
with supposing leaf emergence interval as 1 to 1.5 month, the duration from trunk formation to flowering stage

was estimated around 3 to 4 years, which was considered remarkable early among Metroxylon species. The

Abstracts of 28th Annual Meeting of Sago Palm Studies

24

reason of estimated early development of growth phase was obscure whether it would depend on genetic

factor(s) or environmental factor(s). Plant length of M. salomonese in this survey was small, though its

inflorescence was comparatively long as 6.8m rather than that of M. sagu (2.7m). However, the inflorescencelength of M. salomonense on Guadalcanal was smaller than that in Vanuatu (9.6m) (Ehara et al. 2003). Rachillae(3rd branches) of the inflorescence were pendulous and about
ofl M.
n 20cm, which were typical characteristics
hsalomonense.

Starch yield depended on chemical analysis was 493kg/plant and its related pith dry-matter percentage was

48.3% and starch content in pith was 73.6% in M. sagu. These data were almost same level with those in sago

palm grown in Maluku, Indonesia (Yamamoto et al. 2008). M. salomonense showed 30kg/plant dry starch,which was low because of shorter trunk length as 3.8m, low pith-dry matter percentage as 27.5% and low starchcontent in pith as 28.6%. Besides, total sugar content in pith was high as 12% even after inflorescenceappearance in M. salomonense. Sago palm has been used as a roofing material (leaflet) and a material of

handicraft
such as pendant top and ornament(seed) also in Solomon Islands.
Ic village, eastern part of Guadalcanal,w
In Wasakiki
distribution of m
M. warburgii (Vanuatu sago palm) was

observed. According to villagers there, M. warburgii was introduced from Santa Cruz Islands. From this survey,
it was cleared that the largest diversity of species in the genus Metroxylon is found in Solomon Islands.

Acknowledgments This study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP15H05245. We are gratefulto Mr. Tatsuji Nishikawa, JICA Solomon for helpful support.
References

n

n

u

,
Ehara, H. et al. 2003 Agronomic features of Metroxylon palms growing on Gaua in the Banks Islands, Vanuatu.
2ng
SAGO PALM 11: 14–17.
M–1

Yamamoto, Y. et al. 2008 Sago palm and its utilization in Ambon and Seram Islands, Maluku Province,
Indonesia. Abstracts of the 17th conference of Japanese Society of Sago Palm Studies, p17-22.

Abstracts of 28th Annual Meeting of Sago Palm Studies

25

Impact of High soil Water Levels on sago palm’snutrient Uptake and photosynthesis
Aidil Azhar 1, 2*, Koki Asano 1, Mai Takagi 1, Fitri Audia 1, Daigo Makihara 3,
Hitoshi Naito 4, and Hiroshi Ehara 3, 5

1Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University
2

3

Vocational School, Bogor Agricultural University

International Center for Research and Education in Agriculture, Nagoya University
4

College of Life Science, Kurashiki University of Science and The Arts
5

Applied Social System Institute of Asia, Nagoya University

Introduction The issue of peat restoration has attracted attention in the islands of Southeast Asia in recent

years. Peatland restoration aims to restore the function of peatland as a water absorption area and maintaining

carbon content by preventing the occurrence large amounts of carbon emissions caused by peat fire. Therefore, it
is very important to keep the peat soils wet. In terms of agronomy, this is not beneficial especially for plantation
crops. Sago palm (Metroxylon sagu Rottb.) is distributed also in peatland close to tidal area in the islands ofSoutheast Asia and expected to be highly utilized for the current issue of peat restoration. In this study, sago

palm’s growth performance with nutrient uptake and photosynthetic rate was investigated under high soil waterlevels.

Materials and Methods This experiment was conducted from August 2018 to March 2019. Three-year-old

sago palm seedlings were grown individually in 29L pot (39.8cm × 37.6cm) filled with commercial black soil.

Three different conditions were applied to the seedlings regarding soil water level treatment as follows, normal

water application as a control: water including nutrients was supplied from a hole of bottom of pot put into aplastic container, 50% and 80% soil water levels were the percentage of the height of pot which was similarly

with the control pots put in the plastic container. Fifty percent strength of Kimura B culture solution was
supplied with approximately 3cm depth for the control and depth corresponding to 50 and 80% of pot height for
the 50 and 80% plots in the plastic container. The soil in the control pots was kept at 30% order of moist

condition. Twice a week the culture solution was changed. Sago palm’s photosynthetic performance was

evaluated using Li-Cor 6400XT (LiCor, USA) and photosynthesis yield analyzer (MINI-PAM, Walz, Effeltrich,Germany) after 30 minutes dark adaptation. Leaf greenness was observed using SPAD-502 (KONICAMINOLTA, Japan. Leaflet area was measured using Li-3000C (LiCor, USA). All leaflets and petioles emerged
during the experiment were digested by Kjeldahl method using H2SO4 and H2O2. The extracts were used for N,

P and K analysis. Nitrogen content was measured by Kjeldahl distillation method. Phosphate concentration wasdetermined by ammonium molybdate method and the absorbance was measured at 710 nm wavelength using aspectrophotometry (UV-1800 Shimadzu, Japan). Potassium content was analyzed using Flame Photometers.

Results and Discussion Sago seedlings were able to show good adaptation in high and continuous soil water

Abstracts of 28th Annual Meeting of Sago Palm Studies

26

levels tested. The fresh and dry matter weights of leaf and petiole were higher in high wail water than control
plants. The trend of growth performance such as leaflet area and plant height of higher water treatments waslarger rather than normal soil water condition (control). Under high soil water condition, sago palm tended toabsorb much nutrients as we found that N, P and K concentrations in leaflets and petioles in high soil waterconditions trended higher than control, however, there was no significant difference among the three treatments.
There was no interference with photosynthetic performance in both high soil water conditions. Light harvesting

system in PSII also was not affected by high water soil water treatments. Stable chlorophyll fluorescenceparameters indicated that there was no deterioration in photosynthetic performance under the two high soil waterlevels.

Although sago palm naturally grows in tidal conditions as well with appropriate water circulation, continuous

high soil water levels also will allow its high growth performance and high nutrient uptake compared with thosein normal soil water condition. However, further evaluation on non-structural carbohydrate content is needed toinvestigate whether sago palm growing under high soil water level will be able to utilize photosynthate

efficiently for maintaining own plant body and stimulate morphological growth with appropriate dry matter andstarch production.

4

800

0.82

600

Eopt

Fv/Fm

5

1000



NPQmax

0.84

0.8

400

0.78

200

0.76

0

30

0.3





2



1
0
0

50

100

150

200

250

0.25
0.2




ETR

20

0.15
0.1

10



0.05
0

0

1



100

0.8

80
ETRmax

NPQ

3

0.6
0.4

60
40

0.2

20

0

0

0

50

100 150
DAT
DAT

200

250


0

50

100 150
DAT
DAT

200

250

–
–
Fig. 1. Fv/Fm- maximum quantum yield PSII (A), ETR–electrontransport rate (B), NPQ–non-photochemical–
quenching (C), Eopt-optimum irradiance (D), α –asymptotic photosynthetic
efficiency (E), ETRmax–maximum–
electron transport
rate (F) and NPQmax–maximum non-photochemical–quenching (G) of sago palm seedlings
growing under normal (and standard error (n = 4)), 50% () and 80% (△) soil water condition. Data corresponds to the mean value(This study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 18KT0041.)

Abstracts of 28th Annual Meeting of Sago Palm Studies

27

From producers to consumers: Distribution and utilization of sago starchin surabaya, East Java, Indonesia
Marlisa Ayu Trisia* and Hiroshi Ehara
International Center for Research and Education in Agriculture (ICREA), Nagoya University

A distribution channel is the set of steps a good or service from a producer that has to go

Introduction A distribution channel is the set of steps a good or service from a producer that has to go throught

to reach the final consumer. A distribution channel shows a path traced in the direct or indirect transfer of a

product as it moves from a producer to an ultimate consumer or industrial user. A number of studies have been
conducted to determine the distribution channel and price transmission of agricultural products in Indonesia.
However, to date, there is no empirical evidence of whether distribution channels and price transmission can beconsidered to be efficient for different actors in the sago starch distribution. This situation indicates the need foranalyzing the distribution and utilization of sago starch in Surabaya as the main market destination in Indonesia.

Material and Methods The survey was conducted in January 2019 in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia. 3

traditional markets (Wonokromo, Pabean and Blauran) and 1 cake shop were observed to identify sago starchutilization and their market linkages.

Results and Discussion For smallFor
and medium
sagomedium
businesses,
understanding
distribution management
issmall andsago
businesses,theunderstanding
the distribution
the important way to maximize their profit. According to our investigation in traditional markets, 2 sago
products were found: (1) dried sago and (2) roasted sago (Figure 1).

m

(a)

(b)

Fig 1. (a) Dried sago in distributor, (b) sagu kotak/roasted sago found in Surabaya
A. Dried sago starch distribution

The distribution of dried sago in Surabaya can be classified into indirect distribution with market linkages fromproducer to the domestic trader. There is no linkage market between distributor to the exporter. The product isfrom Selat Panjang, Riau and distributes to Surabaya from Cirebon (Fig. 2). In Cirebon, the distributor price ofAbstracts of 28th Annual Meeting of Sago Palm Studies

28

dried sago for 1 sack (50 kg) is ¥ 2450 (¥ 49/kg). In the distributor/ agent in Surabaya, the price of dried sago is¥ 2894 (¥ 58/kg). Meanwhile, in the retailer level, the dried sago is sold for ¥ 76/kg to the consumer. The

consumer can buy dried sago directly to the distributor for dried sago in the small quantity (1 kg) for ¥ 69/kg.
Due to the long chain between a producer to a consumer, the price of dried sago in Surabaya hikes over 55.1%
until it reaches the consumers without any extra value addition. The price of the product is marked up to covertransportation, storage, and profit for distributor and retailers although there is weight loss during the shipment
due to moisture content. The total weight of dried sago until Surabaya is only 90-98% of the original weight.

Cooperative
Dried
mills in
Riau

Distributor(trading
company)
in Cirebon

Individual
distributor

Shippingby boatDistributor/
agent in
Surabaya

Retailer

Consumer

Shippingby truckFig 2. Dried sago distribution in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia
B.SSSagu kotak/ roasted sago distribution
Sagu kotak also has an indirect distribution from the distributor in Ambon to agent, wholesaler, and retailer in
Surabaya (Fig. 3). At the distributor level, sago kotak is sold per sack (90 kg) between ¥ 10.283 – ¥ 10.969 (¥

114 – ¥ 122/kg). The wholesalers sell the product between ¥ 11.654 - ¥ 11.997/sack (¥ 129 – ¥ 133/kg) toconsumers. In the retailer level, the selling prices of sago kotak vary between ¥ 152 to ¥ 168/kg.

Sagu
kotak
producer

Distributor/
Dagent in
SurabayaDistributorin AmbonWholesaler

Retailer

Consumer

Shippingby boat

Fig 3. Sagu kotak distribution in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia
C. Bubur sagu/ sago pudding

People in Surabaya utilize sago starch mainly for food. Bubur sagu/ sago pudding is considered as one of thefamous foods in Surabaya. Bubur sagu is a sweet pudding made by boiling sagu kotak with water, sugar andserving it with coconut milk. It is sometimes added with other ingredients such as black glutinous rice, sweet

potato, and mung bean called bubur campur (mix pudding). Bubur sagu is believed by local people to be able torelieve fever and sore throat. The price of bubur sagu in the traditional market is ¥ 46 meanwhile, in the cakeshop, it is sold for ¥ 61. The distribution of bubur sagu can be classified into direct selling with market linkages

from producer to consumer with additional online distribution. The demand for sago kotak highly increases,
especially in Ramadhan and Eid al-Fitr.

(This study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 18KT0041.)