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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.58（2017 年 3 月）
No.58（March 2017）

Productivity of Nutmeg (Myristica spp.)
in Agroforestry System (Dusung) in Ambon Island
LEATEMIA J. Audrey, REHATTA Herman, ULUPUTTY M. Riadh and MAHULETE Asri S.
Faculty of Agriculture, Pattimura University

Abstract
Nutmeg is an icon of Maluku which has historic value in the world history of spice. However, theresearch on nutmeg in Maluku is still lacking. The objective of this study was to get the potency of nutmeg
in farmers’ plantation, cultivation and utilization of nutmeg by farmers, and kind of pests and diseases ofnutmeg in Ambon Island. The research was conducted in three districts which are the center of nutmeg
production in Ambon Island. Survey method with purposive sampling was used to determine village andfarmer samples. Data was collected through direct observation in the field as well as by interviewing
farmers. The result showed that nutmeg is cultivated in agroforestry system (dusung). The climate inresearch location is suitable for nutmeg growing and production. Productivity of nutmeg in Ambon Island
is consider low which were 0.58, 0.77 and 0.39 t/ha in Leihitu, Leihitu Barat and Salahutu districts,respectively. Pests and diseases found in nutmeg plantation were stem borer, dry fruit rot, wet fruit rot, stem
cancer, curly top, die top and thread blight.
Keywords: agroforestry, diseases, pests, potential, spice

Introduction
Agriculture sector has an important role in Indonesia, not only as labor market for 42%
people but also as source of income especially for estate crop such as clove, nutmeg andcacao.
Nutmeg (Myristica spp.) is a spice that serves as source of farmer income, country
foreign exchange and supporting industrial. Nutmeg plant that has economic value is its fruit
which is consist of flesh (77.8%), mace (4%), kernel (5.1%) and seed (13.1%), and the mostvaluable parts are mace and seed that can be used to produce nutmeg oil.
Nutmeg is growing well in the tropical area of Asia, America and Africa. Nutmeg isclassified into family of Myristicaceae that consist of 15 genera and 250 species in which 5genera found in the tropical area of America, 6 genera in Africa and 4 genera in the tropicalarea of Asia (RISMUNANDAR 1990). There are six species of nutmeg in Maluku, i.e., Myristicafragrans, M. argentea, M. fatua, M. specioga, M. sucedona and M. malabarica, with the mosteconomic value is M. fragrans (HADAD et al. 2006).

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LEATEMIA J. Audrey, REHATTA Herman, ULUPUTTY M. Riadh and MAHULETE Asri S.

Based on historical review and fact in the field, M. fragrans is originally from theMaluku Archipelago (the Banda Islands). Therefore, Maluku has an important role in theworld economy as a producer of high quality of nutmeg. However, the production of nutmeg
in this area is not optimal yet, because there are many problems faced by the farmer ranging
from cultivation technology to post-harvest processing problems.
Nutmeg is planted by almost all communities in Maluku. According to BPS (2013), themajority of population that most heavily cultivated nutmeg crop is resident of Central Maluku
as many as 9,580 households, followed by 6,542 of East Seram, 4,800 of West Seram, 1,557
of South Buru, while the other districts of less than 1,000 households.
Nutmeg farm in Maluku Province is mostly smallholder plantations and it tends toincrease from time to time (BPS 2013). The production and productivity (production/area ofproductive tree) of nutmeg is also increasing over the past three years (0.34–0.54 t/ha; Table 1)
but they are considered to be still low. Low production and productivity of nutmeg are caused
by unsuitable seed used for cultivation, unused of fertilizer and uncontrolled pest and disease(HADAD et al. 2006).
Ambon Island is one of the areas that produce nutmeg in Maluku Province. In this area,nutmeg is cultivated traditionally by using a system called dusung. Dusung is traditional
knowledge practiced in Central Maluku including Ambon Island in which nutmeg is planted
together with other crops (agroforestry) (MATINAHORU 2014).
Pests and diseases in nutmeg plants highly influence the production; decline inproduction due to pests and diseases can reach 10–25% (SEMANGUN 2008).
As mention above, productivity of nutmeg is still low because the problems faced by
farmer range from cultivation system to post-harvest processing. Therefore, solution is needed
to improve the system in order to improve income of the nutmeg farmers.
The objective of this research was to get data on potential of nutmeg, to study thecultivation system and utilization pattern of nutmeg by farmer as well as to get data of pest
and disease of nutmeg plant in Ambon Island.

Methods
This research was conducted on July to November 2014 in three districts namely Leihitu,
West Leihitu and Salahutu of Central Maluku Regency in Ambon Island. Three villages ofeach district were purposively chosen as sampling areas because they are main producer ofnutmeg in Ambon Island.
Direct observations were done in the field as well as interviewing key respondents. The
number of key respondents for each village is 10% of the nutmeg farmers. Data collected
were field resources, variety of plant, cultivation techniques, indigenous knowledge, climate
conditions, plant pests and diseases, production and post-harvest handling. Secondary data

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Productivity of Nutmeg (Myristica spp.) in Agroforestry System (Dusung) in Ambon Island

Table 1. Area and production of nutmeg in Maluku during 2010 to 2012.
Year

Area (ha)2010Young tree
11,949Productive tree
6,635

Old tree
3,741

2011
2012

13,232
16,688

7,943
8,568

3,886
3,608

Production(t)Productivity*(t/ha)

2,3910.36

2,700
4,622

0.340.54*productivity = production (t)/area of productive tree (ha)collected from related institution were statistics and agroclimate data as well as otherinformation relevant to the study.
Agroclimate data was analysed using formulas proposed by OLDEMAN (1977) for raining
probability, SCHMIDT and FERGUSON (1951) for climate clasification and OLDEMAN (1975) for
type of climate. Pest and disease were indentified in Plant Pest Laboratory and Plant Disease
Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Pattimura University.

Results and DiscussionClimate aspect in nutmeg cultivation
Water is necessary by plants for photosynthesis, transpiration of mineral and product ofphotosynthesis, growth and transpiration. For estate crops, major water resource is rainywater.
In nutmeg cultivation area in Maluku (the Banda Islands), average of rainfall is 3,116mm/year with 215 rainy days. According to RIDLEY (1912), rainfall needed by nutmeg crop is2,175 to 3,550 mm/year without any period of real drought. The more rainfall the higher
production per plant per month. In contrary, dry season causes decrease in production as wellas the quality of the seed. According to HADAD et al. (2006), nutmeg seed harvest in dry
season has lower germination rate compare to that in rainy season. Based on climate
suitability, RUHNAYAT and MARTINI (2015) stated that nutmeg crop is suitable to cultivate inarea with average rainfall of 2,000–4,500 mm/year. According to FLACH (1966), nutmeg crop
cultivated in flat land with low water holding capacity has potential in puddle which will
inhibit the growth of plants and susceptible to root rot disease if there is too much rainfall.
Rainfall in the research area is 1,692–4,231 mm/year with 153 to more than 223 rainy days,
and type of climate B (SCHMIDT and FERGUSON 1951) therefore the research area meets thecriteria of climatic suitability for the development of nutmeg.
Varieties of vegetation have been naturally selected to grow in different latitude andaltitude. At various latitudes and altitudes above sea level, there are different temperature andrainfall that would affect the lives of the various types of plants.
Relative humidity is related to the amount of water vapor in the air and it depends on air

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LEATEMIA J. Audrey, REHATTA Herman, ULUPUTTY M. Riadh and MAHULETE Asri S.

temperature as well as air pressure. Therefore, temperature is linearly correlated to relative
humidity. In general, air temperature and relative humidity is directly related to plant growth,
as well as to development of plant pests and diseases. In the research area (Ambon Island)
average temperature annually is 26.5°C, according to HADAD et al. (2006), optimaltemperature for nutmeg growth is 25–30°C.
In Moluccas, nutmeg and clove crops distribution are found on 0–700 m above sea level.
Nutmeg cultivated in more than 700 m above sea level will have low production due to highrelative humidity that good for plant pathogen (fungus) to grow. Therefore, nutmeg is suitable
to be cultivated on area less than 700 m above sea level (LEE 1957). In Banda Island, nutmeg
is grown from the coastal to area of 458 m above sea level.
Wind has a role in moving heat, water vapor and CO2 between the surrounding air andthe plant, especially the leaves. In relation to nutmeg cultivation, wind speed and direction
should be taking into account since strong wind can cause damage to crops, flowers and/or
fruit fall. In area with strong wind, the speed could be reduced using compact wind barrier orother plant. For example, in most of nutmeg plantation in Banda Island, walnut (canary) tree
are being used as wind breaker that protects nutmeg tree from the sea wind. Wind direction is
also important in spreading of fungus spore and migration of certain plant pests.
Cultivation system of nutmeg in Ambon Island
Farmers in the districts of Leihitu, West Leihitu and Salahutu cultivate nutmeg on theirown land by using the system called dusung mixed with other crops. Nutmegs were planted
from flatland up to the hill with the gradient > 45% and canopy of 80% in the area of 0.5 to
4.0 ha. Nutmegs are harvested 3 times a year in March–April, July–August andNovember–December with the peak on March to April. Description on the number of plant,production and productivity of nutmeg in three districts are presented in Table 2.
It can be seen in Table 2 that productivity (production [t]/area of productive tree [ha]) ofnutmeg is low due to limited cultivation system. Land used for nutmeg cultivation is also
planted with other vegetation in order to protect nutmeg plants. Those plants are durian,albizia, walnuts (canary), gayam, mangosteen, mango, lenggua, teak and resin (upper stratum),clove, langsat, jackfruit, guava, coconut, betel nut, palm, cocoa, avocado (mid stratum) andbanana, papaya, cassava, yam, pineapple, soursop (lower stratum).
In nutmeg cultivation, farmers has not used fertilizer and pesticide and the tools thatbeen used only hoe, knife and crowbar. Sanitation of the plantation has not been done properly,
and only been done once every 6 months, therefore there were some plant pests and diseases.
Very limited and simple cultivation techniques caused low productivity of plant.
In addition, low productivity was also caused by lack of knowledge of the farmers todifferentiate between female and male plants. The best ratio for male and female is 1:8, but
fact in the field shows that farmer cultivated more male than female plants.
Based on field observation, it is found that there are three species in the study area in

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Productivity of Nutmeg (Myristica spp.) in Agroforestry System (Dusung) in Ambon Island

which two are cultivated, i.e., Myristica fragrans and M. argentea and the other is wild
nutmeg, M. fatua (Fig. 2).
Mature nutmeg fruits (6–7 months old) are harvested by using long stick. The mostvaluable parts of the fruit are seed and mace while most of the fruit flesh are discarded andjust a little are kept to produce nutmeg syrup such as observed in Morela Village. Sun-dryingof seeds usually takes 3–5 days while for mace just one day (Fig. 3). In the rainy season, seedand mace are smoked.
Table 2. Number of tree, production and productivity of nutmeg in Leihitu, West Leihitu and Salahutu
districts in Central Maluku Regency.
Number of tree*
Production
District
Village
Total
Productivity**(t)YTPT
OT/DOT
Morella
8,869
7,127
2,340
18,33628
0.61
Mamala
5,627
5,760
1,960
13,347230.62
Leihitu
Hila
5,151
4,827
1,763
11,741140.45
Mean
6,549
5,905
2,021
14,475220.58Alang
21,80029,291
3,40954,500
167
0.89
Lilibooy
4,545
9,810
789
14,144430.68
West Leihitu
Hatu
5,654
20,3902,500
28,544970.74Mean
10,666
19,8302,233
32,3961020.77
Liang
2,620
20,1491,989
24,75849
0.38
Tengah Tengah
5,669
26,2353,457
35.361700.42
Salahutu
Tial
4,060
17,1101,740
22,910410.37
Mean
4,116
21,1652,395
15,901530.39*: YT=young tree, PT= productive tree, OT=old tree and DOT=damaged old tree.
**: It is assumed that there are 156 trees in 1 ha based on tree spacing.

ABC

Fig. 2. Myristica fragrans (A), M. argantea (B) and M. fatua (C).

Fig. 3. Harvesting and post-harvesting handling of nutmeg.

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LEATEMIA J. Audrey, REHATTA Herman, ULUPUTTY M. Riadh and MAHULETE Asri S.

In relation to harvesting, there is a traditional community based management in Ambon
Island called sasi. Sasi system refers to temporal prohibition on particular resources, e.g.,nutmeg and when it is applied (tutup sasi closed season), no usage whatsoever is permitted
until the sasi is lifted (buka sasi opened season). Violation of the sasi system will cause
punishment or fine for the violators. Sasi system for nutmeg is still practiced in the villages ofMamala, Morela (Leihitu District) and Allang (West Lihitu District). Through sasi, we can get
the best quality of nutmeg fruit because it is harvested in condition of physiologically mature.
Pests and diseases
Many pests and diseases were found during the study in all study areas (Table 3). As
mentioned earlier, very limited cultivation techniques were used by farmers. Pest and disease
control was not done intensively due to lack of knowledge of the farmers. Sanitation was notbeen done properly, it was only done twice a year usually before harvesting. The trees that
had been damaged by pests and diseases were left in the field so they become the source ofTable 3. Diseases and pests found in the study area.
District

Leihitu

DiseaseStem cancer (Phytophthora palmivora )Curly top
Dry fuit rot (Stigmina myristicae )Thread blight (Marasmius sp.)
Wet fruit rot (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides )Plant parasite
Upasia salmonico

Curly top
Stem cancer (Phytophthora palmivora )Thread blight (Marasmius sp.)
Die topWest Leihitu Red Algae
Dry fuit rot (Stigmina myristicae )Wet fruit rot (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides )Leave Spot
Cracking of young fruit
Thread Blight (Marasmius sp.)
Stem cancer (Phytophthora palmivora )Salahutu

Pest
Stem borer (Batocera sp.)
Termites

Curly top
Dry fuit rot (Stigmina myristicae )Wet fruit rot (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides )Plant parasite
Die top

Stem borer (Batocera sp.)
Termites

Stem borer (Batocera sp.)
Termites

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Productivity of Nutmeg (Myristica spp.) in Agroforestry System (Dusung) in Ambon Island

inoculum to healthy trees. In most of plantations, the upper stratum trees (durian, albizia,canary, mangosteen etc.) occupied the upper canopy and covered the nutmeg and other mid
stratum trees. Therefore, they can hinder the sunlight to go through and can cause highhumidity in the field which in turn can support the development of the diseases.

Conclusion
Based on the study, it can be concluded that: 1) nutmeg in Ambon Island has a great
potential to be developed because climate and physical condition support its growing andproduction, 2) productivity of nutmeg is low (0.37–0.89 t/ha) due to the non-optimal
cultivation system, 3) the unsuitable ratio of male and female trees in the field can cause low
productivity and 4) pests and diseases that found are similar among the study areas.
Therefore, improvement of cultivation system including sanitation of plantation, pest anddisease control as well as the settings of male and female trees ratio by providing female trees
need to be done in order to improve productivity of nutmeg in the area.

Acknowledgement
We would like to thank Directorate of Higher Education, Ministry of ResearchTechnology and Higher Education for funding this research through UPT Research Grant(2014–2015).

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