Judul: Aplikasi zat pengatur tumbuh untuk menyerempakkan mekar bunga dan masak buah jarak pagar (Jatropha curcas L.)
Abstrak: One of the major constraints in Jatropha oil production is asynchronous fruit ripening, hence harvesting needs to be carried out accordingly which lead to drudgery. Therefore, an experimental study on the use of plant growth regulators was designed to induce synchronous blooming of pistilate flowers, and to promote synchronous fruits ripening. The study was conducted at the Jatropha Plantation of PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa Tbk Citeureup from October 2009 to August 2010. To induce synchronous blooming of pistilate flowers, Benzyl Amino Purine (BAP) and etephon were used, whereas etephon alone was used to promote synchronous fruits ripening. A completely randomized design was used in the first experiment that was carried in two steps. In the first step BAP at 0, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 ppm and etephon at 10, 30, 50, 70 and 90 ppm were applied on early developing flower buds. In the second step 0, 30, 50, 70, 90 and 110 ppm BAP were used. The second experiment consisted of three steps. The first step was observation of seed development from 30 days after anthesis. A randomized complete block design was used in the second and the third steps. In the first step 0, 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, and 1200 ppm of etephon were applied on fruits at 40 and 45 days after anthesis during the rainy season. In the second stage 0, 100, 200, 300, 400 ppm etephon were applied on fruits of the same maturation stages in the dry season. The result show that BAP tends to increase the number of female flowers in an inflorescence thus longer period of blooming. Application of etephon at 200 ppm on 40 day after anthesis shorten the fruit maturation hence more synchronous fruit ripening in rainy season, but not in dry season when fruits ripened synchronously. The quality of the seed and kernel were not affected by etephon application.
Keyword: 

Judul: Penggunaan Bap (Benzyl Amino Purin) Dalam Meningkatkan Bunga Betina Jarak Pagar (Jatropha Curcas L.)
Abstrak: Jatropha curcas seed is a potential candidate as source of biodiesel. Seed yield, the determining factor of jatropha oil production, is highly associated with female flowers development.. However, little is known regarding floral development in this species. This study was undertaken to determine the effects of plant growth regulator Benzyl Amino Purin (BAP) on floral development of Jatropha curcas. The experiment was carried out in March through December 2011 at Cikabayan Experimental station, using Dompu accession.The treatment consisted of six concentration of BAP, i.e. 0. 40, 80, 120, 160, and 200 ppm. The experiment was arranged in randomized complete block design with three replicates, and each replicate consisted of three trees. The result show that application of BAP 160 ppm significantly increased the total number of female flowers per inflorescence up to over 7fold (from 3.30 - 23.67 flowers ) in the green house, where as outside the rumah kaca it reached over 5 fold (from 3.30 to 16 flowers).The number of male flowers was not affected by the treatment. As a result, the sex ratio between female and male flowers decreased from 1:15 to 1:3. Unfortunately, the increasing number of female flowers in the rumah kaca was followed by the low fruit set of 40% as opposed to those outside rumah kaca of 80%. It was possible that the low fruit set was due to lack of pollinators. There was indication that the developmental stage of flower bud determined the increase number of female flowers following the BAP treatment. The developmental stage 1 and 2 were the best time for application of BAP.
Keyword: 

Judul: Perbandingan Karakteristik Anatomi Skelet Kepala Komodo (Varanus komodoensis) dan Biawak Air (Varanus salvator).
Abstrak: Komodo dan biawak air diklasifikasikan dalam Ordo Squamata dan Famili Varanidae. Meskipun kedua hewan ini termasuk dalam ordo dan famili yang sama tetapi perannya di alam berbeda. Komodo sebagai predator utama memiliki ukuran tengkorak yang lebih besar dibandingkan dengan ukuran tengkorak biawak air yang berperan sebagai predator opportunistik. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mempelajari komparasi karakteristik struktur skelet kepala komodo (Varanus komodoensis) dengan skelet kepala biawak air (Varanus salvator). Struktur kepala ini dikaitkan dengan fungsi skelet kepala untuk mendukung perilaku sehari-hari. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan cara mengamati dan mengukur tulang-tulang penyusun skelet kepala komodo dan biawak air, serta mengamati perilaku sehari-hari kedua hewan melalui pengamatan video. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan ukuran skelet kepala komodo memiliki panjang 21.9 cm, lebar 11.6 cm, dan tinggi 8.9 cm. Skelet kepala biawak air memiliki panjang 16.0 cm, lebar 7.0 cm, dan tinggi 5.0 cm. Komodo memiliki gigi marginal dan lingual dengan tipe gigi pleurodont dan ziphodont, yaitu bentuk gigi seperti pedang dan melengkung ke arah lateral. Biawak air memiliki gigi marginal dengan tipe pleurodont yang tumbuh disamping rahang dengan satu gigi pengganti pada setiap gigi marginal. Hubungan antar tulang penyusun skelet kepala komodo relatif longgar dan memiliki os temporale yang sangat berkembang, sehingga pembukaan mulut komodo sangat lebar dibandingkan biawak air yang tidak memiliki kraniokinesis. Kedua hewan ini memiliki canalis intercisivum yang terdapat pada palatum durum menghubungkan cavum oris dan cavum nasi. Secara fungsional, saluran ini dikaitkan dengan kemampuan penciuman yang tajam karena saluran ini berhubungan dengan organ vomeronasale. Perbedaan struktur skelet kepala komodo dan biawak air berperan dalam melakukan aktifitas sehari-hari kedua hewan ini.
Keyword: perbandingan skelet kepala, komodo, biawak air