Morphological and yield traits of clove (Syzygium aromaticum) cultivated in South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

Cloves (Syzygium aromaticum) are native to the Maluku Islands, Indonesia. It has been spread to various regions, including South Sulawesi Province. Nearly 98% of Clove plantations are mostly cultivated by farmers. Major clove production areas in South Sulawesi include Luwu, Bulukumba, Toraja, Sinjay, Selayar, and Bantaeng. Clove morphological and yield characters from each production area were varied, possibly reflecting genetic variation. This variation is important for plant breeding activities, especially for the selection of plant populations. This study aimed to determine clove yield components and morphological traits from Bulukumba and Bantaeng region, South Sulawesi. Clove idiotype is high yielding with high content of essential oil and eugenol. The research was carried out by selecting mother trees of the high-yielding block. The ninety selected trees (high-yielding mother trees-HYMTs) from eight locations were observed for morphological characteristics like plant height, trunk circumference, canopy shape, leaf attributes, inflorescence, and yield traits. Other characters observed were dry bud color, the aroma of dry buds, color of essential oil, and essential oil content. The results of this research revealed that Mappiare’s HYMTs have the largest tree appearance. Moreover, Asikin’s HYMTs have the most flowers per bunch. Average fresh flower yield 96.47 – 169.22 kg/tree. Generally, selected cloves from Bulukumba and Bantaeng have brownish white-brown dry buds with a pale yellow essential oil color with the essential oil content 12.64 - 19.67%. The highest essential oil content is Sultan’s HYMTs. Batukarop’s HYMTs has the stronggest dry bud aroma.