Abstract:
Aibika (Abelmoschus manihot L. Medik), a local green leafy vegetable, plays an important nutritional role for most Papuan people. In Indonesia, it is commonly called “Gedi”. This plant is widely cultivated in the lowland of Papua and other part of Eastern Indonesia. Gedi is reported to be high in nutrients, especially protein, Fe, K, Mg, Ca, follic acid, and flavonoid compounds. Papua is considered to be the secondary diversity centre of this plant; however its diversity is declining, due to habitat destruction for regional development or land fragmentation, and hence gedi preservation is a priority. This study aimed to assess the status gedi diversity by collecting, preserving, conducting gedi morphological characterization, and preliminary assessment of its cultivation technique. Diverse germplasm can then be used to improve gedi. The study was conducted between April and June 2015 in Mandopi, Warmare, Prafi of Manokwari Regency and in Minyambouw of Arfak Mountain Regency. Descriptive method was used in this study, and the relationship among cultivars was analyzed according to cluster analysis using Excel Stat. The phenotypic characters comprising 29 morphological characters were recorded for cluster analysis. There were 39 gedi cultivars collected from 4 regions of West Papua. The cluster analysis revealed 4 different cultivar groups. Gedi cultivars from the same area tended to cluster together, except group 1 which showed a similarity index of 43 % with other groups. In Papua, gedi is cultivated in a traditional mixed-cropping system, with out appropriate planting distance, no fertilizer and pesticide application. This has resulted in suboptimal growth and high susceptibility to pests.
