On-Farm Local Rice Cultivars and Pest Diversity Identification of Kasepuhan Customary Communities in Banten Kidul

Local rice cultivars have distinct characteristics that are loved by the locals, e.g. taste, quality, and softness. Owing to years of adaptation, local rice cultivars are also more resistant to pests (animal pests, diseases, weeds). Nonetheless, the people of Kasepuhan Banten Kidul’s customary communities stay loyal to these cultivars. For decades, they have been practicing traditional farming. However, the varieties of local rice cultivars being planted are declining from year to year, prompting conservation efforts to be taken. This research aims to identify the types of local rice cultivars in Kasepuhan Banten Kidul and the pests associated with them. The research methods used are descriptive qualitative and quantitative. The qualitative method is used for the morphology of the cultivars, while the quantitative method is for the abundance or quantity of the pests. The quantity and diversity of the pests are subsequently analyzed using the Shannon-Wiener index (H’ index). The sampling method used in this research is systematic random sampling. The research findings show that there are 3 categories in general, i.e. pare, cere, and ketan, each of which demonstrates morphological diversity. To date, there are 11 types of local rice cultivars planted by the farmers of Kasepuhan customary communities, i.e. Tampey, Beureum, Sogleng, Srimahi, Srikuning, Kiara, Hurik, Kewal, Petay, Ketan White, and Cere. Additionally, there are 13 Arthropods species of pests and natural enemies identified in the rice field agroecosystem of Kasepuhan, i.e. Chanaphalocrosis medinalis, Dasychira inclusa, Leptocorisa acuta, Nilaparvata lugens, Zosteria sp., Munia sp., Pachydiplosis oryzae, Pomacea panaliculata, Nezara viridula, Harmonia octomaculata, Araneus diadematus, and Oxyopes lineatus. Meanwhile, in terms of pest diversity, only a few pests or diseases are found to be dominating. The reason is that farmers in these communities only plant rice once a year, thereby helping maintain the balance of nature. The dominant pest associated with the local rice plants is golden apple snails. A Shannon-Wiener analysis measures an index of 2.27, which indicates moderate pest species diversity and a stable ecosystem in the area being studied.