抄録
We investigated the growth characteristics and starch productivity of gebang palms grown in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara and on Muna Island, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. In surveyed sites, the palms grew naturally or were planted around the houses. In Kupang, all parts were used for multiple purposes, and starch extraction was also performed. According to the results of an interview with a veteran farmer of gebang palm in Kupang, the optimum harvest time for starch production is around the flower bud formation stage before flowering, which takes 25 to 30 years from seedlings. The plants at the survey sites ranged from 13–20 m in trunk length, 50–60 cm in trunk diameter, and 3200–5100 kg in trunk weight at the flower bud formation stage. Additionally with high pith starch percentages (60–70%), 5 of 10 plants at the flower bud formation stage had contents of more than 1000 kg, and the maximum starch content (yield) was about 1400 kg. Since the growth of trunks and the starch contents in the pith differed depending on the surveyed site, it is necessary to examine the differences in the growth characteristics and starch productivities among the surveyed sites from the viewpoints of differences in the genetic backgrounds and the growth environments.
