Exploration and characterization of tinombo local garlic, Central Sulawesi

Most of Indonesia’s garlic needs are fulfilled by imported (97%). The government focuses on local garlic for seed prospects and gives a mandatory for importers to plant it to increase domestic production. Beside of using registered local varieties, it is also intended for local varieties which have not been registered, to be developed especially by local farmers. Exploration and characterization are very necessary so that the presence of local varieties of garlic in each region is known. This study aims to explore and characterize the local garlics in Central Sulawesi. The research was carried out in March 2020, located in Parigi Moutong Regency. The research used survey method, while the observations of plant morphology and agronomy using a Horticultural Plant Characterization Guidebook. The research found a local variety of garlic namely Tinombo Variety. Apart from being a cooking spice, Tinombo variety also used as a biopharmaceutical. The result of the characterization shows that Tinombo variety has light green leaf color, pale yellow flesh color, very sharp aroma, 14-21 cloves per bulb, 2-3 t/ha production while the yield potential is 7.6 t/ha. The harvest age is 5-6 months, and it is suitable in the highlands. The obstacle for farmers is the difficulty of the access to and from the field, thus the price of garlic is expensive. The cultivation technology is still conventional and does not use fertilizers. This local variety has a high chance to increase its productivity with the application of appropriate and site-specific technologies.


Introduction
Garlic (Allium sativum L) is one of the important horticultural products for Indonesian people due to its multiple uses.Apart from being a spice, garlic is also widely used as a biopharmaceutical to help lower high blood pressure, treat respiratory problems, headaches, hemorrhoids, constipation, bruises, intestinal worms, insomnia, cholesterol, influenza, urinary tract disorders, and etc [1].This situation affects the high economic value of garlic in Indonesian society.Domestic demand for garlic is still very dependent on imports.Indonesia has not been able to achieve self-sufficiency in garlic [2].Garlic production in Indonesia is still low and tends to decrease from the previous year.According to [3], in 2021 garlic production in Indonesia can only reach 45,092 tons.This production volume has decreased by 44.88% compared to the previous year, which was 81,805 tons.Meanwhile, the projection results show that domestic garlic consumption in 2021 reach 515.74 thousand tons.It means that Indonesia can only provide less than 10% of the total demand, so that imports are the only solution in fulfilling domestic garlic needs.The large number of imported garlic in the market makes local varieties very difficult to find.So that, it has the potential to get rid of the presence of local garlic in various areas.Efforts to prevent the extinction of local varieties are urgently needed at this time, such as inventory, collection, and characterization to save genetic resources and are expected to be developed into high-yielding varieties [4,5].This is an opportunity and a challenge for the government and local garlic farmers to be able to reduce the need for imported garlic by spurring domestic garlic production by using local garlic varieties which in line to sustain its existence.Although in limited quantities, local garlic has gradually filled the Indonesian market [6].
Indonesia has a wealth of genetic resources, including a local variety of garlic that has a stronger aroma and flavor than imported varieties [7], although in terms of bulb size, local garlic varieties have not been able to compete with imported varieties, such as from China [8].Based on adaptation area, local garlic in Indonesia is specifically suitable for planting in the highlands (700-1,100 meters above sea level) and some in the lowlands.The wealth of local garlic genetic resources that are well known in Indonesia are spread across various regions, such as in West Nusa Tenggara (Sangga Sembalun variety), East Java (Lumbu Hijau and Lumbu Kuning varietiy), Central Java (Tawangmangu variety), and Special Region of Yogyakarta (Lumbu Putih Variety) [9,8,7].There are also several other potential local cultivars, such as Sanur, Layur, Bogor, Kresek, and many more local clones that may not have been evaluated [11].
Apart from this area, there are many other areas that have local genetic resources, one of them is Central Sulawesi.Central Sulawesi is one of the provinces in Indonesia that has a diverse genetic wealth, including local garlic.To find out its existence, exploration effort was needed accompanied by characterization, both morphological and agronomic aspects, so that the superiority of these varieties will be known and will enrich the diversity of local varieties as breeding materials.

Place and time
Exploration activities were carried out in Tinombo District, Parigi Moutong Regency, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia in March 2020.While the characterization is done by planting local garlic in the form of bulbs until harvest.The planting was carried out in Watumaeta village, North Lore District, Poso Regency, Central Sulawesi from April to August 2020 at an altitude of 1,371 m above sea level and has rain type A with agro-climatic zone A1.

Tools and materials
The tools used are a characterization guidebook for garlic, descriptor tables, color charts, caliper, digital scales, rulers, gray cardboard, labels, and other supporting tools.The material used is a sample of local varieties of garlic (Tinombo variety).

Methods
The methods carried out include (1) surveys for exploration activities and (2) Characterization using the General Guidebook for Compiling Characterization of Vegetable Crop Varieties published by the Center for Plant Variety Protection and Agricultural Licensing of the Ministry of Agriculture in 2020.Characterization is done by matching the plant parts with the existing guidelines and filled in the descriptor table that has been prepared, both from the morphological and agronomic sections.

Exploration
Exploration is a field activity by traveling to a location to collect materials that are the target of the activity [11].This is also related to the strategy of exploration and characterization of global biodiversity to save germplasm that has begun to be rare or threatened with extinction, so that its sustainability is preserved.
The results of exploration in Tinombo District, Parigi Moutong Regency, Central Sulawesi, found that Tinombo's local garlic distribution was in 4 (four) villages, namely Ogoalas, West Lombok, Taipa Obal and Patingke.These four locations are at an altitude of 300 to 800 m above sea level [12], however local garlic cultivation is at an altitude of more than 1000 m above sea level.In this area, local garlic farming is still traditional, without the use of fertilizers, both organic and inorganic.Cultivation techniques rely solely on local soil fertility.The spacing used also tends to be irregular.In controlling pests and diseases, local farmers also do not use pesticides.With conditions like this, it can be interpreted that the cultivation system used is organic.The source of the seeds used are from previous harvests which are stored for approximately 5-6 months.The planting area ranges from 50 to 500 m 2 .
The distance from the village to the sub-district capital varies from 9 to 15 km.Nearest village is Patingke and farthest is Ogoalas.Although the distance is not too far, the travel time required is quite long, which is 2 to 4 hours.This is because access to and from the planting site is very difficult/steep and when it rains, the road conditions are slippery and can only be passed by two-wheeled vehicles or on foot.The tribes living in this area are the Lauje.
Local garlic marketing is limited to Tinombo sub-district only, either through village markets or subdistrict markets.Based on interviews with local communities, preference for local garlic is higher than imported garlic, even though local garlic has a small size.The reason is that the aroma is sharper, and it can treat various diseases, especially high blood pressure.

Characterization
Characterization is carried out to determine the nature and superior of germplasm to facilitate its use.Germplasm characterization is carried out in order to determine the potential traits they possess for use in breeding programs.Characterization was carried out on morphological, agronomic, physiological, and biochemical characteristics [11].Based on the results of Tinombo local garlic characterization, morphological and agronomic data were obtained as presented in table 1 accompanied by photos of plant parts as shown in figure 1.
The results of exploration and characterization of the Tinombo variety show that its productivity is low (2-3 t/ha).This is because the local farmers' cultivation system is still traditional/conventional and without any technological input, such as the use of fertilizers and control of plantand disease.Farmers only rely on land fertility.The difficulty of access to the planting site is one of the factors for the lack of efforts to provide input for production technology.Whereas bulbs produced from the Tinombo variety have the superiority on stronger aroma and flavor compared to imports variety.Appropriate technological input is a determining factor for crop productivity.Technological components that affect garlic productivity include the use of quality seeds and inputs of appropriate and balanced fertilization technology [13,14].[15] stated that the use of seeds from previous harvests and the use of inappropriate fertilizers are the causes of the decline in productivity and quality of the garlic bulbs produced.Meanwhile at the survey site, the source of nutrients to meet the needs of plants is only obtained from the nutrients available in the soil.
The harvest age of the Tinombo variety ranges from 5-6 months after planting.From these data, the harvest age is included in the category of long harvest life (>130 days).This age is longer when compared to other local varieties, such as Sanggah Sembalun, Lumbu Hijau, and Lumbu Kuning [6,16].However, for plant height (table 1) the Tinombo variety has a plant height 62.6 cm which is shorter than other local varieties such as Sanggah Sembalun (80-85 cm) and Lumbu Hijau (63-75 cm).According to [17], variety is the main factor that influences differences in the appearance of the quality of a variety such as color, shape, size, and others.While the morphological characters of the bulbs produced, the Tinombo variety has a bulb weight of 13.02 g.The weight of the bulbs produced has a significant gap when compared to the weight of bulbs of other garlic varieties, namely Saigon (51.33 g), Lumbu Kuning (40.33 g), Krisik (58.33 g), Sanggah (23.67 g), Lumbu Hijau (53.33 g), Tiongkok (28.00 g), Tawangmangu (66.67 g), Teki (38.33 g), Ciwidey (40.33 g), dan Pingpong variety (32.23-51.33g) [6,18].Likewise, in terms of productivity, the Tinombo variety is only able to produce 2-3 tons/ha.The amount of productivity is very far compared to the productivity of other varieties.This is influenced by the cultivation technology used in that study, such as seed treatment and maintenance which includes fertilization, irrigation, weed control and others.Meanwhile, local farmers in the survey area still use conventional cultivation in planting the Tinombo variety.This condition provides an opportunity for the Tinombo variety to increase its productivity through appropriate technological inputs.This is evidenced by [7] who reported that the Tinombo variety was superior with a bulb weight of 17.09 grams from three local garlic varieties tested by providing technological inputs, such as fertilizers, ameliorants and integrated control of plant pest organisms that adapt well in Watumaeta village, North Lore District, Poso Regency.The applied cultivation technology is one of the factors that can improve the quality and productivity of a commodity [8].[19] reported that the application of fertilizer (92 kg N + 40 kg P + 30 kg S per hectare) significantly affects the diameter of garlic bulbs, namely with the right dose it can increase the diameter of the bulbs from 2.59 cm to 4.98 cm.Where the diameter of the bulb has a correlation with the weight of the bulb produced [20].These results are in line with the results of research by [21,22] that commercial garlic clones can be selected and identified, including characters related to production.[23] stated that different plant varieties will show different growth and yields even though they are grown under the same environmental conditions.The environment that has an influence on plants is the environment around the plant, depending on the plant genes that receive a response from the plant environment.Differences in plant growth are morphological adaptability, which in turn will affect the growth and yield of a plant.Differences in morphological characters are influenced by environmental conditions, altitude, temperature, and soil fertility.Garlic is responsive to the environment, so the appearance of the morphological characters of a variety will vary depending on the micro-environmental conditions where it grows [24].In addition, different genetic potentials cause differences in the competitive ability of each variety.Varieties with different growth rates cause different growth potential and production [25].[26] reported that the increase in production was due to the variety having adapted to its growing environment.Although in terms of genotype, other varieties have good growth and production potential, but because they are still in the adaptation stage, their growth and production are lower than it should be.The growth and yield of a variety will be different in each different environmental conditions due to differences in adaptability, including the ability to absorb water and nutrients [27,28].Garlic can grow optimally in the highlands with an altitude of 700-1,100 meters above sea level with an average

Conclusion
Central Sulawesi has a genetic resource of local garlic known as Tinombo Variety.Tinombo variety has very sharp aroma, 14-21 cloves per bulb, productivity 2-3 t/ha, and suitable in highland.The cultivation technology is still conventional and does not use fertilizers and any technologies because access to the farm is difficult, resulting in low productivity.This local variety has a high chance to increase its productivity with the application of appropriate and site-specific technologies.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Parts of Tinombo variety (leaves, stems, whole plants, and bulbs) -25⁰C, has an average rainfall of 1,200-1,400 mm per year, and has fertile soil and loose soil texture.

Table 1 .
Description of local garlic originating from Central Sulawesi