UNS – Three students of Faculty of Agriculture (FP) Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta succeeded in creating a fungicide from Pamelo orange peel. Through their innovation, they won the 1st runner up in the National Scientific Writing Competition (LKTIN) held by the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science, Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU). The competition was attended by 15 finalists from various universities in Indonesia was held to compete for the trophy of FMIPA USU Dean on 12-16 March 2020.
In the competition, the team that consists of Ahmad Imam Syafii, Gallanta Andre, and Adita Muskharini made a fungicide from Pamelo citrus peel. This fungicide can prevent spoilage in tomato fruit caused by the Thanatephorus cucumeris fungus. The excellences of this fungicide are environmentally friendly and safe for human health. Moreover, fungicide on fruits will stick to the fruit so that it will be absorbed into the human body when consumed.
“Our fungicide is safer and more environmentally friendly compared to a chemical fungicide that can damage the environment and dangerous for human health,” explained the team leader, Ahmad Imam Syafii to uns.ac.id, Monday (23/3/2020).
The fungicide from Pamelo citrus peel is made through an extraction method, macerated using ethanol, then distilled using a rotary evaporator.
Before introducing the product in the competition, they performed a field test on tomato plants. The result is the fungicide can reduce the growth of Thanatephorus cucumeris fungus ring. However, this organic fungicide does not work like a chemical fungicide that kills fungus instantly. Therefore, it is suggested that this fungicide is sprayed on plants before Thanatephorus cucumeris fungus attack to prevent infection that may cause spoilage on tomatoes.
Imam expects that this innovation will minimize the waste of Pamelo citrus peel and to collaborate with the concerned institute in the future. “Hopefully our product will provide benefits to the society, especially to the community in Magetan District because it is one of the biggest pamelo producers in Indonesia. Besides that, we also expect that we can collaborate with the community or farmers and Magetan Agricultural Office to develop this product,” he stated. Humas UNS/Bayu