What are the growing requirements for bay leaf plants (Eugenia polyantha Wight / Syzygium polyanthum Wight)?

Bay leaf plant classification (Eugenia polyantha Wight / Syzygium polyanthum Wight)

  • Kingdom: Plantae
  • Division: Spermatophyta
  • Sub Division: Angiosperms
  • Class: Dicotyledoneae
  • Sub class: Dialypetalae
  • Nation: Myrtales
  • Family: Myrtaceae
  • Marga: Syzygium
  • Species: Sizygium polyanthum Wight
(Tjitrosoepomo, 1988; Van Steenis, 2003).

Another name for the bay leaves (Eugenia polyantha Wight / Syzygium polyanthum Wight)

Sumatra: maselang, ubar lemongrass (Malay). Java: daun salam, bay leaves, gowok (Sundanese), manting (Javanese). Kangean: kastolam; Sumatra: meselengan.
Description Trees with lush crowns, up to 25 m high, root-rooted, round trunk, smooth surface. Single leaf, opposite, stemmed 0.5-1 cm long. Leaf blade oval to elliptical or round of breech eggs, tapered tip, pointed base, flat edge, 5-15 cm long, 3-8 cm wide, pinnate, dark green slippery upper surface, light green lower surface. When squeezed leaves smell nice. The flowers are compound flowers arranged in panicles that come out of the end of a branch, white in color, smell good. The fruit is buni fruit, round, 8-9 mm in diameter, the color is light green, after being ripe it turns dark red, the taste is a bit stinging. Round seeds, about 1 cm cross section, brown in color.

Description

Trees with lush crowns, up to 25 m high, root-rooted, round trunk, smooth surface. Single leaf, opposite, stemmed 0.5-1 cm long. Leaf blade oval to elliptical or round of breech eggs, tapered tip, pointed base, flat edge, 5-15 cm long, 3-8 cm wide, pinnate, dark green slippery upper surface, light green lower surface.

When squeezed leaves smell nice. The flowers are compound flowers arranged in panicles that come out of the end of a branch, white in color, smell good. The fruit is buni fruit, round, 8-9 mm in diameter, the color is light green, after being ripe it turns dark red, the taste is a bit stinging. Round seeds, about 1 cm cross section, brown in color.


Growing Requirements

Bay leaf spreads in Southeast Asia, starting from Burma, Indochina, Thailand, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Java. This tree is found growing wild in primary and secondary forests, ranging from the coast to an altitude of 1,000 m (in Java), 1,200 m (in Sabah) and 1,300 m above sea level (in Thailand); most of them are trees that make up the lower canopy.

In addition, bay leaves are planted in yard gardens and other agroforestry lands, especially for their leaves. Wild bay leaves are almost never used in cooking, apart from being a little different and less fragrant, wild bay leaves also have a slightly bitter taste.

Bay leaf plants grow on soil with an altitude of 225-450 meters above sea level with a rainfall of 3,000-4,000 mm / year on blackish latosols (Sembiring and Sofiana, 2003).

Cultivation

Land Preparation

The land that will be used as a place to cultivate bay leaf plants is hoeed with a depth of more than 20 cm. The land to be planted, cleared of weeds and rocks, is hoisted with a depth of 20 cm.

After processing, the beds are made, then a planting hole is made with a size of 80 cm x 40 cm x 60 cm. Spacing 2 m x 2 m or 2.5 m x 2.5 m. One month before planting, each planting hole is given 0.5 kg of manure and stirred evenly.

Preparation of Seeds

Bay leaf plants can be propagated by seed. Nurseries can be done in beds or using polybags. Seeds that are sown in beds can be transferred to the land after 1-2 months or about two leaves have grown. When using polybags, the planting medium used is a mixture of soil and manure with a ratio of 2: 1.

Planting

The prepared planting hole is given 1 kg of manure / planting hole. If the nursery is done using polybags, the seedlings are inserted into the planting hole, the polybags are carefully torn so that the roots that cover the roots do not collapse.

Then the soil around the seedlings is compacted so that their growth is strong. At the time of planting, efforts are made to ensure that the root neck is not buried in the soil. When planting is done at the beginning of the rainy season and about a month before the planting hole has been prepared.

Maintenance

Fertilization

In addition to manure that is given to the planting hole during planting, urea is also given 50 kg / ha, after 4 months of age, urea is given 50 kg / ha. TSP or SP-36 fertilizer is given at planting with a dose of 150 kg / ha and KCl fertilizer at a dose of 200 kg / ha is also given at planting. Embroidering is carried out on plants that are dead or whose growth is not normal. The seeds used for embroidering should be the same age.

Weeding

Weed eradication is carried out regularly, usually 2-4 times a year. To maintain the fertility of the soil around the plants in a circle of the crown, it must also be done regularly.

Pests and Diseases

Pests that attack bay plants are Thrips sp and green caterpillars. Disease disorders are almost not found in salam plants.

Harvest and Post Harvest

Harvesting greetings is done by picking dark green leaves. The leaves are trimmed randomly from the branches.

After the leaves are obtained from the branches, the leaves are weathered by spreading them on the floor at ± 27 ° C with intensive turning for three days. To get the essential oil, the salam simplicia is then distilled using a water and steam distiller for 10 hours.
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