Abstract:
This study was aimed to make and evaluate climate matching for assessing region suitability for endemic orchid
(Phaleonopsis amabilis- Pelaihari) in South Kalimantan. The study was conducted at three locations that have
different region and climate conditions. Characteristics of orchids likes flowering and fruits data were collected
based on interview with farmer and field observation. The correlation between flower and fruit orchids and
climate was analysed with stepwise regression method. Then, temperature-Humidity Index (THI) as one of
climate matching method is expressed in function climate element (CE) that is correlation to flowering orchid
characteristic (FC). Temperature and relative humidity was found as climatic elements that has high correlation
with characteristic of orchid. Sum of flowers (SF) and sum of fruits (SFr) were affected by temperature and
relative humidity, respectively. The analysis shows temperature and humidity can be expressed as function, i.e.:
THI for SF = -298.369 + 2.42215 T + 2.92066 RH and THI for SFr = 118.162 - 4.36413 T + 0.05475 RH. The first
differential equation will get optimum value of temperature and humidity index for SF and SFr that are 4.9 and
0.8 respectively. Air temperature and relative humidity can determined the other suitable for development. The
suitable region for optimal SF and SFr are the region that average temperature between 27.5 – 27.9⁰C and
average relative humidity between 77.5 – 85.9%. The temperature and humidity index can be followed up as
effective indicator to estimate suitable region for development orchid.
