Climate matching of endemic orchid (Phalaenopsis amabilis L.) Blume Forma Pelaihari) in South kalimantan

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.