Analisis Keragaman Fenotipik Populasi Lemon Berdasarkan Karakter Morfologi, Anatomi, dan Fisikokimia

Abstract

Lemon (Citrus limon L.) merupakan tanaman hortikultura bernilai ekonomi tinggi, namun pengembangan aksesi lemon lokal di Jawa Barat, khususnya di kebun PT Erafarm Bangun, masih terkendala oleh minimnya informasi mengenai keragaman fenotipik bahan tanam yang digunakan. Penelitian ini bertujuan mengevaluasi keragaman fenotipik aksesi lemon berdasarkan karakter morfologi, anatomi, dan fisikokimia melalui analisis multivariat, sekaligus mengidentifikasi data aksesi yang belum terpetakan untuk pengembangan di masa depan. Pengamatan dilakukan pada tujuh zona kebun dengan lima pohon sehat per zona yang dipilih secara purposive random sampling, kemudian tiga buah berumur tiga bulan setelah antesis dipanen dari setiap pohon untuk dianalisis. Karakter yang diamati meliputi aspek kualitatif dan kuantitatif morfologi tanaman dan buah, anatomi daun dan kulit buah, serta fisikokimia buah (dimensi, bobot, warna kulit, kekerasan, kandungan sari buah, padatan total terlarut, asam tertitrasi total, laju respirasi, dan produksi etilen). Data dianalisis menggunakan statistik deskriptif, Multivariate Selection Index (MVSI), dan analisis dendrogram. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa populasi lemon yang dievaluasi memiliki keragaman fenotipik cukup tinggi. Karakter vegetatif dan dimensi buah relatif seragam di seluruh populasi, sedangkan produksi etilen, kekerasan buah, ketebalan kulit, luas kelenjar minyak, dan volume sari buah menunjukkan variasi tertinggi. Analisis multivariat berhasil mengelompokkan populasi menjadi tiga klaster hortikultura dengan karakter morfologi, anatomi, dan fisikokimia yang saling terkait secara linier: Klaster 1 dicirikan oleh kulit tebal, kelenjar minyak luas, dan keasaman tinggi; Klaster 2 memiliki keseimbangan struktur kulit dan kandungan fisikokimia yang optimal; Klaster 3 memiliki kulit tipis dengan volume sari buah tinggi. Buah dari pohon ketiga zona kelima memiliki sifat terbaik dari seluruh populasi yang diamati. Temuan ini menegaskan bahwa kombinasi sejumlah kecil karakter terpilih sudah memadai sebagai deskriptor awal untuk karakterisasi dan pengelompokan populasi lemon.

Lemon (Citrus limon L.) is a horticultural crop of high economic value; however, the development of local lemon accessions in West Java, particularly at the PT Erafarm Bangun plantation, is still constrained by limited information on the phenotypic diversity of the planting material used. This study aimed to evaluate the phenotypic diversity of lemon accessions based on morphological, anatomical, and physicochemical characters through multivariate analysis, as well as to identify unmapped accession data for future development. Observations were conducted across seven plantation zones, with five healthy trees selected per zone using purposive random sampling; three fruits aged three months after anthesis were then harvested from each tree for analysis. The characters observed included qualitative and quantitative aspects of plant and fruit morphology, leaf and fruit peel anatomy, and fruit physicochemistry (dimensions, weight, peel color, firmness, juice content, total soluble solids, total titratable acidity, respiration rate, and ethylene production). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Multivariate Selection Index (MVSI), and dendrogram analysis. The results showed that the evaluated lemon population exhibited relatively high phenotypic diversity. Vegetative characters and fruit dimensions were relatively uniform across the population, whereas ethylene production, fruit firmness, peel thickness, oil gland area, and juice volume showed the highest variation. Multivariate analysis successfully grouped the population into three horticultural clusters with morphological, anatomical, and chemical characters that were linearly interrelated: Cluster 1 was characterized by thick peel, extensive oil glands, and high acidity; Cluster 2 exhibited a balanced peel structure and optimal chemical composition; and Cluster 3 had thin peel with high juice volume. Fruits from the third tree in zone five exhibited the best overall traits among the observed population. These findings confirm that a small combination of selected characters is sufficient as an initial descriptor for the characterization and clustering of lemon populations.