Muhammad Ikhsan Sulaiman, Rita Andini, Himmah Rustiami, Arief Arianto, Nurul Fitriah, Ahmad Zaelani, Muhammad Dani Supardan, Muhammad Hamsar Halomoan Sipayung, Agus Arip Munawar
Resiniferae rattans, or Dragon’s blood rattans (known locally in Indonesia as "Jernang"), are highly valuable Non-Timber Forest Products from Sumatra's deep rainforests. One of these species is Calamus johndransfieldii. Dragon’s blood rattans are dioecious, indicating that each individual plant is either male or female. Farmers prefer female plants as they produce economically valuable fruits. Traditionally, determining a plant's sex has been a lengthy process, requiring approximately 3–4 years from planting to fruit maturation. To address this, a novel and efficient method for sex determination using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) was investigated. Leaves collected from known male and female plants were analyzed using a Thermo Nicolet Antaris TM II MDS in conjunction with a portable sensing device (PSD NIRS i16) within the spectral range of 1,000–2,500 nm. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was then applied to classify the spectral data, clearly distinguishing male from female plants. Further analysis utilized machine learning techniques, including Bootstrap Forest, Neural Booster, Support Vector Machines, and K-Nearest Neighbors, to refine predictive accuracy. The findings revealed marked differences in the spectral components of male and female plants, allowing for fast and reliable sex determination. The most effective method was identified as Bootstrap Forest, with an exceptionally low misclassification rate of 0.0811%. This rapid approach significantly reduces the waiting period for farmers, enhancing productivity and economic returns. ©2025 The authors.
Department of Agricultural Product Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, 23111, Indonesia; Research Centre for Applied Botany, Research Organization for Life Sciences and Environment (ORHL), National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Bogor, 16911, Indonesia; Herbarium Bogoriense, Research Center for Biosystematics and Evolution, Research Organization for Life Sciences and Environment (ORHL), National Research and Innovation Agency, Bogor, 16911, Indonesia; Research Centre for Agroindustry, Research Organization for Agriculture and Food, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Tangerang Selatan, 15413, Indonesia; Research Center for Genetic Engineering, Research Organization for Life Sciences and Environment (ORHL), National Research and Innovation Agency, Bogor, 16911, Indonesia; Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, 23111, Indonesia; Department of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, 23111, Indonesia
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