KELIMPAHAN POPULASI Helopeltis sp. DAN TINGKAT KERUSAKAN BUAH KAKAO DI KECAMATAN SITIUNG KABUPATEN DHARMASRAYA

ABSTRAKDharmasraya merupakan kabupaten yang berpotensi untuk pengembangan kakao, terbukti dengan meningkatnya luas areal perkebunan setiap tahun. Pengembangan kakao di Dharmasraya dihadapkan pada beberapa kendala yang mengakibatkan produksi kakao rendah, salah satunya adalah serangan kepik penghisap buah kakao (Helopeltis sp.) Tujuan penelitian ini adalah mempelajari kelimpahan populasi dan tingkat kerusakan kepik penghisap buah kakao. Penelitian dilaksanakan di Kecamatan Sitiung Kabupaten Dharmasraya yang terdiri dari tiga nagari yaitu Siguntur, Sitiung dan Gunung Medan. Penelitian dilaksanakan pada bulan November 2018 sampai dengan Januari 2019. Penelitian ini berbentuk survei menggunakan metode Purposive Random Sampling. Penentuan tanaman sampel dilakukan secara sistematis, sehingga terdapat 30 batang tanaman sampel pada satu lahan. Serangga contoh dikoleksi dengan cara hand collecting dan teknik chemical knock down. Kelimpahan kepik penghisap buah kakao yang diperoleh pada penelitian tergolong rendah yaitu 79 individu dengan rata-rata 0,23-0,36 individu/batang. Persentase kerusakan tergolong tinggi terdapat di Nagari Siguntur yakni 81,43% dan terendah di Nagari Gunung Medan yakni 70,36%. Intensitas kerusakan yang tertinggi terdapat di Nagari Siguntur yakni 73,12% dan terendah di Nagari Gunung Medan yakni 68,15%.ABSTRACTDharmasraya is a district that has the potential for cacao development, proven by increasing the cacao plantation area every year. Cacao development in Dharmasraya was faced with several obstacleswhich resulted in low cacao production. One of the obstacles in the cultivation process is (Helopeltis sp.) Therefore,the purpose of this research was to study the population abundance and the damage levels of to cacao fruit sucking bugs. Research was carried out in SitiungSubdistrict, Dharmasraya which consisted of three nagari namely Siguntur, Sitiung and Gunung Medan. The research began in November 2018 to January 2019. This research was a survey using the Purposive Random Sampling method. The sample plants were determine systematically, so there were 30 plant samples in each nagari. Insect samples were collected by hand collecting and chemical knock down techniques. The abundance of cacao fruit sucking bugs was 79 individuals, with averages were 0.23 – 0.36 individual / plant. The percentage of damage was high, where the highest was obtained in Siguntur 81.43% and the lowest was in Gunung Medan 70.36%. In addition, the highest damage intensity was found in Sigunturthat was 73.12% and the lowest in Gunung Medan that was 68.15%.