Dr. Rudi Hari Murti was officially inaugurated as a professor of horticultural plant breeding at the Faculty of Agriculture, UGM.
On Tuesday (Jan. 21), Professor Murti delivered a speech in front of an audience that filled the Senate Hall of the UGM Central Office titled “The Importance, Challenges, and Solutions to Horticulture Problems through an Effective Plant Breeding Program.”
Professor Murti explained that horticultural plants play a significant role in providing healthy food, vitamins, and minerals and in recreational activities for the community.
They also contribute to food security, environmental sustainability, beauty, therapy and medicine, recreation, genetic diversity, labor absorption, and the economy.
Achieving food security through horticultural production often faces challenges such as pest attacks, low productivity, poor quality, rapid spoilage, long supply chains, changing consumer preferences, and a decrease in land area.
Professor Murti argued that one way to improve production and quality is by using superior varieties with high productivity and quality that are resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses.
“Efforts to produce superior varieties can be carried out through conventional breeding methods combined with the latest methods, such as genetic engineering, marker-assisted selection, and genome editing,” he added.
Challenges also arise from consumers who want sweeter tastes and more attractive colors, such as mangoes with blushing skins and low fiber, seedless watermelons, medium-sized and sweet papayas, and fruits with high antioxidants.
New and distinctive colors, tastes, and textures will continue to attract consumer interest and create international market opportunities.
“Therefore, plant breeders must be precise in understanding the characteristics of the products according to the targeted market segment,” he said.
Plant breeding activities must also consider consumer preferences, product purposes, and supply chain actors according to their market segments.
Breeders must be observant in determining the key characteristics of the products they will produce without neglecting other quality standards.
“Quality improvement in line with market demands can be done through plant breeding by utilizing appropriate genetic resources,” he explained.
Professor Murti believes that horticultural farming is more intensive than food crops, making horticultural farmers risk-takers. For instance, farmers exert considerable effort, such as using large amounts of pesticides to control pests to ensure high-quality harvests.
However, increased pesticide use results in pest resistance, leading to the emergence of new biotypes and environmental pollution.
The growth of global trade in planting materials and fresh produce also increases the risk of foreign pests and pathogens entering and spreading in new environments.
“There needs to be synergy across scientific fields to accelerate plant breeding efforts, resulting in more hybrid varieties, lower plant breeding and hybrid seed production costs, increased farmer income, and higher national horticultural production that will meet demand, as well as faster solutions to agricultural issues related to breeding,” concluded the new professor.
With Professor Murti’s appointment, the Chair of the UGM Board of Professors, Professor M. Baiquni, stated that the new professor became one of 524 active professors at UGM and one of 30 active professors from the 62 professors ever owned by the Faculty of Agriculture, UGM.
Author: Lazuardi
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Afifudin Baliya
Photographer: Firsto