Pongamia (<em>Pongamia pinnata</em>): A Sustainable Alternative for Biofuel Production and Land Restoration in Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia has a large area of degraded land, i.e. 30 million ha, which could potentially be utilized for biofuel plantations. The leguminous tree pongamia (Pongamia pinnata syn. Milettia pinnata) could be utilized to produce biofuel while restoring degraded land. Here, we explore the potential of pongamia as a source of biofuel and for restoring degraded land in Indonesia. Pongamia occurs across Indonesia, in Sumatra, Java, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and Maluku. It grows to a height of 15&amp;ndash;20 m and can grow in a range of environmental conditions. Its seeds can generate up to 40% crude oil by weight. It can help to restore degraded land and improve soil properties. Pongamia also provides wood, fodder, medicine, fertilizer and biogas. Therefore, as a multipurpose species, pongamia holds great potential to combat Indonesia&amp;rsquo;s energy crisis and to restore much of the degraded land.

Variasi Fenotipe Polong dan Biji Malapari (Pongamia pinnata Linn) (Phenotipic Variability of Pod and Seed of Malapari (Pongamia pinnata Linn))

“…Secara alami, malapari tersebar di Myanmar, India, Bangladesh, Thailand dan Nepal ( (Nadeem, Inam, Rashid, Kainat, & Iftikhar, 2016). Di Indonesia, malapari ditemukan di Sumatera, Jawa, Madura, Bali, Nusa Tenggara dan Kalimantan (Leksono et al, 2018). Jenis tersebut mampu tumbuh di ketinggian 0-1.200 m dpl dan dapat mengikat nitrogen dari udara melalui simbiosis dengan rizhobia dari genus Bradyrhizobium (Samuel et al, 2013).…”

“…Jenis tersebut mampu tumbuh di ketinggian 0-1.200 m dpl dan dapat mengikat nitrogen dari udara melalui simbiosis dengan rizhobia dari genus Bradyrhizobium (Samuel et al, 2013). Berdasarkan kemampuan tersebut, malapari dapat tumbuh pada tanah marginal serta dapat digunakan untuk tujuan rehabilitasi lahan karena mampu memperbaiki kesuburan tanah (Leksono et al, 2018).…”

Biomass, Bioenergy and Biomaterials

“…has shown promising results for nyamplung (Calophyllum inophyllum;Leksono et al 2018b), balangeran (Shorea balangeran), jelutung (Dyera lowii), pongamia (Pongamia pinnata;Leksono et al 2018a) and others(Jaung et al 2018;Maimunah et al 2018;Samsudin et al 2018;Rahman et al 2019; …”