Refugia is a flowering plant often found in oil palm plantation areas, cultivated and grown wild, with pink and bright yellow flowers. The most common types of refugia plants belonged to the species Antigonon leptosus, Turnera ulmifolia, Cassia tora, Crotalaria pallida, and Crotalaria retusa. However, currently these types of refugia often become planted as edge plants to attract natural enemy insects such as predatory insects. The natural enemies’ attraction to plants is due to the flower shape, color, and the volatile compounds released by the flowers. The following study aimed to determine the flower volatile compounds and their function by interaction between plants and their environment using the glass chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The results revealed the production of various types of secondary metabolite compounds by each refugia, such as octadecanoic acid, 1,3,4,5-tetrahydroxy cyclohexanecarboxylic acid, 9-octadecanoic acid, pentadecanoic acid, hexadecanoic acid, tetracosamethyl cyclododecasiloxane, and ester with different percentages. The ester content was 17.35% in A. leptosus, 56.91% in T. ulmifolia, 30.54% in C. tora, 36.35% in C. pallida, and 14.39% in C. retusa. This ester compound provides an aroma to the flowers, and it attracts natural enemies to make the refugia their microhabitat.
Refugia plants, insect species, volatile compounds, GC-MS analysis, oil palm, microhabitat, flowers
Refugia has various colors, shapes, and volatile compounds, such as acids—octadecanoic, 1,3,4,5-tetrahydroxy cyclohexanecarboxylic, 9-octadecenoic, pentadecanoic, and hexadecanoic, tetracosamethyl cyclododecasiloxane, and ester compounds. The ester content was the highest in the species T. ulmifolia (56.91%).