The series of activities for the ACIAR HORT/2019/164 research project entered its third day with a field visit agenda. Following two days of intensive symposiums in Yogyakarta, participants were invited to directly observe citrus cultivation conditions in Purworejo Regency, Central Java, as part of efforts to understand the real challenges of Huanglongbing (HLB) disease at the farmer level.

The first visit was to a citrus nursery at CV Mitra Bibit, Kemiri District, where participants could observe the citrus seedling production process and discuss HLB prevention strategies with farmers and field technicians from the early stages of cultivation. The discussion highlighted the importance of using healthy and tolerant rootstock, as well as implementing orchard sanitation standards to reduce the risk of disease spread. read more

As part of the Gene Expression Workshop organized by the Faculty of Agriculture (Faperta) UGM, not only academics played an active role, but industry partners also contributed. PT Kairos Jaya Sejahtera, as a collaborator and provider of laboratory equipment, had the opportunity to present the company profile to workshop participants.

Through this presentation, PT Kairos Jaya Sejahtera introduced a range of flagship products and services that support biotechnology research, from reagents and molecular instruments to advanced analytical devices. The company’s presence reaffirmed its commitment to supporting education and research, particularly in agriculture and life sciences. read more

After the first session, which focused on hands-on qPCR analysis, the Faculty of Agriculture (Faperta) UGM continued the Gene Expression Workshop with Session 2: Data Processing Using the Livak Method. This session was delivered by Dr. Sc. M. Idris, S.Si., M.Si., who provided an in-depth explanation of the fundamental principles and application of the Livak method in gene expression research.

The Livak Method, or Double Delta Ct Method, is the most widely used mathematical approach in qPCR analysis. Dr. Idris explained that the main objective of this method is to determine the fold-change in gene expression between treated samples and control samples. Participants were guided through the calculation steps, starting from ΔCt (Normalization to the reference gene), ΔΔCt (Comparison with the control), and finally Fold Change (2^-ΔΔCt) as the end result to determine whether a gene is upregulated or downregulated. read more