Endah Sulistyawati

Ecological Diversity of Soil Fauna as Ecosystem Engineers in Small-Holder Cocoa Plantation in South Konawe

This research was completed using mixed qualitative and quantitative methods. Field surveys were executed in sugar cane plantation throughout South Sulawesi Indonesia. Land suitability analyses were performed using a parametric approach with Storie’s index equation followed up with correlation analysis using the Pearson correlation. Results revealed that the period for sugarcane crop growth in the humid tropic relatively dry regions of South Sulawesi Indonesia lasted for the months of November to July. The land suitability for sugar cane in the research location was moderately suitable (S2c) and marginally suitable (S3c, S3s, S3s,f and S3c,w) with limiting factors such as relative humidity during crop maturation phase, the duration of sunlight, soil depth, soil texture, soil pH and soil drainage. Land suitability index at the research location ranged from 25.2 to 55.0; sugar cane yields ranged from 30.3 to 62.0 Mg ha year. Pearson correlation coefficient (r) between LSI with cane and sugar productivity were 0.81 and 0.84 respectively, signifying the strength of the correlation between the two values. This also indicates that land suitability index can be estimating the potential crop yield in the humid tropicsthat relatively dry climate regions.Field experiment with a split plot design has been carried out in order to assess the growth characteristics and yields, and effectiveness of MVA upland rice which were given potassium fertilizer in two growing seasons. MVA inoculation consisted of three treatments (without MVA, Glomus sp. and Gigaspora sp.) while potassium fertilizer consisted of five levels (0, 12.5, 25, 37.5, and 50 kg ha-1 K). The results showed that plant growth variable which was inoculated by MVA at any levels of K fertilizer was higher in the dry season than that in the wet season, whereas the opposite occurred for net assimilation rate. Potassium content of leaf tissue, shoot/root ratio, and grain weight per hill was determined and mutually dependent on genus MVA, dosages of K fertilizer, and growing season. Harvest index and grain dry weight per hill were influenced by the growing season and the genus MVA but the effect did not depend on each other. At all dosages of K fertilizer and any MVA genera, Gigaspora sp. inoculation was better than that of Glomus sp. Dry weight of grains per hill was affected by the contribution of grain content per hill, weight of 1000 grains and number of productive seedlings per hill. The optimum dosage of K fertilizer in the dry season was 32.4 kg ha-1 K with grain yield 3.12 Mg ha-1 for inoculation of Gigaspora sp., whereas the optimum dosage in the wet season was 34.2 kg ha-1 K for the treatment Glomus sp. inoculation with Gigaspora sp. in the wet season did not reach dosages of optimum K fertilizer. Keywords: Harvest index, MVA, potassium fertilizer, upland rice [ How to Cite : Natawijaya D. 2012. Increasing Growth and Yield of Upland Rice by Application of Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhizae and Potassium Fertilizer. J Trop Soils 17 (1): 53-60. doi: 10.5400/jts.2012.17.1.53] [ Permalink/DOI: www.dx.doi.org/10.5400/jts.2012.17.1.53 ]This study aimed to examine Organonitrofos Plus fertilizer (OP) on sweet corn (Zea mays Saccharata L.) and its effect on changes in soil chemical properties of Ultisols. Organonitrofos Plus fertilizer is an enhancement of Organonitrofos fertilizer enriched with microbes at the beginning of the manufacturing process. Research was conducted in the greenhouse of Integrated Agricultural Laboratory of Lampung University. Treatment applied was a factorial of 4 t 2 t 3 with three replications in a randomized block design. The first factor was the dose of OP fertilizer (0, 10, 20, 30 Mg ha-1), the second factor was the dose of inorganic fertilizers (without inorganic fertilizers, and with inorganic fertilizers, namely Urea 0.44, 0.28 SP-36 and KCl 0.16 Mg ha-1), and the third factor was the dose of biochar (0, 10, 20 Mg ha-1). By a single OP fertilizers, inorganic fertilizers, and the interaction between the OP and the inorganic fertilizers increased the weight of dry stover, cob length, cob diameter, cob with husk and cob without husk of corn. OP fertilizers which are applied in Ultisols can improve soil fertility and increase corn production so that OP fertilizer can lessen the use of inorganic fertilizer and can be used as a substitute for inorganic fertilizer. RAE values were highest in treatment of O4K2B2 (30 Mg OP ha-1, with inorganic fertilizer, 10 Mg biochar ha-1) that was equal to 181%, followed by O2K2B3 (10 Mg OP ha-1, with inorganic fertilizer, 20 Mg biochar ha-1 ) with the difference in RAE value of 0.5%.[How to Cite: Dermiyati, SDn Utomo,n KF Hidayat, J Lumbanraja, S Triyono, H Ismono, NEn Ratna, NT Putri dan R Taisa. 2016. Pengujian Pupuk Organonitrofos Plus pada Jagung Manis (Zea mays Saccharata. L) dan Perubahan Sifat Kimia Tanah Ultisols. J Trop Soils 21: 9-17 Doi: 10. 10.5400/jts.2016.21.1.9][Permalink/DOI: www.dx.doi.org/10. 10.5400/jts.2016.21.1.9]Coco rind is a waste that if not used can cause environmental problem around the plantation. One way to utilize cocoa rind is by making it into compost which can be used as organic fertilizer. Different planting distance will affect on the number of plant population per unit area and will indirectly affect the absorption of nutrients, water and other growth factors. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the utilization of compost from cacao rind waste on the growth of Saccarum edule Hasskarl plant with different planting distance. The design used was to factor randomized block design with 2 replications, then there are 18 treatment combinations. In this research, the first factor of cacao rind composts comparison with cow manure consisted of three levels, they are: P1 = 50 kg; 10 kg; P2 =50 kg: 30 kg; P3 = 50 kg: 50. While the second factor uses the planting distance which consisted of three levels, they are: J1= 100 cm X 150 cm; J2= 100 cm X 100 cm; J3= 100 cm X 50 cm. Based on the research results, it shows that the best treatment of cocoa rind compost and cow manure, which affects on the number of buds is treatment P3 on 5 WAP, while the best used for the plants’ height is P2 on 3 WAP, and the best used for the leaves’ length is treatment P2 on 2 to 4 WAP.

Non-wood Renewable Materials: Properties Improvement and Its Application

Plant biomass are woody and non-wood materials (e.g., oil palm, bamboo, rattan, bagasse, and kenaf) and are abundant and renewable resource. Unfortunately, the heavy reliance on this resource is a threat to forest ecosystems and a recipe for accelerated land resource degradation. Due to the increasing scarcity of wood resources, many rural communities have shifted to utilization of crop residues for many different applications. The non-wood biomass is readily available, environmental friendly, and technologically suitable, and therefore, an excellent raw material for the future. The non-wood materials like bamboo, rattan, oil palm, and bagasse have superior properties and durability, which can be further prolonged by the modification treatment. The modification treatments increase the performance of the non-wood and could make it suitable for applications in many fields ranging from construction industry to automotive industry. This chapter deals with the properties improvement techniques of the selected non-wood biomasses and evaluates its applications for various purposes. The new developments dealing with the improvement of non-wood properties have also been presented in the chapter. The performance of non-wood biomass materials has been compared to the wood-based materials. Recent studies pertaining to the above topics have also been cited. Finally, the advanced applications of the improved non-wood biomasses have been highlighted.