Maize (Zea Mays, L.) Response on Fertilization of Russian MOP in Inceptisols and Ultisols

Indonesia\u27s agricultural lands commonly require fertilization of K to attain optimum plant yield. So far, most farmers use K fertilizer from KCl, apart to the fact that its effectiveness varies with soils and plants. It is expected that Russian MOP fertilizer is more effective and economically morebeneficial than KCl fertilizer. Field experiment aimed to test the effectiveness of Russian MOP for maize and was conducted in Inceptisols (of Cibatok-Bogor) and Ultisols (of Jagang-North Lampung) in dry season of 2004. The experiment applied Randomized Completely Block Design with 3 replicates, and maize of Lamuru variety was as plant indicator. The treatment consisted of 5 levels of Russian MOP fertilizer: 0, 25, 50, 100,and 200 kg ha-1 and one treatment of KCl fertilizer of 100 kg ha-1 as a reference. The result showed that the use of Russian MOP increased soil HCl-K and NH4OAc-K as well as dry matter and grain yield. RAE at Russian MOP level of > 100 kg ha-1 was 138 and 115 in Inceptisols of Cibatok and 314 in Ultisols of Jagang. The maximum profits using Russian MOP fertilizer in Inceptisols and Ultisols were Rp 4.4 and Rp 1.9 million ha-1 season-1, respectively, and were greater than those of using KCl fertilizer in both studied soils. IBCR values of the Russian MOP fertilizer were 2.44-10.37 (Inceptisols) and 0.69-3.41 (Ultisols) and were greater than those of KCl fertilizer. The requirements of Russian MOP fertilizer to achieve maximum profit were 119 and 105 kg ha-1 or equal to 71 and 63 kg K2O ha-1 for Inceptisols of Cibatok and Ultisols of Jagang, respectively. Considering its effectiveness and benefit, Russian MOP fertilizer can be used as alternative of K fertilization

Water Productivity of Newly Developed Lowland Rice Field

. Newly developed wetland rice fields require more water because plough pan layer are not developed. Plough pan is established several years after the field development and its formation depends on the intensity of rice cultivation and the soil properties. Plot scale study was conducted on newly developed wetland rice field originated from upland in Pati village, North Kalimantan Province, Indonesia in 2013. The aim of this experiment was to study the water productivity of the newly developed wet land rice fields. Different water ponding treatments including water ponding layer of 5 cm as control (T0), ponding layer of 3 cm (T1) intermittent with two weeks wetting and one week drying (T2), and saturated condition with water layer of 0.5 cm (T3) were tested. Rice growth, rice grains yield and water productivity were evaluated. Water productivity was computed according to the ratio between rice grains yield and water input. Water input was predicted based on the difference between incoming and outgoing water. In this study water balance was not taken into account in calculating the water input. The results indicated that under saturated condition (T3), plant height and tiller number were significantly lower than the 5 cm ponding and also significantly lower than other treatments. Water productivity between 0.78 and 0.40 gram liter-1 were recorded under ponding water depth of 0.5 cm and intermittent ponding of 5 cm in the wet period

Institutional Innovation of Integrated Cropping Calendar Information System to Support Climate Change Adaptation for National Food Security

Government of Indonesia has set the rice surplus target of 10 million tons in 2014. This program requires integrated and comprehensive efforts of all stakeholders in central and local levels. The policy was set forth in form of Permentan No. 45/2011 and then implemented by the Director General of Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development (IAARD) through a decree No. 178.1/Kpts/OT.160/I/7/2012 about For- mation of Integrated Cropping Calendar and Climate Change Task Force in each Assessment Institute for Agricultural Technology (AIAT) for whole Indonesia. Additionally, IAARD has developed an Integrated Cropping Calendar Information System as a reference for policy makers in planning food crop management. The information system contains the next planting season estimation at sub-district level, which includes the initial time of planting, disaster-prone areas (flood, drought, and pests/diseases), as well as technology recommendation (varieties, seed, and fertilizer). In order to make an operational standard for AIAT Task Force, the Technical Guideline of Integrated Cropping Calendar and Climate Change is imperative. This article contains the summary of the technical guideline for AIAT Task Force in support of Permentan No. 45/2011 and climate change adaptation for food security. An implication of implementation of the AIAT Task Force is an important part in improving the content of Integrated Cropping Calendar Information System that fits the needs of farmers and extension workers in the field in order to achieve the rice surplus target

Sistem Informasi Kalender Tanam Terpadu: Status Terkini Dan Tantangan Kedepan

. The accuracy in determining time of planting is one of determining factors in securing good harvest and increasing yield of food crop. Local wisdom and other conventional ways applied previously in determining cropping pattern are no longer appropriate because of shifting seasons. As a guideline for extension workers in determining cropping pattern and time of planting, Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development has published information system of integrated cropping calendar to secure national rice production in coping with climate variability and climate change. This paper aims to describe the development of web-based Information System of Integrated Cropping Calendar at a sub-district level. The system is constructed by integrating three sub-systems, namely sub-system data, model and query and can be accessed through the website address at www.litbang.deptan.go.id. The main information that can be obtained from this system is initial estimate of paddy planting time for the upcoming planting season. In addition, the users can obtain information on disaster prone areas such as droughts, floods and pests attack. Other informations are recommended technology for varieties, seed requirement and fertilizers, that be prepared by users prior to growing season period. Therefore, this system needs to be improved for all sub-districts in Indonesia at least three times a year of the beginning of each growing season. The challenges of developing integrated cropping calendar system for the future are: (1) global warming increases unpredictable weather that impacts on the accuracy of planting time estimate, (2) decreases in productivity and yield production which would require an increasingly technological innovation informations, and (3)land conversion and fragmentation of agricultural land resulting in reduction of paddy field area. Maintenance and development of this system are still needed, to improve the quality of data and information in order to meet the user needs