Different Growth Partitioning and Shoot Production of Talinum triangulare Treated with Organic and Inorganic Fertilizer

Talinum triangulare or waterleaf is an underutilized tropical plant, mostly found as weeds, and has been used more as medicinal plant than as vegetable in Indonesia.  The study of Talinum triangulare cultivation has been explored to increase the shoot production as functional vegetables.  The effects of organic fertilizer applications   at 0.50, 0.75, 1.00, 1.25 and 1.50 of the standard rate on waterleaf growth were tested in a Leuwikopo research station, Bogor, West Java, Indonesia. Standard rate of organic fertilizer consisted of 12.3 t..ha-1 of cow manure, 226.8 kg. .ha-1 of guano, and 5.5 t.ha-1 of rice hull ash that is equal to 100 kg urea, 60 kg SP-36 and 100 kg KCl.ha-1.  Net assimilation rate (NAR) of the organic fertilizer-treated plants was lower than the inorganic fertilizer-treated with plant at two to four weeks after planting (WAP). However, the plants treated with 0.75-1.25 organic fertilizer had a higher NAR than those treated with inorganic fertilizer at four to six WAP.  Plants treated with 0.75 rate of organic fertilizer had similar relative growth rate (RGR) to plants treated with the inorganic fertilizer at two to four WAP, whereas plants treated with 1.00, 1.25 and 1.50 standard rate had higher RGR than plants treated with inorganic fertilizer at 4-6 WAP.   Plants treated with 1.50 organic fertilizer rate had 34.55% more marketable shoots compared to those treated with inorganic fertilizer whereas those treated with 0.50 rate of organic fertilizer had 179.54% at 6 WAP.  The percentage of marketable shoots to total fresh weight of the organic fertilizer-treated plants was lower than the inorganic fertilizer-treated plants.Keywords: Talinum triangulare, leafy vegetables, organi

Growth and Yield of Organic Rice with Cow Manure Application in the First Cropping Season

The study was addressed to investigating the effect of cow manure application rate on organic rice growth and yield in the first cropping season. The study was conducted from January to April 2012 in Blora, Central Java, Indonesia. The experiment was arranged in Randomized Complete Block Design, consisting of four treatments and four replications. There were two types of control treatments i.e. organic fertilizer treatments (statistically analyzed) and conventional fertilizer (not statistically analyzed). The treatments were corn biomass, corn biomass+cow manure (7.5 tons ha-1), corn biomass+cow manure (10 tons ha-1) and cow manure (10 tons ha-1) with square spacing of 20 cm x 20 cm. The organic control treatments were corn biomass+sheep manure (7.5 tons ha-1) with spacing of 20 cm x 20 cm and corn biomass+cow manure (7.5 tons ha-1) with double-row spacing of 40 cm x 25 cm x 15 cm. For every treatment, the rate of corn biomass was 3 tons ha-1. All organic treatments were also added with 3 tons rice hull ash ha-1. The application of cow manure (10 tons ha-1) with square spacing or corn biomass+cow manure (7.5 tons ha-1) with double-row spacing resulted in better performance than those of other treatments

Studi Beberapa Komposisi Medium Tumbuh Tanaman Pengganti Tanah dengan Memanfaatkan Kulit Kayu, Kulit Kacang Tanah, dan Sabut Kelapa yang Diberi Cendawan Trichodenna SP

Bark, peanut shells and coconut husk were evaluated for their suitability as growth media for container plants with Trichoderma sp. as the decomposer and Marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) as plant indicator. Treatments were composition of volumes ratio of bark - peanut shells coconut husk: 1 - 2 - 3 (M1), 2 - 2 - 3 (M2), 1 - 4 - 3 (M3), 1 - 2 - 6 (M4), 2 - 4 -3 (M5), 1 - 1 - 3 (M6), 1 - 4 - 6 (M7), and soil - sand - compost; 1 - 1 - 1 (M0) as control. Trichoderma sp..assisted the decomposition process of bark, peanut shells, and coconut husk with C/N ratio in the end of experiment ± 20. The growth and flowering of Tagetes sp. In the composition of bark, peanut shells, and coconut husk in general similar with control up to 10 weeks after planting (WAP). The best bark - peanut shells - coconut husks composition was 1 - 2 - 3, 2 - 4 - 3 was worst for Tagetes sp. growth and diameter of flowers. The highest sum of flowers was found on 1 - 4 - 6