Effect of Coastal Sediment to Nutrient Availability and Maize Productivity on Entisols

Entisols had a great potential for maize planting area expansion in increasing its production. The low soil fertility could be improved by application of coastal sediment. This current research examined the effect of different amount of coastal sediment on nutrient availability and maize production on Entisols, West Kalimantan. The research was conducted from July to November, 2013 in green house, Faculty of Agriculture, Tanjungpura University, West Kalimantan. The treatment conducted was the application of coastal sediment at dosage of: 0 Mg ha-1 (L0), 14 Mg ha-1 (L1), 28 Mg ha-1 (L2), 42 Mg ha-1 (L3), 56 Mg ha-1 (L4), 72 ton ha-1 (L5), 86 Mg ha-1 (L6) and 100 Mg ha-1 (L7). The treatments were arranged by completely randomized design with 3 replications. Research results showed that 42 Mg ha-1 coastal sediment was the best treatment and able to increase soil nutrients availability and maize productivity. The provision of coastal sediment increased the availability of K, Ca, Mg and Na, also the availability of nutrients in accordance with the increase of the dosage of coastal sediment

The Effect of Ameliorants on Improvement of Soil Fertility in Post Gold Mining Land at West Kalimantan

The application of ameliorant has been suggested to improve soil fertility and crop growth in post illegal gold mining (PIGM) lands. This study evaluated the effect of ameliorant types and semi-permeable layer on properties of soil in PIGM lands and growth of sorghum. A field experiment employed two treatments, i.e. type of ameliorant and semi-permeable layer. There were four ameliorant types applied i.e., without ameliorant (M0); coastal sediment at a dose of 40 t/ha (M1); biochar at a dose of 4 t/ha (M2), and coastal sediment at a dose of 30 t/ha + 4 t biochar/ha(M3). The second treatment consisted of two levels, namely: without a semi-permeable layer (S0) and the semi-permeable layer of 20 cm depth from the soil surface (S1). The results showed that types of ameliorant gave different effect to soil properties. Application of coastal sediment at a dose of 40 t/ha significantly increased the contents of Ca and Mg, whereas application of biochar at a doses of 4 t/ha increased soil CEC. The semi-permeable layer did not significantly affect plant height and stem diameter of sorghum. The highest of sorghum growth was reached by application of coastal sediment at a dose of 30 t/h + biochar at a dose of 4 t/ha. The combination of coastal sediment and biochar from banana peels could complement each other to improve soil fertility in PIGM lan

Use of Ameliorants to Increase Growth and Yield of Maize (Zea Mays L.) in Peat Soils of West Kalimantan

Peatland in Indonesia has a potential for maize cultivation, but it has constraints that low of soil pH and of nutrient availability. Use of ameliorants from coastal sediment and salted fish waste was an alternative to improve peatlands productivity and maize yields. Objective of the study was to examine effects of coastal sediment and salted fish waste on growth and yield of maize at three kinds of soil of peatlands of Kubu Raya, West Kalimantan. This research was conducted  in  field  using  Inter-area analysis  design.  The  first  factor  was  combination  of  each ameliorants  which consisted of 5 levels, namely: 1) treatment under farmer custom at the sites (control); 2) coastal sediment of 20 Mg ha-1 + 0.75 Mg of salted fish waste ha-1; 3) coastal sediment of 40 Mg ha-1 + 1.5 Mg of salted fish waste ha-1, 4) coastal sediment of 60 Mg ha-1 + 2.25 Mg of salted fish waste  ha-1. The second factor was soil types which consisted of three levels, namely: Typic Haplohemists, Typic Sulfisaprists and Typic Haplosaprists. Each treatment was repeated 5 times. The results showed that combination of 40 Mg ha-1 of coastal sediment and 1.5 Mg ha-1 of salted fish waste was the best combination for all soil type. It increased plant height (33% - 44%), shoot dry weight (74% - 75%), number of seeds per cob (31% -110%), weight of 100 seeds (58% -71%) and dry grain weight per plant (136 % -160 %) at each soil. The highest yield was found in soil of Typic Haplosaprists (219.54 g), followed by Typic Sulfisaprists (210.72 g) and Typic Haplohemists (208.82 g).Keywords: Coastal sediment, maize, peat soils, salted fish waste [How to Cite: Denah S, BH Sunarminto, D Shiddieq and D Indradewa. 2014. Use of Ameliorants to Increase Growth and Yield of Maize (Zea mays L.) in Peat Soils of West Kalimantan. J Trop Soils 19: 35-41. Doi: 10.5400/jts.2014.19.1.35]  [Permalink/DOI: www.dx.doi.org/10.5400/jts.2014.19.1.35] &nbsp