Aplikasi Pupuk Organik Biochar (POB) dalam Mengurangi Pemakaian Pupuk Kimia pada Sifat Kimia dan Pertumbuhan Tanaman Jagung (Zea mays L.) di Tanah Ultisol

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the effect of application biochar organic fertilizer in the form of pellets, a combination of empty bunches of oil palm biochar, azolla and chicken manure to reduce the use of chemical fertilizer on the growth of maize plants (Zea mays L.) and chemical properties on ultisol soil. This research was conducted at the Greenhouse, Research and Technology Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, University of North Sumatra and the Socfin Indonesia Analytical Laboratory (SOCFINDO) from February 2023 to August 2023. This study used a Non-Factorial Randomized Block Design with 7 treatments and 3 replications. Treatment factors included: POB 0 (control without POB, full dose of chemical fertilizer), POB 1 (50 g POB, ½ CF dose), POB 2 (100 g POB, ½ CF dose), POB 3 (150 g POB, ¼ CF dose ), POB 4 (200 g, ¼ CF dose), POB 5 (250 g POB, without CF), POB 6 (300 g POB, without CF). Parameters observed were soil pH, organic C, available P, total N, plant height, shoot dry weight, N content, P content, N and P absorption. The research result showed that the application of biochar organic fertilizer at different doses had an effect significantly on soil pH, organic C, available P, shoot dry weight, N content, N and P absorption of corn plants in Ultisol soil except on total N and P levels. The application of biochar organic fertilizer at a dose of 200 g and ¼ of N,P,K dose was better than other biochar organic fertilizer doses in increasing soil-total N, plant height, shoot dry weight, N content, N and P absorption of corn plants on Ultisol soil.