Pemberian Kombinasi Amandemen Tanah untuk Meningkatkan Kesuburan Tanah dan Produksi Jagung di Kabupaten Karo

Abstract

Maize is an important commodity besides rice in Indonesia. Corn farmers still use synthetic fertilizers, which in the long run causes loss of productivity by inhibiting soil health. Efforts to improve soil quality can be made using soil amendments such as corn cob waste biochar and jakaba (fungi cultivated in rice washing water baths). This study aims to prove the effect of applying a combination of several soil amendments to improve soil fertility and corn crop production in Karo Regency. This research was conducted in Perbesi Village, Tiga Binanga Subdistrict, Karo Regency, North Sumatra at the Syngenta Learning Center experimental field with an altitude of ± 600 meters above sea level. The research was conducted from October 2023 to March 2024. This study used a non-factorial Randomized Group Design (RAK) which was repeated as many as 3 replicates with 8 treatments, namely 1 ton/ha base fertilizer, Dry Soil Testing Tool (PUTK) recommendation, biochar 1500 kg/ha + 1 ton/ha base fertilizer, biochar 1500 kg/ha + 500 kg/ha base fertilizer, jakaba 3 l/ha + 1 ton/ha base fertilizer, jakaba 3l/ha + 500 kg/ha base fertilizer, biochar 1500 kg/ha + jakaba 3 l/ha + 1 ton/ha base fertilizer, biochar 1500 kg/ha + jakaba 3 l/ha + 500 kg/ha base fertilizer. The various combinations of soil amendments used showed no difference in yields between treatment combinations. However, better results were shown in the treatment combination of jakaba + 500 kg/ha.