Efisiensi Pemupukan NPK dengan Penggunaan Pupuk Hayati pada Tanaman Jagung Manis (Zea mays saccharata Sturt.)

Abstract

This study was conducted to analyze the effects of NPK fertilizer and biofertilizer, as well as their interactions, on the growth and yield of corn (Zea mays saccharata Sturt). The research was carried out from April to August 2023 at Screen House, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan. The study used the Randomized Block Design (RBD) with two factors. The first factor was NPK fertilizer with five treatment levels: 0, 75, 150, 225 and 300 kg/ha. The second factor was biofertilizer with five treatment levels: 0, 375, 714, 1071 and 1429 kg/ha. The results indicated that NPK fertilizer significantly affected plant height, leaf area, root fresh weight, root dry weight, and shoot fresh weight, with the highest values observed at a dose of 300 kg/ha. Biofertilizer significantly impacted plant height, stem diameter, leaf area, root fresh weight, root dry weight, and shoot fresh weight, with the highest values at a dose of 1429 kg/ha. However, the interaction between the two treatments at a soil pH of 4.9 did not have a significant effect on all observed parameters, therefore, the use of a combination of 300 kg/ha (100%) NPK fertilizer and 1429 kg/ha (100%) biofertilizer is not yet recommended. The combination of 300 kg/ha (100%) NPK fertilizer and 1429 kg/ha (100%) biofertilizer resulted in a cob weight of 63 g/plant (4.7 tons/ha).