Study of the Effect of Giving Organic Fertilizer as a Substitution of Chemical Fertilizer for the Growth and Product Components of Corn in Dry Vertisolands

Abstract

The continuous use of chemical fertilizers causes a decrease in soil quality and crop production. Vertisol soil has sufficient nutrients but cannot be utilized by plants. Provision of organic fertilizers can improve soil quality. This study aims to survey the effect of applying organic fertilizers as a substitute for chemical fertilizers on the growth and yield components of maize in vertisol dry land. This experiment was conducted on vertisol dry land in Mujur Village, Central Lombok Regency, from July to November 2022. The experiment used a Randomized Block Design (RBD) with two factors: organic fertilizer factor P0 (without organic fertilizer), P1 (organic fertilizer 5 t/ha), P2 (organic fertilizer 10 t/ha). Chemical fertilizer factors, K1 (NPK 25%), K2 (NPK 50%), K3 (NPK 75%), K4 (NPK 100%), obtained 12 treatment combinations and three replications so that there were 36 treatment units. The observed parameters included plant height, leaf width, number of leaves, cob weight, length, and cob diameter. Data were analyzed with Factorial RAK ANOVA and further testing using Honest Significant Difference (BNJ) analysis. The results showed that the use of organic fertilizers had a significant impact on all observed parameters. Treatment without organic fertilizer showed a minor effect compared to treatment with organic fertilizer, while treatment P1 (5 t/ha) and P2 (10 t/ha) showed no significant difference except for cob length (P1). The application of NPK fertilizer at doses of 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% did not significantly impact corn's growth and yield components.