Isolation and a Potential Test of Fungal Consortium as Biofertilizer from Mount Lawu, Indonesia

Abstract

The present research aimed to obtain materials for making biological fertilizers in the form of functional fungal consortiums and then test their ability to support plant growth. This was descriptive-exploratory and experimental research with Brassica rapa L. as the test plant. Fungi were isolated by culturing soil samples on a potato dextrose agar medium with the spread plate method followed by morphological and physiological observation and molecular identification. Biofertilizer was produced by culturing the fungal consortium in the potato dextrose broth medium. The research used a completely randomized design, with the source of fungal consortium as the treatment. Pakcoy planting in Regosols was used as the medium. Parameters observed were soil pH, C-organic, N-total, P-available, K-available, plant height, leaf number, and dry weight. Four fungal species namely Aspergillus flavus, A. ibericus, A. aculeatus and Aspergillus sp. were obtained. The results regarding potential of the fungal consortium as a biofertilizer showed that the forest land fungal consortium treatment had the best result in plant height: 27 cm, which was 35% higher than the control, number of leaves: 10 leaves, which was 42.8% higher than the control, and plant dry weight: 0.42 g which was 50% higher than the control. Forest land fungal consortium increased soil pH from 6.19 to 6.83 (near neutral) and K-available from 0.13 me 100 g-1 to 0.30 me 100 g-1. The vegetable garden land fungal consortium could increase N-total from 0.06 to 0.12% and P-available from 1.72 mg kg-1 to 2.55 mg kg-1.