Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Liquid Organic Fertilizer from Shrimp Shell Waste and Old Coconut Water

Abstract

The rapid growth of people and industry generates organic waste of 50-60% of production materials. These wastes can be used for agriculture, as human awareness of healthy consumption causes agriculture to start using organic materials. Organic waste from industry in the form of shrimp shells and old coconut water can be used as organic fertilizer for plant growth and development. This study aims to examine the dynamics of reactions that occur during the process of making organic fertilizer and test the physical and chemical quality of the resulting organic fertilizer. This research has a combination design of 2 factors. The first factor is the fermentation method (F) which consists of 2 levels, namely: F1 = container with air hose (aerobic), F2 = tightly closed container (anaerobic). The second factor is the organic fertilizer raw material (L) which consists of 3 levels, namely: L1 = shrimp shell waste, L2 = old coconut water, L3 = shrimp shell waste + old coconut water. The results showed on the physical characteristics, aerobic fermentation treatment is faster to produce organic fertilizer than anaerobic, and the speed of producing organic fertilizer is also influenced by the characteristics of raw materials. Wheareas based on the chemical properties, all treatments have not met the Indonesian national standards, but there are several chemical components that meet such as pH, C-organic and N-total. The treatments that are close to the standard are F1L1 and F1L3 treatment for N-total, F1L2 and F2L2 for C-organic.