Effectiveness of mycorrhizae on growth and production of orange sweet potato at various watering level

Abstract

Sweet potato is a food crop that is widely cultivated during the dry season in rice fields. Increasing sweet potato production can be done by inoculating mycorrhizae which play a role in increasing plant resistance to drought. This research was conducted to analyse the effectiveness of mycorrhizae to increase the growth and production of sweet potatoes cultivated in paddy fields with different levels of watering. Sweet potato planting began in April-July 2020 in rainfed paddy fields located in Tandem Hilir I Village, Deli Serdang Regency. The research design used was a randomized block design with 2 factors namely mycorrhizal inoculation (0 g/plant inoculum, 20 g/plant inoculum) and watering level (watered once in 10 days for 1 month, watered once in 10 days for 2 months, watered once in 10 days for 3 months, and watered once in 10 days for 4 months). The results showed that mycorrhizal inoculation treatment at a dose of 20 g/plant significantly affected the length increase of sweet potato plants. All parameters observed were not affected by the treatment watering level. The best interaction is the combination of treatment with 20 g of mycorrhizal inoculum/plant and watered once in 10 days for 3 months.