Growth Test of Three Types of Legume Cover Crops Commonly Used in Oil Palm Plantation

Abstract

Legume cover crops (LCC) in oil palm plantations aim to protect the soil from direct sunlight, suppress weed growth, suppress erosion, maintain soil moisture and increase soil fertility. Cover crops such as Mucuna bracteate (Mb), Pueraria javanica (Pj), and Calopogonium mucunoides (Cm) are commonly used in oil palm plantations. Nowadays, the superior cover crop seeds are limited. However, all of the cover crop seeds spread in the market are coming from unlicenced farms. As consequence, the seed quality and the purity are questioned. It is important to conduct research to identify the quality of those there LCC seeds. Germination methods used in the laboratory tests were the method of on paper (UDK), between-paper test (UAK), and soil media test. An experimental design completely randomized was used. The results showed that the germination percentage of Pj, Mb, dan Cm with the UDK method are 29%, 22%, and 4%; the UAK method are 33%, 41%, and 5%; meanwhile, the growth percentage of Pj, Mb, and Cm are 47%, 53%, and 7% respectively.