Effectiveness of Biopelet Combination of Biochar, Chicken Manure and Fish Waste to Improvement of Chemical Properties of Sandy Soil and Soybean Plant Growth

Abstract

Most of the activities of the use of organic fertilizers and natural additions of organic matter in agricultural intensification fields in Indonesia have not been able to compensate for the rate of decline in soil organic matter by the decomposition process. Biochar has high C levels and has The mean residence time (MRT) in long period in the soils. It was proven that biochar application may increase soil Carbon but has not been able to increase the production of plant. Therefore the use of biochar combined with organic waste rich in nutrients is important to be developed. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of some biochar compositions with sugar cane, chicken manure, fish waste in the form of biopelet fertilizer on improving the chemical properties of sandy soils and the vegetative growth of soybean plants. This study used a Randomized Completely Block Design (RCBD) with 2 factors, namely: the first factor (B): the composition of Biochar consisted of 3 levels, namely: 1) 70% biochar, 15% chicken manure, 15% fish waste (B1), 2) 50 % biochar, 25% chicken manure, 25% fish waste (B2), 3) 20% biochar, 40% chicken manure, 40% fish waste and the second factor were (D): The dose of biopelet fertilizers, consists of 4 levels, namely: 1) Control (D0 ), 2) 2.5 tons.ha-1 (D1), 3) 5 tons.ha-1 (D2), 4) 10 tons.ha-1 (D3). The results showed that the addition of biopelet fertilizer can effectively improve soil chemical properties (pH, C-organic, and CEC) and the availability of NPK of the sandy soil. The effectiveness of increasing the N-total of soil varies by an average of 32.42 to 75.79%; followed by available P varies between 17.46 to 40.69%, and Kexch between 8.7 to 25.67%. Improvement of soil chemical properties and the availability of NPK by biopelet fertilizer applications could increase plant growth, but reduce the weight of root nodules.