Effect of Straw Compost (Oryza sativa L.) on Crop Production

Abstract

Agricultural productivity depends mainly on soil fertility, particularly in intensified-paddy fields. Heavily relying on synthetic agrochemicals in intensified agriculture could be changed to regenerative agriculture utilizing cultivation wastes to achieve sustainable food production. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the effectiveness of rice (Oryza sativa L.) straw compost for intensified-rice cultivation. Rice straw compost from the previous planting season was composted on the field (in situ). The composting used “Effective Microorganisms version 4” (EM-4), which contains Lactobacillus sp., Rhodopseudomonas sp., Actinomycetes sp., Streptomyces sp., yeast, and cellulose-decomposing fungus. The test field used 4 tons of straw compost and treatments adopted from the local farmers’ planting style named Legowo 4:1. Observations on these treatments include the plant nutrients, plant contents, rice components, and yield production. The differences in the results were analyzed using the paired t-test. The results show that the application of straw compost provides a significant increase in dry grain weight, panicle length, and the number of grains per rice plant. However, the treatment did not give significant results on the clumps number and rice grain weight. Besides improving rice production, straw compost improved the C-organic, total N, and K levels in the soil. Based on this study, rice straw compost brings benefits for paddy cultivation as well as the reuse of agricultural waste in a simple way, especially in tropical lowland areas of Indonesia.