Aplication of Humic Acid and Fulvic Acid on the Growth of Chrisant (Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium) Plants

Abstract

One of the popular houseplants in Indonesia, Chrysanthemum flowers offer great prospects for use as vase flowers, room decorations, and bouquets. However, Chrysanthemum cultivation still faces challenges in increasing fertilization efficiency through proper soil fertility management and improving the growth and quality of cutting Chrysanthemum flowers. Adding humic acid and fulvic acid, which can improve plant metabolism and soil fertility, is one method to improve fertilization efficiency. This research aimed to assess the effect of humic acid and fulvic acid on the growth of cutting chrysanthemum plants. The research was carried out at Teaching Factory Nursery and Cut Flowers, Politeknik Negeri Jember, from May to December 2024, with an altitude of ± 650 masl and a temperature of 18-25°C. We employed a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) research design, which included nine treatment combinations: control, which did not include humic and fulvic acids, humic acid at 500, 1000, 1500, and 2000 ppm, and fulvic acid at 500, 1,000, 1500, and 2000 ppm, which we repeated three times. Each experiment unit consisted of 100 plants with 30 observation samples. The study observed two key parameters: the height of the plants and the number of leaves. The analysis showed that the deployment of fulvic acid and humic acid at certain concentrations had a considerable effect on the growth of chrysanthemums. In particular, fulvic acid at a concentration of 500 ppm increased plant height during the early stages of growth, while humic acid at a concentration of 1500 ppm increased leaf number over a longer period of growth.