Long-term organic mulching and no-tillage practice increase population and biomass of earthworm in sugarcane plantation

Abstract

This research aimed to study the effect of no-tillage and bagasse mulching on the population and biomass of earthworm in sugarcane plantation for six years application. The experiment was conducted in 2010 (plant cane, 1 st period); the first sampling in July 2011; plant cane, period in August 2014 and the last in August 2016 (ratoon 1, 2 nd period) at sugarcane plantation in Sumatra, Indonesia. The treatments were soil tillage as the main plot i.e. (conventional tillage and no-tillage) and bagasse mulch as the sub-plot i.e. 80 mg bagasse ha -1 yr -1 in 2010-2014 and 70 mg bagasse ha -1 in 2015, and with no bagasse mulch. The results showed that in the first sampling, from July 2011 to July 2013, all treatments did not significantly affect earthworm population and biomass. On ratoon 3 rd , application of bagasse mulching started to show a significant effect on it, in which revealing significantly higher of earthworm population and biomass than that in without bagasse mulch. In 2015-2016, the effect of bagasse mulching on earthworm population was more pronounce than that in control treatment. Treatment of no-tillage after six years application gave higher population of earthworm than that of conventional tillage after six year application.